Connie Turner, Clarence “Lucky” Shawver and Rick Shawver arrived for their first visit to Pacific Fins. Fishing on Gypsy for 3 days they had 33 raises, 29 bites and 18 releases. They also raised 1 marlin.
Rachel Booker, Mike Flowers and Brian Booker arrived for a 1 day charter. Fishing on Maverick the raised 25, had 18 bites and 8 releases. They also had 1 marlin bite.
The David Barnes group returned after fishing with us in August 2015. David, Glen Chaves, Charles Mixon and Niel McTague fished 4 days on Gypsy and Maverick raising 164 sails, had 112 bites and released 77. Also releasing 2 marlin and catching 3 dorado!
Stacey and Johnny Mack Powers fished Chechos for 1 day raising 15 sails, had 13 bites, and released 9. They also caught 6 dorado.
We knew it was going to be good, we didn’t know it would be this good!
On Monday, we finished The 1st Annual Guatemala Billfish Invitational held at Pacific Fins and we are still on Cloud 9. The purpose of the tournament was to raise awareness for the conservation efforts by The Sailfish Commission in Guatemala. In the last 2 years we have made huge strides protecting billfish in our region.
Anglers raised 501 sailfish, had 383 bites and released 179!
With the tournament being such a huge success we already have dates for 2017!
Arrive: April 28
Fish: 29, 30, May 1 (3 days fishing, 4 nights)
Depart: May 2
Anglers are starting to confirm for next year’s tournament already and we suggest looking into this soon. DEMAND WILL BE HIGH. Call us at 888-700-3467 or email us.
In addition to the celebrities and clients who joined us, the local media was present, our tourism board – INGUAT, the head of The United Nations in Guatemala attended, along with the Vice Minister of Fisheries and other Government officials!
The kind words from everyone were humbling:
“Some trips stick with you, this one will.” – Captain Wild Bill Wichrowski, Deadliest Catch, Discovery Channel
“Thank you so much for the opportunity to come down and support such a wonderful cause. I am honored to be able to work with you to make a difference in such a special place.” – Rob Kramer, President, IGFA
“Rocked the tournament to 1st place, great job by all involved, looking forward to the 2nd annual! – Doug Shenk, Client
“So great to be a part of this movement.” – Peter Miller, Host, NBC Sports “Bass2Billfish”
“Thank you for the trip of a lifetime!” – Capt Scott Walker, TV Show, “Into The Blue”
“I had a wonderful experience of food, fellowship and fishing!” – Dr. Chris Stearns, Client
“What an epic trip at Pacific Fins. It gets better and better each time.” – Ozzy Delgado, Guy Harvey Magazine
“A unique experience. To see the local fishery and also to understand the conservation efforts that are going on here. We expect to see a lot of sailfish here for years to come.” – Mat Jackson, Grundens, Sponsor
“This is my 3rd trip to Pacific Fins. This place has truly touched my heart.” – Terry French, Extreme Chef, Food Network
“The hospitality at Pacific Fins is wonderful.” Cory Lowe, Backbone Media
“The 1st Annual Billfish Invitational at Pacific Fins was fabulous. The best of everything, the host Niels, fishing, food and hands on service by the captains and staff. But the most important part of it all was that it benefits the Guatemalan Sailfish. We have already signed up for next year.” – Stacey & Johnny Mack Powers, Clients.”
The Hinman group fished 1 day on Chechos raising 19, with 16 bites and releasing 12 sails.
The Erichsen group also fished a day on Chechos raising 10 sails, with 7 bites and released 5.
For their first visit to Pacific Fins Dr. Michelle Flemmings and husband Dr. Ralph Battels fishing 3 days on Chechos raised 65 sailfish, had 45 bites and released 39. They caught 4 dorado, raised 2 marlin, had 2 bites and released 1!
Lewis and Mariann Scherer arrived for their first visit and fished on Gypsy for 3 days. They had 81 raises, 69 bites and 42 releases. Plus 1 marlin!
Dr. Bo Whitehead, his wife Brandi Whitehead and Dr. John Boon arrived again for the 3rd year for a day charter fishing with their group of doctors and nurses – Esteban Arredondo, Linnea Bowman, Sara Halfmann, Sylvia Diaz, Don Griffith, David Boswell and Candice Daniels after finishing their mission work. They fished on Chechos and Sirena and raised 39, had 28 bites and released 5 sails. They released 1 marlin too!
Mission workers Mike Humphrey, Lauren Lepper, Stephanie Frey and Kunal Patel spent a day relaxing and fishing a half day on Maverick. They raised 8, had 6 bites and released 4 sailfish.
Dave Clendening, Charles Frees, Chad Garland and Robert Hunt arrived for their first visit to Pacific Fins. Fishing 4 days on Maverick they raised 139 sails, had 116 bites and released 71. Also releasing 1 marlin and catching 15 dorado!
Stacey and Johnny Mack Powers returned once again fishing on Chechos for 3 days. They raised 50, had 43 bites and released 35 sailfish.
The Zane Christopher group arrived for their 6th year. Fishing for 3 days on Gypsy, Maverick and Chechos – Zane, Graham Pereira, Raymond Knotts, Vasilica Bitere, Larry Ennis, Felix Buta, Stewart Gambrell, Tim Hattaway, Michael Melton, Jim Hughes, Michael Sweeney and Eric Yarbrough raised a total of 112, had 89 bites, and released 61 sailfish! They also caught 18 dorado.
