SUMMER FISHING REPORT THROUGH 22nd AUGUST

We've been getting out over the past few months and the fishing has been very steady with blue water in close for the most part and settled weather. Rain in the evenings and beautiful calm not too hot sunny days making it perfect to get out offshore and amongst it. Most recently we had through the lodge:

LIVING WATER GROUP AUGUST 17th and 22nd AUGUST.

From Houston, Texas we just said adios to the father and son 'Living Water' team of  Bo and Rob Herrin, Mark and Jack Nini, Dave and Jackson White, Ray and Quin Stroube and Matt and Michael Pletcher. The group came down donating and drilling a water well for the people of Santa Sofia in the  sugar cane district of Mas Agua through the NGO Living Water. Living Water locates the villages most needy of clean drinking water and these guys donated their time and money into buying and drilling the well. All in all one of the best NGO's around and they left this village with a hand pump which can deliver 5gal of clean drinking water a minute. Much needed and very much appreciated by the people of Santa Sofia.

While down here they squeezed in 2 days of fishing on both boats, Allure and Allure II and experienced some great fishing with 40 sailfish and1 blue marlin released and a few mahi's boated!!

The total numbers for the group from both boats was 62 sailfish raised, 56 bites and 40 sailfish releases with 3 blue marlin raised and 1 release from 1 bite on blue marlin, a nice big fish of around 400lb's!! Throw in a few mahi's and an excellent trip in all ways for the guys.

Nice blue for the son's fishing on Allure..

Sail for the fathers, Bo Herrin in the background loosing line on the 2nd of a double header!

L-R Jackson White, Rob Herrin, Quin Stroube, Michael Pletcher, Dave White, Jack Nini, Matt Pletcher, Mark Nini, Bo Herrin and Ray Stroube.

FITZGERALD & CASSIDY GROUP, 4th AUGUST.

Friends from New Zealand, Jock and Rowena Fitzgerald with daughter Kirsty and her husband Michael Cassidy finished off a tour of the Americas with a few days in Guatemala. We managed to find some time to get them out on the water for 4 hours of fishing and it proved to be one of the highlights of their trip! Just 12nm off the coast we were in the blue water and in over 1000ft of water and into the fish.....

Rowena with her first ever billfish...

In the 4 hours we raised 13 sails got 10 of them to bite and released 6, we also pulled the hook on a nice mahi. Not many places in the world you can shoot out for a quick fish and release 6 billfish!!

Michael Cassidy with a tough one! 

We had a great couple of nights down at the lodge and showing them around the sites and sights of Antigua, their only regret was not allowing enough days for this part of their trip! Good times...

And Kirsty with another first.

PERSIA BACHELOR GROUP, 2nd AUGUST.

Down for a couple of nights at the Oasis and a day of fishing offshore we hosted the Edward Persia group for his bachelor weekend. The guys got some great fishing in and had a blast down at the lodge sampling some great tequila's and of course the finest rum in the world.

Fishing aboard Allure, Allure II and Spindrift the day was set for a mini day tournament. Fishing was steady right through the day with 22 sails released 1 blue marlin and 6 mahi's boated. From there it was back to the lodge for another large night and the following day up to La Reunion for a day of golf, then on to Antigua for a night at the wonderful Casa Santa Domingo and a night out sampling the finest mezcal in the world, Ilegal down at the Cafe No Sé. Perfect bachelor weekend, good times with everyone commenting so!!

Edward and dad Michael Persia with Scott and Mark.

July 12th we hosted a local group from the City for a one day charter, the blue water was still in close at the bottom of the pocket and the fishing was great. These guys released 8 sailfish from 12 bites, 1 blue marlin from 2 bites and boated 16 mahi mahi! Awesome day...

Sailfish.

Blue Marlin.

29th of June we had another one day charter here and in the same spot the fish were snapping with 26 sails raised and 15 releases from 23 bites! All just 10-12nm off the beach, as it has been for most of the summer months.

June 27th, with the fishing being so close we took out friend George Carver with the idea of trying to release one on his 10wt flyrod. With the teasers in at just 8nm it wasn't long before he achieved his goal....

