Pete Robbins wearing Bajio Cocho Sunglasses

When we first started visiting Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala, we were baffled by the term “No Sancocho.”

It’s their version of a “swing and a miss” – when you let a sailfish grab your bait and fail to hook up, retrieving only the head of your offered ballyhoo. Rather than using the term as purely a mark of embarrassment, they’ve turned it into a net positive. With each miss during their “No Sancocho” tournament the unlucky angler is required to donate a sum of money which goes to funding local schools.

As we’ve visited the lodge more frequently, I’ve gone from letting the mates do most of the bait and switch to trying to do a lot of it myself. Our overall hookup percentage may go down a bit, but I take pride in completing a catch start to finish. What appears to be easy when the professionals do it is a little tougher in the heat of the moment, especially if you’re there just once a year. I need all of the help I can get to make it through the process.

A big part of that is eyewear. The captain from his perch up above has an advantage when it comes to seeing billfish in the spread, but the mates are remarkably adept, even when occupied by other tasks. I try to watch the spread carefully and they still typically see the fish before I do – but I’ve found that the proper eyewear can help. It reduces fatigue and helps my discern when that fin first breaks the surface. Accordingly, I was excited to test out Bajio’s new Cocho sunglasses, named and designed specifically for this situation. I chose to test out the Dark Blue Camo Matte frames with the blue mirror glass lenses. They’re available in a variety of other options (three frame colors, including the cool Marsh Camo Matte, along with seven lens colors), but the blue-on-blue seemed best-suited not only to my tropical attire, but also to the high glare situations we’d eventually encountered.

Bajio Cocho Features and Specs

140mm wide
49.5 mm tall
Removable side shields
Flex hinges
Available with prescription lenses
Available with readers
3 frame options
7 lens options

Bajio Cocho sunglasses Guatemala sailfish

My Experience with the Cochos

During our three long and productive days on the Pacific in Guatemala in February of 2026. I had lots of chances to spot fish in the spread as we ended up landing a personal best 92 sailfish on our boat, plus two striped marlin and a blue marlin. I cycled through several different models and brands of glasses, including the Bajio Sigs, a smaller, wrap-style option that’s made my regular rotation.

At first I was put off by the Cochos because this is a seriously large frame. In my younger years, perhaps 30 pounds ago, I had a thin head and neck, and I shied away from the XL options in the major manufacturers’ catalogs. I was half-tempted to give them to Hanna, who has a larger noggin.

I’m glad that I followed through and kept them, though. While they may be bigger than what I normally wear, the additional coverage top to bottom and left to right knocked out any potential glare. The side shields aided with that, too. I’ve really come to appreciate that feature on several different pairs of polarized sunglasses over the past couple of years. Sure, wide temples can block out most light and glare, but invariably they let in just a little bit, or during the heat of the battle they get pushed a bit askew. With the solid shields that’s less likely to happen.

I will say that you need to be careful with the side shields. They fold in for convenience during storage, but they’re also removable. That helps if you like the frames but don’t want the added glare prevention. At one point I must’ve been a little rough on the sunglasses and found one of the shields on the deck of the boat, where it could have been stepped on or lost. I’ll be more careful from now on, but because they snap in and out so easily I could see this becoming a problem.

What wasn’t a problem was any sort of eye fatigue. I kind of expected that the Cochos would be heavy since they’re so big and wide, but the nylon frames must be deceptively light or they’re exceptionally well-balanced, because even after a day in 88 degree hot sun with a few cervezas mixed in, I was remarkably clearheaded. In fact, on the second day of fishing, I never switched to another pair. Perhaps coincidentally, it was also the day that I teased up, hooked, fought and landed the first marlin I’ve caught in Guatemala.

I recognize that the retro styling isn’t for everyone, but as long as you have a fairly large head, they complement a lot of different facial dimensions and features. In fact, Hanna may have tried to steal them from me later in the trip. Regardless of the look, though, the Cochos’ large size knocks out any light coming from above, below or the sides. That’s what I want when I’m searching not just for the first fish in the spread, but also the two or three trailing that leader.