Pacificfins Archives - Page 3 of 5

January 7, 2022January 7, 2022

Guatemala Billfish Invitational – Best One Yet!

Guatemala Billfish Invitational Recap

A HUGE congrats to everyone involved. What an event!

The 6th Annual Guatemala Billfish Invitational was not only sold out, we had three lodging locations at capacity. It was no surprise with such high anticipation that built throughout the year.

The event week started Thursday night with a Captains meeting at Pacific Fins. It was a nice time for all anglers to get acquainted and teams got to spend sometime with their boat Captains.

Saturday night was a night that all anglers were looking forward to. Celebrity Chef, Serial Griller, Matt Moore cooked up an amazing feast for all to enjoy.
Whether you were Pro or an Amateur team, The 6th Annual Guatemala Billfish Invitational was a nail biter from the start. On the Pro class, the highlight were Rumline and Chechos team. They both entered the tournament not looking for a second place trophy.

Day one; Rumline and Chechos finished the day tied with 1300 points. Rumline managed to win the daily by 11 minutes.
Day two; It was a mirror of day one, but at the end of the day, Chechos took the lead by 3 fish and managed to win the daily.
Day three; It was a thriller of a final day as claiming the top spot came down to the wire! With minutes left before lines out, team Chechos was in the lead, when second place Rumline, hooked up a double in the final moments…almost inching a comeback to overtake the top spot. What a way to end the 6th annual of competition for team Chechos!

Tournament Results

1st Place Pro Team for a total of 4100 points, team Chechos.
Anglers: Ozzy Delgado, Juan Manuel Cobar, Josh Greene, and Peter Miller. Captain Carlos Diaz. Team won day 2 calcutta and overall prize money.

**2nd Place Pro Team for a total of 4000 points, team Rumline.**
**Anglers: Dell Dembosky, Mary Dembosky, Ken Cofer, Amanda Cofer. Captain Terry Brennan. Team won day 1 calcutta. Congrats to Captain Terry and his crew for putting up a great fight to the end.**

**3rd Place Pro Team for a total of 3700 points, team Makina.**
**Anglers: Ed Secke, Mark Anstine, Austin Collins, and Carey Riel. Captain Luis Wicho Ramirez. Team won day 3 calcutta.**

**1st Place Amateur Team for a total of 3100 points, team Piragua.**
**Anglers: Hugo Mayorga, Alexander Alonso, Nelson Duarte, Jaret Williams.**

**1st Place Marlin with 2 blue marlin releases, team Captain Hook.**
**Anglers: Kris Mohandie, Fran Gough, Kyle Sowell, Fran Gough, and Matt Moore.**

**1st Place Dorado for a total of 127.4 pounds, team Uno Mas.**
**Anglers: George Plihal, Albert Guzman, Mike Russell, and George Gozdz. Captain Justin Royal.**

Another amazing highlight during the Invitational, to have Rivers Rutherford’s presence at Pacific Fins. With a name like Rivers Rutherford, it’s no surprise this soulful storyteller and recent Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Famer was destined to become one of music’s most talented and accomplished singer-songwriters.

Guests at the Invitational had front row seats as David Lee Murphy performed several songs. David is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known for his #1 country hits “Dust on the Bottle” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”, as well as the hit songs “Party Crowd”, “Out with a Bang”, “Every Time I Get Around You”, “The Road You Leave Behind”, and “Loco”. Oh and by the way… Congrats to David for releasing his first blue marlin!

The tournament in 3 days, generated a total of 545 sailfish raises, 480 bites and 348 Sailfish releases. 8 blue marlin and 2 striped marlin.
We want to THANK all our participating anglers for making this a special one yet. We were happy to see all having a great time, meeting and making new friends. From the kick-off party and Poolside Celebration to the neighboring resorts (Casa Vieja Lodge, The Hook, Sailfish Oasis, and Aeroclub) who took part in the Invitational, to the awards presentation at the final dinner and all the parties and fishing in between, this is definitely a tournament that any novice or serious angler needs to be a part of. We are pleased to support the Billfish Conservation Project and the week-long festivities that generate much needed funds for a worthy cause – A total of $18,000 was collected.
In addition, we are going to be posting on our social pages pictures that were taken during the event. 2022 dates will be: December 8th through the 12th. Trust me… YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!

