Guatemala: A billfish’s dream destination

Billfish are becoming increasingly popular target fish for fly fishermen across the globe. Guatemala boasts some of the finest fly fishing for sailfish around, and in the following, Christian Pretorius provides an account of his recent trip there.

By CHRISTIAAN PRETORIUS

I was still recovering from the previous week, hunting massive jungle tarpon in Nicaragua. The line burns on my fingers were still evident, a physical reminder of the memorable week we had.

I had a slightly different approach though, and was armed with my 16wt Sage SALT.

We had exactly two days to recover though and to regain our strength before heading off for our next adventure in Guatemala. When traveling all the way to Central America from Eastern Block countries it kind of just makes sense to plan several consecutive trips if your time and schedule allows, seeing that around every corner a world class fishery is to be found. This place is truly fishy (pun intended)!

Our target species for the next four days would be the breathtakingly beautiful sailfish of the Pacific which, once hooked, dances like a well orchestrated street act. Of course, when fishing the deep purple-blue water of the Guatemalan coast, one never knows when the big cousin, the marlin, might make an appearance - a fish not really suited for the fly rod. It is therefore that I decided to be ready when and if that opportunity does present itself. In most cases a 12wt outfit would be sufficient for sailfish, paired with a high quality reel with a strong drag. I had a slightly different approach though, and was armed with my 16wt Sage SALT.

This trip would also form part of my Belarusian friend Vadim’s aroundthe-world fishing adventure. He planned to travel to some of the best fly fishing destinations around the globe within two years. I was delighted to be invited to join him on this South-American leg of his trip. The first time I met Vadim was at a little Atoll called Astove in the Indian Ocean fishing for giant trevallis and other fantastic species. Since then we have done a couple of trips together, amongst others salmon fishing in the Kola Peninsula.

After just a short flight from Managua in Nicaragua, we found ourselves in Guatemala. With time to kill our driver showed us around Antigua. What a beautiful place! This was a particularly good time to buy something special for the supportive other half back home.

As you probably know: it’s those small gestures that keep them happy while we’re out fishing.

After spending enough money like true tourists, we were finally on our way to the hotel. Like Vadim said, we had bought our luck ticket into the country that day. Everywhere along the busy streets and sign boards there were evidence of the presence of sailfish. The rumors must be true then, I guessed…

Excitement levels were peaking and I could feel the adrenaline pumping.

After a good nights’ rest at our comfortable beach resort, we were ready to go see what the blue waters of Guatemala is all about. We met up with our boat and crew, a friendly bunch of non-English speaking guys. It was evident that these guys were ready to catch a lot of fish, and when mentioned that we were only going to flyfish, their facial expressions spoke a thousand words. They must have had some bad past experiences, I guessed. Also, you will never land as many on fly as you do with bait, but we weren’t there for numbers we were there for the rush of getting them on fly gear ONLY.

We were soon on our way to the playground which was about an hours’ drive. Excitement levels were peaking and I could feel the adrenaline pumping. Oh, how I love that feeling! It was obvious that it wasn’t this crew’s first rodeo and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a well prepared boat with everything in place and ready for action. It was just before 07:45 when we reached our starting point. Vadim was up first, preparing his line on the deck, while the teasers were dancing away on the surface.

Everything just felt right: calm sea, jumping sails in the distance, gentle swells rolling… It was really difficult to take your eyes off the teasers though. It wasn’t long before we raised the first fish, a lazy one indeed, not at all aggressive towards the fly. It was one day before full moon and this is usually not ideal in any way when blue water fishing. That didn’t drown our energy levels one bit and just before 11am we got our first hookup (of the five raised fish.) This sail did some awesome aerial displays of backflips, front flips and flips that a professional gymnast would not be able to attempt without serious injury. Oh, how I longed for that sight...

Those first couple of minutes of a proper sailfish fight is just as good as it can possibly get with a fly rod.

With the expertise of a very experienced boat captain, we managed to get most of these fish to the boat in less than 10 minutes, which is usually great to ensure that the fish will swim off strong once released. It was also really comforting to see how much those local people cared about their fish even thought they have caught thousands over the years - a very good sign at any fishery. I was up next and took the stage, line stripped and ready for any fish to show itself.

It was quite something to see how aggressive these sails get when teased correctly. This was exactly the case with the next fish that we raised, he was hungry. I dropped my fluffy pink fly just as the boat got into neutral. One pop and the dark shape approached and porpoised on my fly displaying his beautiful purple sail. Unfortunately I lost this one after about 5 minutes, which was more than good enough. The hook set and a couple of jumps are more than enough to get me excited! I wanted another shot at getting a fish into the boat though and the fishing gods were kind that day giving me a second hookup shortly after the first. This time I had a solid hook set. After a short fight we finally got this breathtakingly beautiful specimen to the side of the boat. Happy days! This carried on for the rest of the afternoon. We raised a good number of sailfish, but still no marlin. We headed back to the resort where we enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner with just enough tequilas to act as a very efficient sleeping aid, not that I needed any after a long and satisfying day on the water.

