Bite Report: Guatemala

Courtesy of Capt. Chris Sheeder / Casa Vieja Lodge

A Pacific sailfish goes airborne behind Rum Line out of Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala.

“Over the last few months, Guatemala has produced the best sustained bite in sailfishing history. March 11, 2006 was considered the best single day ever, with Capt. Ron Hamlin releasing 124 sailfish on conventional tackle and myself with 57 on fly, but these last few months have produced more 50-plus release days than ever before. January and February was the peak of the action, which was centered just 15 miles offshore. We averaged 14 releases a day on fly and 42 a day on bait-and-switch. Blue, striped and even black marlin also found their way into our spread on a regular basis. The Michaels Organization, fishing out of Casa Vieja Lodge, released an unprecedented 1,612 billfish fishing Feb. 1-5, 2016—that’s just one group! Rum Line released 89 sails Feb. 5th, representing a personal best for me. And it looks like the bite will continue well into the spring.”