George putting as much heat as you can on a 10wt!

After that it was back in to try for a rooster fish on the fly at the barra....no luck there though we got the one we wanted!

June 20th-21st

Stu Stover, Charlie Hansen, Jean-Paul Michel and Spencer Morgan

We hosted these guys for 2 days on the water here, the fishing was a little slow and we worked the bottom of the pocket as well as checking out wide. Plenty of deep blue water out there though the fishing proved better back inshore at about 10nm. 16 sailfish from 26 bites is still good bill fishing and plenty of mahi's as well topped it off. Another great june trip for these guys and we'll see them back here next June!!

For the supposedly 'off season' that is some pretty good steady fishing especially seeing that a lot of these trips were just one dayer's, which means just a day to find the fish! For the most part the fishing and the blue water has been close. Over the past couple of months we have fished 10 full days and 2 very short sessions with 105 sailfish releases, 3 blue marlin and plenty of mahi's. If you're thinking about coming down in these months next year, don't hesitate, that is an average of over 10 sailfish releases a day and a better than average shot at a blue!!

We are starting to take bookings for the coming season and through to 2015, be sure to get in touch with us to secure your dates as they are starting to go. The lodge can accommodate  20 and we use  only the best boats and crews. Don't forget November and December have consistently seen some of the best fishing as far as big numbers go over the past 11 seasons we have fished here, great months to get down to Gutemala!!! 

FISHING THROUGH JUNE 15th

L-R, Javier Burga, Thor Sheffield, Chris Gohl, Toby Roberts and John Timura

 

May 29th, the Thor Sheffield group of above joined us on ALLURE II for one day of fishing and one night down at the Lodge. A mixed group with Javier and Toby living in Guatemala, Chris in Costa Rica and Thor and John from Islamorada, Florida, the pressure was on to get the guys into some fish. We tried our luck in middle of the 'Pocket' about 15NM straight out front where we found good blue water. A slow start we picked away at a few mahi's with Toby landing this nice bull ensuring fresh mahi tacos for lunch....

From here we worked our way to the western side of the pocket from the deep water to about 600ft and picked away at the sailfish in the morning with 7 releases before lunch from 10 bites and all the guys getting into a few releases. After lunch we got the one we were looking for, John Timura an experienced fisho had never caught a blue marlin before and was chomping at the bit to try. We'd had some nice bites from the sailfish on the teasers with pitch baits so he'd had enough practice in the morning session to have a crack and soon after lunch we raised a blue in the 150lb class on the left bridge teaser. The mackerel was pitched and the fish was teased to the back of the first wave right behind the boat where the John had the mackerel waiting, a perfect switch, great bite, freespool, lock-up and John was hooked into his first blue. Great job with the bite and on the rod!!

The fish came up jumping then stayed down and dirty for the rest of the fight, putting up a tough scrap on the 50lb stand-up. We got it up boatside, tagged, a couple of photos and released back to the deep....

Nice going John....

In the afternoon we had a couple more sailfish releases...

For Javier...

And Thor...

Before we had another blue marlin up on the left short teaser that nailed the pitch bait, shot to the other side, whacked the right teaser and ate another bait on the left rigger.....we missed that one twice. All in all though an excellent day on the water with 4 mahi's boated, 11 from 15 sailfish bites and 1 from 2 blue marlin bites. Good times, great fishing!!

 

We had Hill Dishman with Casey McDermand and Steve Lipari down on May 30th though there was a low off the Golfo de Tehuantepec that turned into a tropical depression and soon the named storm Boris. We ventured out on the 31st though conditions deteriorated with strong gusty ESE winds. We managed 2 from 2 sailfish bites and postponed the rest of the trip after a rough ride back to the dock. From the Pacific side this far south they are kind of a rarity, this one dumped some rain on us after the wind subsided...

 

June 13-14-15 Hill Dishman was back down with his wife Donelle and brother Jamie and Cindy Dishman for a couples weekend. Friday the 13th it was the brothers only as the girls spent the day in Antigua and what a great start to the day.....The blue water was just 5NM off the beach with a very defined current line from dirty inshore water to deep blue almost purple water. Fishing just off the current line we were into them straight away. The early morning bite was on and we released 6 fish from 6 bites in the first 40 mins of the day. From there on in it was steady action working out to the drop off at the bottom of the 'Pocket' 8NM out to as far as 12NM off the beach. A great day on the water in excellent conditions we ended up with 21 releases from 31 bites.