Just after 7am the next morning, we were on our way again. This time joined by a more experienced local guy when it comes to teasing bills for the fly rodder. He had eyes like an eagle spotting the fish even before it came to the surface. The fish was even lazier than the previous day and didn’t show too much interest towards the fly. It was awesome just seeing them coming to have a look at the teaser hoping that one of them would be tempted enough at some point.

Around 10:30 am we had probably raised about 8 fish including our first marlin, a striped marlin that was super aggressive. Very exciting indeed! It wasn’t 10 minutes after the marlin when I finally got a solid hookup on our first sail for the day. After the first jump it confirmed a good hookup, which is not too easy with these fish. Just before heading back to port, Vadim had one more shot at a sailfish that looked pretty hungry, having a go at the fly more than once. Finally Vadim set the hook like a true master, it turned out to be our biggest sail yet. With broad smiles all around, we made our way back to where a couple of “cold ones” waited at the bar. In total we raised 22 sails and one marlin for that day. Another special day in Guatemala!

Arriving back at port is always exciting as everyone shares all their fishing tales of the day, about the ones they leadered and the ones that they couldn’t stop. These guys were super professional and passionate, which was great to experience!

It is almost guaranteed to be able to sleep like a log after a day out on The Deep Blue, and believe me, I did. But I have to admit - I woke up the next morning not exactly feeling like a 25 year old anymore: my body clicking and cracking as I got up. That would be our last day of this truly special fishing trip. Just past 7am we headed out once again - calm seas, well prepared boat and high energy levels.

We had yet another deck hand that day and I wasn’t surprised to hear that he had more than 20 years experience. One can quickly determine if someone has done something many times before, in this case it was obviously not his first rodeo for sure.

By now it was two days after full moon and much better conditions all round. One could clearly see the difference in attitude once the sails came up. They were super aggressive and therefore it didn’t take too long for Vadim to hook the first one of the day. It was only 8:35 am - what a start to the day. Before 10 am we had landed three sails. I was on the deck once again with my 16wt in hand waiting for the next fish. All of a sudden the captain saw a shape under the teaser, this time much bigger than a sailfish.

This time a blue marlin decided to investigate. The experienced deck hand expertly teased the fish in and it had a go at my fly, but I did not get a hookup. What a rush! Just to see a fish of that size having a look at your fly is absolutely incredible.

After a delectable lunch prepared on board, I retired a bit on the very comfortable couch while Vadim was on the deck. At around 2:30 pm Vadim signaled that it was my turn. I didn’t mind at all. I was still busy preparing my line when once again a massive shape appeared behind our squid teaser, aggressive as hell. He was coming in hot and the deck hand brought him in close enough reeling as quickly as he could. Everything went as planned and I managed to get the fly in the right area. All of a sudden the 300lb Blue Marlin porpoised on my fly and I got a proper hookup! The next 5 minutes were absolutely chaotic with the fish jumping all over the place.

I just went with my gut feeling and kept the tension and made sure to keep maximum pressure without popping my fly line.

The energy levels on the deck were insane and I wish I could understand more of the Spanish language. I would have loved to know exactly what they wanted me to do. I just went with my gut feeling and kept the tension and made sure to keep maximum pressure without popping my fly line. I knew that this was going to be one epic battle, but holy crap, after an hour and a half of pulling as hard as you can you would love to see at least a sign of the fish getting tired. Not this one..! Finally after two hours I got the fish to within 20ft from the boat and we confirmed it to be a fish of a lifetime. A dream come true… But to be honest, at that moment I was in pain as well as I could feel the blisters on my fingers starting to open up. Fresh wounds combined with salt water? No fun at all!

The captain did a great job to push the boat into reverse at the right moment and we managed to lift the fish to the surface. After 2h 10mins we finally touched leader, which means a legally-caught marlin by any competition rules. Over the moon! But the fight was far from done as the fish shot off on one last run, taking line as if I had just hooked it. In a frantic effort to slow down the fish once more my 16wt exploded and soon after my fly line parted. I had experienced a blue marlin on fly though, unbelievable!

I have never ever experienced strength like that in any other fish. My good friend Vadim saluted me with a cup of local Guatemalan rum, much needed at that stage.

Our absolutely satisfying adventure had come to an end and on our way back home, I constantly had flashbacks of our tremendous experiences over those two weeks, firstly in Nicaragua and thereafter Guatemala. South America has so much to offer to the fly fisherman. The local people are super friendly and helpful, the food is excellent and the rum is surprisingly delicious! I would sincerely recommend it to anybody considering it as an option.