Guatemala Sailfish – Records Are Made to Be Broken
Usually when you go to a storied fishing destination you get one of two lines:
“You should have been here yesterday”; or
“Fishing just ain’t what it used to be.”
Sometimes you get both, but not at Casa Vieja Lodge, where the world’s best sailfishing just seems to get better. Even our worst visit – out of six so far – would have been the “trip of a lifetime” most other places.
We thought things were good when we released 66 sailfish over three days in November 2024.
Then we blew those numbers out of the water this February, with 92 in three days, plus three bonus marlin – two striped and one blue. That included our “personal best” day on February 15th, when we released 39. Our group made us look even better, as over the course of the three days our 16 anglers on four boats released 384 pez vela, an average of 32 per boat, per day. The mates and captains at Casa Vieja have seen it all before, and still get excited but not surprised. Meanwhile, we thought we’d channeled our inner Papa Hemingway.
After we left, the bite slowed down a tad bit. More releases in the teens, even some single digit days for some boats. It never got slow, but it wasn’t wide open. We figured we’d timed it exactly right.
But then at the end of February, things started to break open again. On the 27th, two boats raised over 80 fish apiece and released over 50.
On March 1st, nine boats went out and they raised a grand total of 838 sailfish, releasing 506. That number, which averages out to 54 releases per boat, is a lodge record. So for all of you who think you’ll never get to see or experience “the good old days,” remember that you can still have ‘em at Casa Vieja Lodge.
Notes on That Magical Day
The numbers above were bolstered by the fact that three boats raised over 100 sailfish that day: The Pica Mas with 125; the Hooker with 148; and the Rum Line with 56.
The top three “catchers” were the Hooker (98), Pica Mas (78) and Makaira (60).
What does 148 raises equate to in terms of action? Assuming they ran out an hour, ran in an hour, and fished for 7 hours, that’s 21 raises per hour with lines in the water.
What does 98 releases equate to in terms of action? Assuming they ran out an hour, ran in an hour, and fished for 7 hours, that’s 14 releases per hour, one approximately every 4 minutes.
The numbers might have been even better. One boat, the Release, spent part of the day fly fishing, which only allows one set of teasers out. It’s not known how many of the anglers did their own bait-and-switch themselves versus the mates, who are generally more efficient.
The boats collectively raised three blue marlin, getting two of them to bite, but the Finest Kind was the only boat to release one.
But Wait, There’s More
Was it a one-day wonder?
Hardly.
On March 2nd, 10 boats went out and produced 357 releases, led by The Hooker’s 105 raises and 58 releases, and followed closely by the Pica Mas, which raised 90 and released 47.
On March 3rd, nine boats fished and produced 384 releases. That’s an average of over 43 apieces, even though only three boats were into the fifties. The leading release numbers came from the Rum Line, although The Hooker and Pica Mas both raised 98. There were even a few token mahi in the mix — great for those who had the gall to stop and eat lunch.
Act Now for 2027
So should you try to see if there’s a boat or two available for next March 1st? It probably couldn’t hurt, but there are no guarantees. Past performance is not indicative of future success. In 2025, the boats that went out on March 1st released between 15 and 27 sails. In 2024, the boats that went out on the 1st released 9, 10 and 21. In 2023, it was 1, 3, 3, 5, 6, 9 and 10.
A lot goes into how good the fishing is, including moon phases, current weather, recent weather patterns, and other factors beyond your control. While the fleet tends to find and share the fish, it’s not always easy.
Five of our six trips have been in February – on the toughest one, we landed 15 sailfish in three days. If we’d used that as our guidepost, we might not have gone this February – when we landed 53.
Timing is sometimes a matter of luck. A week after those tough March 2023 catches listed above, one boat raised 88 and released 60, while another went 75/40. That greatness continued into April when the marlin bite picked up, too. What made that month great was that the leaderboard seemed to be topped by a different boat each day.
We’d been told that by some naysayers that November isn’t a prime month, but we had our previous best trip in November 2024 – indeed the months of October and November were consistently good that year.
The bottom line is that you need to get there when you can, and spend as much time there as you can. Some people luck into greatness on their first trip, while others have to wait a few (as we did) to get the full Casa Vieja experience. Not that our first two trips (37 and 44 sailfish, respectively) were bad, just that if we’d caught 90 our first trip out, we might’ve been a little spoiled an unfairly expected it every time.
We’re heading back at the end of March into early April in 2027 – not because we have a particular hunch about the fishing, but because that’s when it’ll fit our schedule and it’s as likely to be great as just about any other springtime date. If you’d like to join us, we have one boat left on that hosted trip, but if you’d prefer another time we can set that up, too. Just email us and we’ll get you down to Guatemala for an addictive and utterly first-class trip.