The next day the girls joined us and we ended up having a late start leaving the dock at around 0900, the blue water had pushed in even closer to 3-4NM off the beach, a bit slower today though still steady action with 9 releases from 14 bites and a few nice mahi's for lunch and dinner.

Hill and Donelle Dishman with a typical sized sail before release.

And Cindy with another.

We were back at the dock by 1600 to see the World Cup clash England vs Italy.....

 

 Sunday the 15th it was just Hill out as Jamie and Cindy headed back home to Houston and Donelle spent the morning by the pool down at the Lodge. That morning we worked the 1000ft to 400ft mark at the bottom of the pocket again. Beautiful day out there, deep blue water and again steady fishing with 7 releases from 10 bites and back at the dock for midday to head to Antigua and an enjoyable afternoon up there for Fathers day. For the weekend then, 37 billfish releases and several mahi's all just a few miles off the beach, it doesn't get much better than that!

 

We are still here and so are the fish!! We'll be out again this weekend and have some trips booked for August, if you want to come down to get into them get in touch with us. Also don't forget we are taking bookings for the upcoming busy months November and onwards through 2015, it has been a great year here and we're looking forward to more of the same next season!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Mid-May Fishing.....

May 12th-15th

 

Jeff Quick, Jay Higgins, Dr Gaylon Crawford and Josh Hudgens

From Arizona we hosted the above group at Sailfish Oasis and on Allure II. The sailfish bite was a little below average the first couple of days though we did get into sails everyday with the bite picking up as we tried different areas each day trying to find them. For the trip we raised 25 sailfish with 22 of those biting and the guys fished well releasing 12. As well as sails we got into a good pod of spinner dolphin late one afternoon boating 12 nice yellowfin tunas off them and picked away at the mahi's with 5 boated including a couple of beauties like this one for Jeff...

Jeff with a nice bull mahi

Just before lines in on our first day out we raised a blue on the short teaser, the fish didn't eat the pitched mackerel though went back and ate the swimming ballyhoo on the 30lb test. Dr Gaylon (Blue) Crawford was up and into an extremely stubborn blue that only came up jumping once. Pulling angles on it he finally got the release after an hour or so, a real tough one! Trying to get the tag in him Josh took over and spent another half hour on the fish when he got him up once again for the mates to get the leader, just shy of the tag shot we broke him off. A great release for 70yr old Gaylon. Dr Blue was into it again on the final day, with steady sailfish action we had a double of sailfish on, making the turn another fish came up on the long teaser in the prop wash and ate the pitched ballyhoo on the 30lb test once again. It was a nice blue of 250lb+, we released both sailfish and concentrated on the blue marlin that the good Dr was hooked up to. Once again another very tough fish that took about an hour to get the release on, a nice triple header!!



Tearing it up!!

At the end of the last day we raised a large blue that came in from the left, sat in the prop wash, circled around and on to the right bridge teaser, came in strong, we had the pitched mackerel back there, fish swung around and crashed the left bridge teaser in a second then went back and ate the ballyhoo. Being a large fish we locked up the 30lb trying to get the mackerel back there though did not get the bite on the mack. Still, an awesome sight to see with the light just right and seeing the size and speed of that blue deep in the water. All in all a great trip for the Fishing with Larry group with 2 from 3 blue marlin, 12 sailfish, 12 tunas and 5 mahi's. That's why we love this time year, plenty of variety!!

 

MAY 21st-22nd

Colby Alexander, Cory Cobler, Kyle Murphy and Bobby Franklin

In for a couple of days of fishing we hosted these guys for their first trip to Guatemala and what a great introduction it was!! First day out we stayed in close fishing 7-10NM off the breakwall and had good steady action throughout the day. We raised 19 sails releasing 11 from 16 bites and boated 9 good sized mahi's. The next day they requested blue marlin so we ran out to the edge and after releasing a sail we got the one we were looking for, a nice tough blue pushing 200lb's...