A Special Award For A Special Person

A lot happens behind the scenes that people don’t see or hear. Much hard work and preparation goes into these events. It can be stressful at times, but in the end, the results are all worth it.

It is with great pleasure that we present Niels Erichsen with a special award. We want to recognize the person whose work has had a truly outstanding impact in conservation and in the lives of many.

We THANK YOU Niels Erichsen!

TO ALL ANGLERS AND SPONSORS, CHEERS TO YOU FOR MAKING IT A SUCCESFUL ONE!

October 22, 2021October 22, 2021

October Fishing Frenzy

The start of our season has been nothing short of spectacular. Groups have been raising double digit numbers of sails, enough dorado for lunch and dinner, and yellowfin tuna from 60lbs to an impressive 176lb beast. Plus, we are not surprised the main attraction has been the blue marlin presence.

When a guest calls us, one of their question is… “when is the best time to fish Guatemala?”. You can ask many and get different answers. It’s hard to answer because Guatemala’s fishery is phenomenal year round.
I’ve always been a firm believer that October is the month to be in Guatemala. It kicks off the season with lots of action and variety.

Fishing Report :

A personal record! 400+lb Pacific Blue Marlin

***Congrats to the Johnson’s on their blue marlin***

***An impressive 176lb yellowfin tuna for Mr. Mackinnon!***

***Double the excitement for the Woods***

August 5, 2021August 5, 2021

Pacific Fins Welcomes Serial Griller: Matt Moore

Let the countdown begin! In the coming weeks/months leading up to the 6th Annual Guatemala Billfish Invitational, we will be announcing special guests and sponsors that will take part in this years event.
The Billfish Invitational is excited to welcome Serial Griller, Matt Moore.
Author. Entrepreneur. Cook. Musician. Host. Pilot. Adventurer. Southern Gentleman.
These are just some of the words used to describe Nashville, TN based Matt Moore. Moore’s work has garnered critical acclaim as far reaching as the BBC and CBC to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Atlanta Constitution, Chicago Tribune, People, Southern Living, Redbook, Esquire, Men’s Journal, TODAY, CBS, VH1, FOX, Hallmark, The Art of Manliness, and countless others. As a chef, Moore specializes in updated Southern cuisine with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. He’s also a cast-iron and wild game enthusiast with extensive experience working over live fires.
His first book, Have Her Over for Dinner, a Gentleman’s Guide to Classic, Simple Meals was named one of the years’ best cookbooks by The New York Times. His follow-up, A Southern Gentleman’s Kitchen (TIME INC Books) was released to wide praise and acclaim in the spring of 2015. His best-selling, The South’s Best Butts (TIME INC BOOKS) was named the #1 cookbook of the year by The National BBQ and Grilling Association in 2018. Moore’s latest work, Serial Griller (HMH 2020), has also enjoyed best selling status with a focus on live-fire grilling throughout America. Moore is currently slated to release his next work in 2023.
When he is not cooking, traveling, or writing, Moore is busy running EastWest Bottlers, a boutique fragrance and apothecary company he founded in 2011. To date, Moore maintains a distribution of over 200 retail specialty stores where his fragrances and books are sold. He has negotiated distribution and license agreement in over 30 countries, including big-box stores such as Belk, Dillards, and Bloomingdales – securing license products for Fortune 500 brands, as well as luxury European brands.

**For those that love to grill, which I think the majority of us do, Matt will be handing out to all participating anglers a copy of his book, Serial Griller.**

May 11, 2021May 11, 2021

A Trip to Remember

“Hello Ozzy,
The experience at Pacific Fin’s was beyond my expectations. You really have something amazing there. The fishing , your staff and the crew on Knot Work were the best. An unforgettable trip. The fishing was amazing, 70 sails day one, WOW”. – Thanks for an amazing trip, Harry Aguero.

