I see on some social media outlets, people are gearing up for their hunting trips. Well, I think it’s time to put away that hunting gear in exchange for some rod bending fun. Heck… why not do both!
Here is this week’s fishing report:
Tejada Group: Fishing one days; aboard Maverick – went 5 for 5 on Sails, and caught 5 Dorados.
Andrade Group: Fishing one day; aboard Maverick, 4 for 5 on Sails, raised 4 blue marlin (none wanted to bite), but made up with a striped marlin release (picture below). Also, 7 dorados.
Aramburu Group: Fishing one day; aboard Chechos, 10 for 16 on Sails, 5 dorados – 1 of them being 50lbs.
Amunategui Group: Fishing 2 days; aboard Chechos – raised 16 Sailfish, had 13 bites and released 9. Went 1 for 1 on blue marlin (350lbs) and 3 yellowfin tunas.
Hamilton Group: Fishing two days; aboard Sirena, raised 12 Sails, had 10 bites and released 6. 1 for 2 on blue marlin (est. 250 lbs). 11 dorados and 1 yellowfin tuna.
Powers Group: Fishing three days, inshore & offshore; aboard Maverick, raised 30 Sails, had 24 bites and released 11. Also, 12 dorados. Inshore fishing: raised 69 Roosters, had 55 bites and released 33.
If you got to notice the cover photo of a big yellowfin tuna, it’s a 184 beast that was caught by Grandslam. Just when you think the tuna bite starts to taper off, you never know…
We look forward to your visit! Give us a call at 888-431-5556 or email us at ozzy@pacificfinsresort.com
Per our last newsletter, we expressed Fall fishing should be on your radar. Well folks, the season is here! The fish are biting and the guests are happy.
Autumn is the lost season for countless anglers who trade their time on the water for hunting, football and indoor activities from September through December.
Too bad! They are missing out on what could be their most cherished season — if only they would give it a chance!
Here are some numbers of this week’s action:
Beer Group: Fishing four days; aboard Chechos – raised 46 Sailfish, had 43 bites, and released 35.
Another highlight for the group was the blue marlin wanted to play. They released 3 out of 4 bites with the man in the blue suit.
And for lunch and dinner; 5 Dorado.
Menedez Group: Fishing 1 day; aboard Chechos – raised 5 Sailfish and had 4 bites. Went 1 for 1 on blue marlin and 6 Dorado.
Evans Group: Fishing half day; aboard Maverick, 2 for 3 on Sails, 1 for 1 on blue marlin (est. 300 lbs) and 1 Dorado.
If you are planning to join us this Fall or 2020 season, I would highly recommend to contact us soon. Our phones are ringing and our calendar is filling up.
We look forward to your visit! Give us a call at 888-431-5556 or email us at ozzy@pacificfinsresort.com
Whether you save money for a destination dream hunt or a bucket list fish you are after, perhaps there’s no better way to recount those memories than through taxidermy.
(Photo – Blue & Black Marlin)
A nice mount serves as a meaningful home décor and a conversation piece with guests – what better way to brag about your accomplishment than through an actual replica.
At Pacific Fins, we proudly offer our guest a company that has the reputation of making the best fish replicas around. This is why we have Kingsailfish Mounts as the official taxidermist of Pacific Fins Resort.
The artists at KSM will make your mount explode to life with vibrant colors, animated action and extra details you don’t often come by.
King Sailfish Mounts has grown to be a World-Class producer of Fish Mounts and a solid leader in Marine Conservation. KSM continues to produce mounts in the traditional manner, by hand…One-At-A-Time…with extreme accuracy in keeping with the same principals that led to KSM’s initial success in the field of fiberglass fish reproductions.
Here are more examples of their amazing work:
Rooster Fish
Striped Marlin
Sailfish
Yellowfin Tuna
Cubera Snapper
Your rooms will have KSM brochures and aboard our fleet. The crew will supply you with the necessary information to order your mount. Or simply visit their website and let them know you caught and released your fish while at PF.
Fall is quickly approaching and October starts our peak season. I may sound like a broken record, but Guatemala’s calm Pacific Coast is hands down one of the greatest billfishing destination in the world. Our waters hold some of the highest concentration of billfish year round. Guatemala has both the conventional and fly fishing records for most sailfish released in one day. In addition to sailfish and marlin, yellowfin tuna, and dorado are omnipresent. And if we have another banner season of yellowfin tuna like we are having in 2019, it’s going to be one not to miss.
