2nd Annual Guatemala Billfish Invitational – April 28 – May 2, 2017
We are in Orlando for iCast
Fishing on a Budget
In addition to our “Performance” and “Luxury” Packages we have an “Economy” Package that has been a big hit with clients over the last 2 seasons.
Two-day fishing packages start as low as $1,875 per person fishing 4 per boat.
We use our beautiful 35′ Strike Boat Aguardiente for Economy Packages. That is the only difference!
You will still receive all the other wonderful amenities Pacific Fins Resort has to offer. We only have ONE boat for these packages per week! We encourage you to start looking at this ASAP if interested.
This is a great cost savings for those anglers wanting to experience our incredible offshore fishery who may not have been able to make it in the past because of price.
Our US Office is happy to help answer any questions to determine if this package is right for you, your family or your buddies! 1-888-700-3467
April/May Report 2016
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.
Winter Fishing Stats!
First of all we want to thank everyone who made it down to Pacific Fins to fish and stay with us this past winter season. For those of you who gave it strong consideration and were not able to make it – hopefully the below stats will help encourage you to make a visit in the future!
This year was magical. The numbers were so insane at times that we were concerned when posting no one would believe us!
Clients Visited From The Following Countries:
Brazil, France, Nicaragua, UK, Canada, Sweden, Colombia, Russia, Australia, Norway, Mexico, Germany, Ecuador, Honduras and The USA (+Puerto Rico).
Best Month (Averages):
PER BOAT, PER DAY
Raises (52) – March 2016
Bites (43) – March 2016
Releases (31) – March 2016 (November won the last 3 years, but March takes the Title)
Most Sailfish RAISES in 1 Day (One Boat) – (Conventional/Light Tackle):
(98) – Wiatt Group – Jan 2016
Most Sailfish BITES in 1 Day (One Boat) – (Conventional/Light Tackle):
(93) – Dupre Group – Jan 2016
Most Sailfish RELEASES in 1 Day (One Boat) – (Conventional/Light Tackle):
(62) – Dupre Group – Jan 2016
Most Sailfish RAISES – Group
(375) – Begnaud Group – Feb 2016
Best Average on FLY per day – Single Angler
(12) – Dr. Stan Shoemaker – Jan 2016
Most Sailfish Releases on FLY – Group
(46) – Stigliano Group – March 2016
Best Sailfish BITES Average PER DAY – (Conventional & Light Tackle)
(78) – Dupre Group – Jan 2016
Best Sailfish RELEASES Average PER DAY – (Conventional & Light Tackle)
(54) – Dupre Group – Jan 2016
Most MARLIN Raises During Trip
(7) – TIE – Stigliano Group, TaxSlayer Group – March 2016
Most Marlin Releases – (Conventional)
(4) – Elias Group – Feb 2016
GRAND SLAM!
Jan 12th – Bodine Group – (2) Blue Marlin, (1) Striped Marlin + (17) Sailfish in ONE day
Biggest Marlin
500 lbs – Frey Group – March 2016
Oldest Client To Release a Sailfish
91 years old – Captain Jim Toabe – Nov 2015
Most Visits
(4) – TIE – Ozzy Delgado. Johnny & Stacey Powers.
Outdoor Brands Who Selected Pacific Fins For Photo Shoots
GoPro, SMITH, Grundens
Most Roosterfish Caught
(4) – Ben White Group – March 2016
Most Well-Rounded Trip
(343) sailfish raises, (249) bites, (111) releases conventional, (46) releases ON FLY, (7) marlin raises, (2) marlin releases – Stigliano Group – March 2016
200+ Sailfish Raise Club – 1 boat in 3 days fishing
(232) – Elias Group – March 2016
(214) – Sola Group – March 2016
(209) – Dupre Group – Jan 2016
(209) – Buckley Group – March 2016
Full Winter Season Average (Conventional/Light Tackle):
PER BOAT, PER DAY
Raises: 34
Bites: 29
Releases: 20
WOW!
That’s right! Over the last 8 months (Oct 2015 – May 2016) clients averaged 20 sailfish releases per boat, per day!
**For all the other amazing numbers clients put up this year check out the fishing reports on our website.
Marlin Guarantee!!
Guaranteed Marlin or Fish For FREE!
Everyone thought we were nuts last year by offering “The Marlin Guarantee.” Clients thought we were nuts. The magazines thought we were nuts. But here we are in 2016 and going to do it again!
What was the success rate? We only lost 1 bet! Yes, that is correct. Every group of clients who took part in the Marlin Guarantee from August – October 2015 had at least 3 marlin bites, except for one group. (Please see the note from the client that didn’t get the bites below. They had 2).
If you WANT MARLIN think about visiting us August, September, or October 2016. What do you have to lose? We GUARANTEE it.
In addition to the months of August, September and October being very good for sailfish, dorado and yellowfin – we think they are outstanding for marlin!
In fact, we are so confident in our fishery that we are willing to bet on ourselves. We are pushing our chips “All In” with the following MARLIN offer below.
If you book our most popular package: 3 days fishing, 4 nights in the months of August, September or October 2016 we guarantee your boat will get at least 3 Marlin Bites on conventional tackle over the length of the trip!!
That’s right. 3 bites by the man in the Blue, Black or Striped suit over 3 days fishing! And if you don’t get 3 bites we are willing to do the following:
1 to 2 MARLIN BITES:
50% of the value of your trip will be put towards a future trip at Pacific Fins (and it is transferrable).
0 MARLIN BITES:
100% trip value! Your party comes back for a FREE 3 days fishing, 4 night trip.
David Barnes Group Only Had 2 Marlin Bites
And the deal was for them to come back at 50% the cost with 1-2 bites. Here is a note from that group:
“I went with three of my friends to Pacific Fins last August and fished for four days on Maverick and Gypsy. Well, to make a long story short, we caught sails and dorado and had 2 marlin bites. That entitled us to a 50% reduction on a future trip.
The trip was amazing and the lodge was great, so that made it a “No Brainer.”
We rebooked for 4 days fishing the week of April 3 through the 8th. When we returned we did exceptionally well raising well over 100 sails and releasing 75. We also released a 300 lb MARLINand several dorado. It was another trip of a lifetime.
I just wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed ourselves and Pacific Fins stepped right up and honored their guarantee – no questions asked!”
Thanks again,
David Barnes
NOTE: This offer is for the intact group to return together. For example, if you have 4 anglers – it is NOT 4 individual trips.
***To get additional information on the rules of this offer and to check availability:
Phone: 1-888-700-3467
Website: www.pacificfins.com.gt