A highly anticipated trip, which began planning in March 2019, five Cuban-Americans set a fishing trip for August 2019. Unfortunately, that trip was postponed last minute due to a hurricane heading towards Miami and then again in April 2020 due to Covid travel restrictions.

Talk about bad luck… but as they say… third time is the charm and it was worth the wait!
We have to THANK Ralph, Harry, Robert, Joel, and Mandy for doing a very nice thing for Pacific Fins. They got together and created a website about their trip to Guatemala. Check out their website which highlights all of their experience from day one – plus… they have some great videos.

Website: Pacific Fins Guatemala Trip

February 25, 2021February 25, 2021

“The Smorgasbord Season”

You can’t say “Spring Break” without thinking of a fishing trip. We are aware you are tired of the cold and miserable Winter. So, now it’s time to start planning a fishing trip to Pacific Fins, where you will get thawed out.
Our peak season is October through May, but… now comes the time of year many love. I call it “The Smorgasbord Season”. This is when not only you get intense sailfish action, its when blue marlin start to be more abundant. Yellowfin tuna will be active around spinner dolphin, and dorado will be in the larger class. Plus, you can’t never rule out a striped marlin in the spread and wahoo.
March through May is a great time to be here. It’s also the time that books fast. We have limited space available, want to be part of an epic season? Grab your passports, call your fishing partners, pack your bags, and head to Guatemala!

Fishing Report

Uncharacteristic for this region, due to a mix of strong cold fronts and green water making it’s way into the fishing grounds, it has been a slow February. As you can see the fishing reports, there has been better days than others.
The good news, blue water started to make its way into the grounds which has resulted in better action. The blue marlin bite has picked up and reports of yellowfin tuna has sushi lovers very happy!

February 6th: Chechos (Captain Nestor) – 4 sailfish raises, 3 bites and 2 releases. 1 for 2 on blue marlin and 2 dorados.
February 9th: Knotwork (Captain Caluco) – 3 sailfish raises, 3 bites and 3 releases. 1 yelowfin tuna.
February 12th: Gypsy (Captain Jorge) – 11 sailfish raises, 11 bites and 10 releases. 1 dorado.
February 13th: Gypsy – 5 sailfish raises, 3 bites and 2 releases. 11 dorados.
February 14th: Gypsy – 9 sailfish raises, 5 bites and 4 releases. .
February 15th: Knotwork – 6 sailfish raises, 5 bites and 5 releases. 2 dorados.
February 15th: Chechos – 8 sailfish raises, 8 bites and 7 releases. 2 dorados.
February 16th: Chechos – 31 sailfish raises, 29 bites and 25 releases. 1 dorado.
February 16th: Knotwork – 25 sailfish raises, 18 bites and 11 releases.
February 17th: Knotwork – 4 sailfish raises, 4 bites and 3 releases.
February 17th: Chechos – 14 sailfish raises, 14 bites and 12 releases.
February 19th: Maverick – 13 sailfish raises, 10 bites and 6 releases. 1 dorado and 1 for 2 on blue marlin.
February 19th: Knotwork – 4 sailfish raises, 4 bites and 1 releases. 1 for 2 blue marlin.
February 19th: Chechos – 6 sailfish raises, 5 bites and 2 releases.
February 19th: Gypsy – 15 sailfish raises, 11 bites and 7 releases.
February 20th: Maverick – 6 sailfish raises, 6 bites and 4 releases. 1 blue marlin and 3 yellowfin tuna.
February 20th: Knotwork – 5 sailfish raises, 5 bites and 4 releases.
February 21st: Gypsy – 10 sailfish raises, 7 bites and 4 releases. 1 yellowfin tuna.