Tagged and released....

Kyle Murphy did the job on this one that came up on the short teaser, dropped back to the bridge teaser and crashed the trolled ballyhoo/Ilander combo lure down the middle. Trolling down the edge we soon raised another blue on the same short teaser it made a half attempt at eating the mackerel then disappeared. We ended up with 3 from 6 sailfish bites out there...

Bobby Franklin

Then for the last 2 hours of the day we found some old flotsam that was loaded with small tunas and XXOS mahi's, some big ass bull's marauding baitfish so we rigged up small tunas on the 30lb. All the guys got into some of these big, tough fighting fish. It was spectacular stuff with some great bites right beside the boat slow trolling baits, long hard fights and these big fish can jump!!. A fun way to finish the trip with 14 sailfish released, 1 blue marlin and a bunch of mahi's...

  Over 50lb's of bull mahi....I had to push into this photo of one that Bobby caught...

 

As mentioned, this time of year the blues are out there, sailfish as always are biting, there are plenty of mahi's and the tunas are about too. All in all a perfect variety of off-shore species to try your hand at. We will be here the whole summer and hope to get out offshore as much as we can!! There are some great deals to be had for the up-coming months so get hold of us to get yourself in the picture.

Apart from the summer months we are already starting to book up for the coming season from November on through into 2015. Be sure to secure the dates you want now to avoid disappointment.

 

The 40ft Capps, ALLURE II has proven herself to be a great fish raising boat, we have had a blast on her these past months and everyone who has fished her has commented on the perfect lay-out, open, comfortable, good AC, an awesome all round sport boat. We still have ALLURE the 39ft Bertram and other top of the line boats available for the larger groups

The OASIS LODGE has also received great reviews for its comfortable rooms, great food and service. We'll be doing some more improvements in the months ahead to ensure its reputation as the best is maintained. We can accommodate groups of up to 20 anglers so get in touch with us here for quotes:

 

liz@sailfishoasissportfishing.com

 

 

FISHING THROUGH MAY 3rd

BILBERRY GROUP

First striped marlin for James (Len) Bilberry

April 24th-25th saw James Bilberry, Wayne Beason and Larry Fagg back in Guatemala for their second trip this season. Their last day out here back in November they released 39 sails, a bit different this time around though still very good fishing. Over the 2 days we raised 35 sails, 1 blue marlin and 1 striped marlin from that the guys released 14 sailfish from 27 bites, the blue didn't bite the pitch bait and James did a great job on a nice stripey of about 135lb tagged and released on 30lb test, a pitched ballyhoo off the bridge teaser. Good times with these guys as usual.

L-R Larry Fagg, James Bilberry and Wayne Beason

Airborne sailfish

And great mid-jump tag shot on the stripey...

 

FINKELL GROUP

 

L-R, Don Finkell, Brian Finkell, Todd Braun and Tommy Finkell

April 26-29 we welcomed back Don Finkell to Guatemala, this time with brother Brian, his son Tommy and good friend Tood Braun for their first trip here. Don has been down to Guate several times over the years and it was good to see him back. Fishing the east side of the pocket on the first morning we raised a couple of sails then a nice blue marlin of around 400lbs on the short teaser. the mackerel was pitched, though again, no bite! The sailfish bite was steady out there with 51fish raised and 32 released from 47 bites.

On top of the steady sailfish bite we got into some nice mahi's and a few different groups of spinner dolphin producing some tunas. All in all great fishing action in excellent conditions!

Don with nice bull mahi

Todd with a typical tuna.

Tommy with first sailfish release.

 

OLIVIER and MARIA BATTESTI

Olivier y Maria with a first day double header.

