On October 10 Sailfish Oasis opens its 21st season fishing Guatemala aboard the Allure. After the annual break we take each year, the lodge is refreshed, our team is rested and renewed, our cupboards and bars are stocked, and we launch into sailfish season.
The second half of October brings what was once considered high time in Guatemala. And while we’ve since come to learn that this is a year-long fishery, what follows is why November, December, January, February and March are such good times to fish with us. As it happens, we’ve got some open time and we’d love to show you what it’s all about.
Sailfish Season in Guatemala
Guatemala is widely recognized as the best sailfish fishery in the world. And with good reason. When it’s wide open, no place can compete.
But even when we’re on an average bite, and we raise about the number of fish that we might expect to see in a trip, there aren’t many destinations in the world that can produce on par with what we might see. An average sailfish trip in Guatemala produces more sailfish—raised, hooked, and released, than an epic trip (the type they might see once in five years) in all but a handful of other places in the world.
And when we talk about sailfish season here, this is the time of the year that we most consistently expect to see large numbers of fish. Sure, we’ve experienced great trips in every calendar month of the year that we fish— a type of trip that involves releasing 90 fish over three days let’s say. But were you to book a trip with the hopes of having the best sailfish numbers of your life, this time of year, by average, is as sure of a bet as you can make.
And it is the consistent bodies of fish that make this time of year so interesting. Here is some context for a few of our favorite things about sailfish season.
Your Personal Best
The best thing about really good sailfish fishing isn’t just the number of fish you catch, but how you catch them. Typically, if you release 40 sailfish in a day, you’re not releasing 40 singles.
When a pack of five fish come up in the spread, it’s a fire drill. The riggers pop, there is a fish on each bridge teaser. The mates are dancing, coordinating the action. Captain Jono is directing traffic from above.
When you’re raising singles, anglers take turns. When you’re raising packs of sailfish, it’s all hands on deck.
Watching the action is great. The videos of this kind of thing are really cool.
But there’s really nothing like being involved yourself. Grabbing a pitch bait, dropping it back. Concentrating on your bait, and the dark shadow rising behind it, while you look at the action unfolding in the water behind the boat.
This is really fun fishing. When you hook two, three, or four sailfish at a time, the Guatemala two-step begins. It’s a dance that unfolds in terms all its own.
“You’re over…” “Step underneath…” “Two steps to the right….” “We’re going to after this fish first, keep tight.”
All the while, there are sailfish greyhounding, porpoising, or headshaking across the water. If there are any anglers who aren’t hooked up, they’re likely as not trying to figure out which fish they should try to video or photograph.
As you release one, the captain calls down which he’ll drive on next. All the while Jono’s watchful eye takes in the action, offering the types of encouragement and suggestion that make even the most experienced angler a little better.
He’s been doing this a long time. He’s fished all over the world. And he really enjoys it…
Guatemala is always a great place to learn to bait and switch. During sailfish season, when the body of fish is thick and consistent, it’s even better. Simply put, you get more shots here than you get anywhere else. And Capt. Jono really enjoys the process of helping anglers learn to hook their own fish.
Sailfish On Fly
This time of year is also a great time to break out the fly rod. Every year, we have guests come down specifically to catch sailfish on the fly.
Some of these guests are experienced. They live for it.
They fish with us because Captain Jono knows how to do it as well as anyone. We have all the equipment, but of course you can bring your own if you like.
One rigger up, one down. We run teasers with a hooked bait in the rigger.
Fly fishing for sailfish involves teasing them in close. For it to be legal, the boat must be out of gear when the lure is cast.
This takes coordination and skill between the captain, the mates, and the angler. The angler is critical. Placing the cast where you need it. Remembering to keep your hands free of the line when you set the hook.
The bite is intimate. It normally takes place right off the gunnel and it’s exciting. Guatemala, because of its number of sailfish, was central to the development of blue water fly fishing.
At Sailfish Oasis, we’re really good at this sort of thing and we really enjoy it. You can either dedicate your trip to fly fishing or switch mid-day after you’ve caught a dozen or so on bait. We can switch back and forth, as many times as you like.
We’re here for it all. When you’re fishing with us, it’s your boat and our guys will do all they can to make it happen.
Come See Us
Sailfish season in Guatemala is a spectacle to behold. The numbers of fish that are here and the consistency with which they are here this time of year were what have drawn some of the world’s best captains and crews to Guatemala.
Sure, we’ve since discovered that the fishery extends all year. The summertime is great. The fall and spring are too. But there is something about sailfish season.
We have some really good spots available. And while we can’t promise that any particular week will produce the epic bite, over 21 years of fishing this part of the world we’ve come to be really, really excited about may well happen between November and April.
Groups of two to 20. We can handle it all. Sailfish for all….
The fishing is often really good this time of year. There will be waves of time, a week here, a week there, when it will be incredible.
Come see us. You could well find yourself in the midst of a hell of a fishing story.