SOLD OUT! We knew this was going to happen. The first Unfathomed hosted trip with Captain George Gozdz booked in record time.
This is an all-inclusive adventure with 4 nights/5 days accommodations and 3 full days of offshore fishing on May 13th – May 17th, 2021. In addition to the fishing we have added an afternoon of sightseeing in the old capital city of Antigua on the day we arrive.
Due to limited space and demand, we will be adding a second Unfathomed hosted trip soon. Stay tune to social media and our weekly news letters for the next date. You don’t want to miss out on one heck of a time.

February 4, 2021February 4, 2021

A fishing trip you don’t want to miss!

“This is an incredible opportunity to discover the world class fishery Guatemala has to offer. I’ve visited Pacific Fins Resort on 5 separate occasions and each trip has been amazing. After repeated trips to Pacific Fins, most recently in December, I know exactly what to expect and will help ease the burden of uncertainty of travel during these challenging times. May is an incredible time to fish Guatemala with targeted species including sailfish, marlin, tuna, and dorado.” – George Gozdz, Unfathomed.
This is an all-inclusive adventure with 4 nights/5 days accommodations and 3 full days of offshore fishing. In addition to the fishing we have added an afternoon of sightseeing in the old capital city of Antigua on the day we arrive. Grab a couple friends or make new ones and don’t miss this chance as space is limited.

Dates: May 13th-17th, 20214 night/ 5 days3 full days offshore fishing- 4 person/boatAll inclusive including transportation to Pacific Fins from Guatemala City- tips extraReturn Covid test provided Price $3295 per person – flights to and from Guatemala City (GUA) not included. Depending where you are traveling from, round trip airfares have been as low as $189!

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020

Honoring Health Care Heroes

Recognizing all health care workers on the frontlines of COVID-19

Pacific Fins is honoring health care heroes from all over the country. American professionals are putting their lives on the line to help others, it’s time to show them our gratitude.

These workers have shown extraordinary care to their communities and hospitals hit hardest by the crisis in the U.S. We want to give these men and women a complimentary vacation, once they’re able to take time for themselves.

We have teamed up with HUK Apparel, YO-ZURI, Rodriguez Cigars, Eastern Title, King Sailfish Mounts, Biscayne Rod, and Maui Jim Sunglasses, to give a special THANK YOU to these amazing people.

DETAILS:

One Guest Pay and One frontline worker can join them for FREE! That’s right. One angler pays the two per boat “Luxury Package” rate and the Frontline worker is on us!

Package: 3 days fishing, 4 nights. (Can be customized, call for details).

Target species: Sailfish, Dorado, Yellowfin Tuna, Roosterfish, and Marlin.

What is included?

Fishing:

Captain & 2 mates

All fishing tackle and natural bait, either for conventional and/or fly fishing

Beer, rum/vodka, sodas, Gatorade, and bottled water

Fresh fruit and snacks

Hot lunch prepared fresh on board by our mates

Lodging & transportation:

Transportation with an English-speaking driver to and from the airport

Full a-la-carte breakfast

Gourmet dinners with an international a-la-carte menu for your culinary delight (Recommended globally by TOP chefs)

Beer, wine, and spirits included while at the Resort

Included in the package:

Laundry service daily

Wi-Fi Internet service throughout the Resort

International calls to the US via Vonage Phone Service

Sky TV Satellite Service with English Programming

Flat Screen TV’s in each Villa

**Newsletter Picture – Jessica Stark (Left) in NY doing what she does best. Daughter of one PF’s friends**

Help us say thank you to those keeping us safe every day.

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020

Chef Tom Colicchio is fishing the Invitational!

We are excited to welcome to the 5th Annual Guatemala Billfish Invitational, James Beard award–winning chef, Tom Colicchio.

If you are a fan of watching reality food competition on Food Network or other networks, like Bravo TV’s Top Chef… then you should not miss out on this opportunity to fish along side one heck of a Chef.