Then on the weekend just gone May 2nd and 3rd we welcomed for their first trip to Guatemala Olivier and Maria Euginia Battesti from Chile. Olivier had a goal to release a billfish on the fly, first day out with Maria we started on the conventional tackle until we found the fish late in the day. The afternoon was very good with plenty of multiples coming into the spread and plenty of instruction on the bait n switch technique we fish here with circle hook rigged ballyhoo. Olivier picked it up doing very well and missing few fish. After we moved to the fly and after some casting practice with that popper fly he got it down. Over the 2 days we raised 34 sailfish with 14 releases from 19 bites on the conventional tackle, on the fly Olivier did a great job releasing 2 sails from 4 bites and boated a nice mahi mahi . Guatemala is the place to come to realise your goals when it comes to billfishing!!

On the fly....

Beauty!!

We had an awesome time with Olivier and Maria both on the water and back at the lodge, good times and we hope to see them back here in Guatemala in the near future. Next time for a blue marlin on the fly!!

 

Fishing is and will remain good out there during the summer months, we have some very good 'off season' deals (there really is no 'off season' here in Guatemala at all, great fishing year round) so get in touch with us and we'll get you on 'em!!



FISHING THROUGH APRIL 19th

We just finished a 16 day straight run from April 3rd through the 19th. Overall it has been very good fishing, the best day being 53 releases from 83 sailfish bites, plenty of tunas out wide with mahi's and the odd blue marlin in the spread to keep you on your toes.....Good times. We started the month with the Zingula group...

ZINGULA GROUP

Paul Sokol, Hollis Perkins, Jon Sokol and Doug Zingula.

April 4th through 6th we welcomed back Doug Zingula for his second trip with us this season along with the crew who we last fished a couple of seasons ago as above, Paul and Jon Sokol and Hollis Perkins, all Guatemala regulars for many years now. First day out proved a little slow trying to find the remains of the eastern bite so we ran out wide to the west to the next day finding nice blue water and a good sailfish bite in the morning session. Things slowed midday though we finished strong with the guys hooking all their own fish going 19 from 32 bites. Our last day out back to the west slowed a little though still very good fishing with 10 from 17 bites and the last fish on the fly for Jon. From 6 raised the one we got teased in from a double header that came hot all the way with one biting the fly. Nice way to finish Jon! The guys finished up the trip with 34 releases from 58 bites, we're looking forward to fishing them next year, they're already planning a return trip which says it all....

HELPS INTERNATIONAL 

 Luis Garcia, Jorge Corona, Clay Quinn and Hunter Bost

April 7th we hosted Hunter Bost and the above group of Dr's who had been working the week in San Cristobal, Coban for Helps International. They were part of an overall group of around 50+ Dr's who had flown down from the US with a large amount of medical supplies and performed over 100 operations. Great work for those in need, hats off to you. We took the guys out for a shortened day of fishing before the last night with their group in Antigua and we're glad we got them into some with 20 sails raised and 10 releases from 18 bites. Also a couple of mahi's for fresh fish tacos for lunch. A great day on the water, good on you Dr's...

FANTA FAMILY

David, Laura and Dianne Fanta.

April 8th-10th, we welcomed in Guatemala first timers the Fanta family from Houston. First day out we chased the bite that we had been fishing, pushing off further we eventually caught up with it and had some good activity with 9 releases from 14 bites. The next day we had an unseasonably late front push through making conditions tough with a stiff  ENE wind blowing against a hard W current making very confused seas, rough and tough to get on the fish. We did have 8 bites for the day and were happy for it. Next day out the morning was back to same sea conditions and the green water had pushed down to the west. We did find a large group of spinners in the morning stacked with yellowfin tunas, David and Laura were keen to try the fly today and with the tunas attacking the teasers we had a fun morning casting to the tunas under the teasers from a stationary boat. Some incredible surface bites on the Cam Sigler popper fly and blistering runs giving the Sage 13 wt flyrod, and anglers a real workout. A good way to forget the conditions!!

 Laura putting the heat on and the results....nice tuna on the fly!!

The rest of the day we tried teasing the sails in to the fly though getting them to come in all the way was hard work. From the 10 sails raised 4 teased in all the way and 2 bit the fly and we were a little unlucky with them both jumping off throwing the hooks. We did get 2 on the bait for the day and for the trip we raised 33 sails and released 14 from 24 bites on conventional tackle with 8 tunas on the plugs with 3 on the fly. Plenty of fun and hope to see you guys back down here in 'normal' Guatemalan conditions!!

JAMIE DISHMAN CLAN

 Annie Dishman, Briklynd Briggs with Cindy and Jamie Dishman

April 11th and 12th. Good to see Jamie, Cindy and Annie back down here this time introducing Briklynd to our Guatemalan fishery! What a difference a day makes....still a little left over wind in the morning though we were on the fish right away a few miles in from the edge to the west. As the day wore on the wind laid down and the fishing was very good till around 1300 when it kind of shut down. We raised 27 sails today with 12 from the 23 of them biting released, some very finiky bites it has to be said, a tough time making them stick!! The next day flat conditions and fish were playing the game a little better, 37 raised with 17 from 31 bites, a great day with steady action right through. 29 from 54 bites for the trip...Good fishing Team Dishman....

Annie and Bud with a nice one...

STALLION GROUP 

Chief Tauzin, Craig Johnson, Dennis Eubank, Joe Segulja and Don Gann. 

Then came the above crew, 'El Jefe' Craig Johnson with Chief and Joe from Stallion hosting clients Don and Dennis fishing April 13th-15th. 7NM inside of where we had been fishing the previous days one of the fleet found sails balling baits in an area of green bordering blueish water. Things got a little hot and heavy when we got there and it was 'Sancocho City' in the morning session for the guys with the log-book saying we were 15 from 32 bites at just after midday. To be fair it was a little chaotic for 2 hours with multiples the norm.....Things slowed a little and we had time to cook and eat lunch, after lunch the bite took off again with a couple of back to back quintuplet hook-ups, triples, doubles, pack attacks....awesome to see!! The guys redeemed themselves in the afternoon session with 38 from 48 bites and we finished the day with totals of over 90 raises, 53 releases from 83 bites and a couple of large mahi's that were in the feeding frenzy on the bait balls...

Birds picking and sailfish cutting bait with mahi's in the mix.

An awesome day on the water! Next day back at the same numbers/area we were greeted with the same sights, fish cutting baits and pack attacks in the spread, by 1100 we were looking at a good day ahead with 15 from 27 bites......then it shut down, fish on the surface but we couldn't get them off what they were feeding on. We finished the day with 19 from 36 bites and another couple of large mahi's. The group split up into both boats the last day out with El Jefe Craig Johnson requesting a yellowfin tuna haul on Allure II, Chief and Dennis with the pilots went on Allure with Capt Julio in search of the sails. Out wide we got into the tunas pretty good with a couple of groups of spinners found out there. 19 tunas later we ran back to the sailfish bite for the last 2 hours of fishing. 5 from a dozen bites with the guys on Allure releasing 19 from 31 bites. Great trip!! 95 sails released, 19 tunas and 4 mahi's boated!!

CHIEF AND AMBER TAUZIN 

Chief and Amber 

 Next couple of days April 16th and 17th we hosted these two. Good fishing as well, over the 2 days we got into them pretty good, 18 from 32 the first day and second day out they were biting right through the day with 29 released from 45 bites with 53 raised. Also a couple of tunas boated and a couple of midget sails...some of the smallest I've seen here.

Sashimi for Amber 

Good trip with these 2!!

 STALLION GROUP # 2

Joany Sylvester, BJ Poole, Corrine Kudlock, Keith Ogdee with Amber and Chief

April18-19, Chief finishing off a marathon trip here hosted the above group for 2 days on the water. First day out we chased our bite finding a strong off-shore current and green water, we kept pushing out looking for the nice stuff though couldn't find it. Still pretty good in the green water with 8 sails released from 12 bites, 7 tunas boated and a nice blue marlin for Keith Ogdee that came up on the short teaser and an awesome going away bite right off the transom. What a sight.... 

 First marlin for Keith!! Pushing 300lb's...

Looking for something new the next day we covered a lot of area and found some fish out wide with  couple of the other boats scouting, lots of jumpers and a late afternoon pick ended up with 7 from 13 bites. A strong current pushing in and from the east has things changing. Hopefully for the good!!

We will be out there fishing the next few days and into next week and into May. We have some openings in May and look forward to getting out there, get in touch with us get a group together and get into some of the best billfishing around....