Host of Bravo’s Top Chef; Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio & Gail Simmons

Colicchio has been involved with Top Chef since its beginning in 2006, where he has served as head judge. He is also the main consulting producer on Bravo’s Top Chef spin-off series entitled Top Chef Masters. He also won an Emmy Award in 2010 for Outstanding Reality-Competition Programming as an executive producer of Top Chef, on which he appears.

These days, Colicchio is busy as ever. When not filming, he has to manage his restaurants, but would love to have more time out on the water.

Colicchio was the host of the reality series Best New Restaurant (an adaptation of the British reality show Ramsay’s Best Restaurant) in 2015. Colicchio appeared in the fifth episode of the first season of HBO’s Treme as himself along with fellow chefs Eric Ripert, David Chang and Wylie Dufresne. He made another cameo in Season 2 alongside Ripert. In 2011, he made cameos in the Season 23 premiere episode of The Simpsons, “The Falcon and the D’ohman,” and The Smurfs.

This is your chance to mingle with a cool guy and other celebs. Want to learn more about the 5th Annual Guatemala Billfish Invitational, give us a call: 888-431-5556 or email me; [email protected].

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020

Our Fleet Never Looked So Good

Now available at Pacific Fins gift shop, our fleet will have their own standout artwork on long-sleeve UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) performance shirts, hooded and non-hooded. Other items that you can look forward to finding at our new and improved gift shop: sunglasses, sun masks, hats, and much more.

So, don’t forget to check out our gift shop before leaving the resort so you too can always have something to look back on for that great experience you shared with friends and/or family.

Take a souvenir from your home away from home and support your favorite boat crew.

February 13, 2020February 13, 2020

New York Yankees CC Sabathia!

We are excited to announce, New New York Yankees pitcher, CC Sabathia to participate in this year’s Guatemala Billfish Invitational.

Baseball is his passion, The New York Yankees is his team, but the man loves to fish!

It is no surprise that when you talk baseball or the New York Yankees, the name CC rings a bell. Yes, CC Sabathia… a left handed pitcher that made history through out his career.

One of those history making news; On December 18, 2008, Sabathia signed a seven-year, $161 million contract with the New York Yankees. It was the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history at the time.

On March 26, 2009, manager Joe Girardi announced that Sabathia would be the Opening Day starter and the starter for the home opener at the new Yankee Stadium. Sabathia finished the season 19–8 with a 3.37 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 230 innings. His 19 wins were tied for the most in the major leagues that year. He was also awarded the August 2009 AL Pitcher of the Month Award, posting a 5–0 record in 6 starts with a 2.64 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 44 ¹⁄₃ innings. The Yankees finished the regular season with a 103–59 record, the best in the Major Leagues.

Sabathia earned his first career postseason victory with the Yankees in the first game of the 2009 ALDS against the Minnesota Twins. He gave up two runs (one earned) in 6 ²⁄₃ innings with eight strikeouts as the Yankees swept the series in three games. Sabathia also won the American League Championship Series (ALCS) Most Valuable Player Award; in two starts against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, he went 2–0 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings. The Yankees beat the Angels in six games to advance to their first World Series since 2003.

Sabathia was effective, posting a 3.29 ERA in 13 ²⁄₃ innings to help lead the Yankees to a series win over the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in six games. The World Series championship was the Yankees’ 27th, their first in the new Yankee Stadium, their first since 2000, and the first of Sabathia’s career. In five postseason starts, Sabathia went 3–1 with a 1.98 ERA. Sabathia finished fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting behind Zack Greinke, Félix Hernández, and Justin Verlander. He also received the Warren Spahn Award for the third year in a row.

Want to be a part of this great event? Book early as there is limited space available.

The tournament costs $3,500 per person and includes four night lodging, double occupancy, daily laundry service, a la carte meals, beverages, transportation to and from the airport and three days of fishing. When fishing with Pacific Fins you can expect all of the tackle and gear to be top-notch and the crews to be on their game. During the tournament there will be four anglers per boat. Each day of fishing also includes snacks, fruit, lunch and beverages.

Last year’s event sold out… so don’t wait till last minute.