Your trip will become a lifetime remembering experience, coupled with volcano, mangroves and natural reserves in the background. You are in for a sportfishing experience of a lifetime.
A sight that never gets old…the acrobatic displays of billfish.
Coming in HOT! Nothing gets the blood pumping than a lit up Sail on your bait.
There is no surprise in the fishing industry and internationally, Guatemala is the GO-TO destination – “Anyone looking for high numbers of Pacific sails need look no further than Iztapa and neighboring Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala, where sport-fishing fleets tally two dozen or more releases most days this time of year.” – Saltwater Sportsman Magazine.
September and October are still part of our “Marlin Guarantee” promo.Book our most popular package, 3 days fishing, 4 nights for Sept or Oct and 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! For more info, contact us.
I could keep on writing about our fishery, but I would rather not spoil the surprise.
Check out our website at https://pacificfinsresort.com for more information. Feel free to contact us at 888-431-5556 or ozzy@pacificfinsresort.com with any questions.
Guatemala has so much to see and offer. One thing that you must experience while in Guatemala is hiking on an active volcano. Volcán Pacaya is one of the highest rates of volcanic activity in the world, but don’t expect to see a massive eruption. The strombolian eruptions and ash eruptions are mild. Pacaya is a popular hiking destination because the hike isn’t too strenuous and you’re rewarded with great views at the top. On the way you have various rest stops and fruit stands, stop off at gas vents to toast some marshmallows. Have you ever skied? Volcano Skiing is a whole new experience. On the way down you slide through lava rubble and ashes. The lava rock has healing properties. It grounds you and help you release emotional attachments because of its raw energy.
Looking for a summer time of action packed reel screaming fun? If you do… you better hurry, summer will end soon for many.
We are happy to say that this summer, the fishing has stayed steady. The man in the blue suit, aka blue marlin are around and can make an appearance in the spread any given time. The yellowfin tuna are in the 30-40 mile range in scattered schools of spinner dolphin – ranging from 20-50lbs. But, this summer has already produced some nice ones as well – a few over 100lbs and 150 pounder.
The Dorado, which I am not going to call them Mahi-Mahi (that’s in Hawaii) are almost guaranteed every trip – nothing beats fresh Dorado for lunch on the boat. You can always look forward to Sashimi or an amazing Sandwich, it’s Guatelicious.
Weather? The sun has been shinning on us most of the days. You might get a shower here of there at night.
The reason why so many come here, Sailfish. The Sailfish action has been good this summer. Double digit raises has been the norm and we are not in the peak season. It’s great to see these many raises, you might think they will be lower numbers, but hey… this is Guatemala, The Sailfish Capital of the World!
If you are interested in doing some inshore, I have to say that the Rooster fishing has been out of this world. We recently had one trip of 52 raises, which had 35 bites. Yes folks, 52!
Three weeks ago, I sent out a newsletter expressing how good Summer is in Guatemala. Well…I should have been a betting man.
While many know that our waters hold loads of sailfish, particularly during the peak season from November through June, many don’t realize this region hosts good numbers of blue marlin and plenty of dorado, aka mahi-mahi during the rainy season (summer and early fall). Not to mention how good the yellowfin tuna bite has been this year and the bigger fish being caught.
The crew of Maverick and angler Mr. Schmid with an impressive 155 lb trophy.
Besides this awesome tuna, Mr. Schmid had 18 Sailfish bites and released 15. 13 dorados, 6 yellowfin between 40-50 lb range and a 100 lb yellowfin tuna to start day one. Lets not forget the hot marlin bite going on this time of year. Schmid also released a 350 lb blue. And of course going home with a bang…the trophy fish pictured above. We can surely say that Mr. Schmid went home all smiles!
Mr. Schmid and his blue.
So, when someone asks me if Guatemala has an off season? It doesn’t. With that, bring on the rain, bring on the sunshine, there is fish to be caught!
In April 2018 at the Guatemala Celebrity Pro-am invitation fishing tournament, University of Miami researchers deployed 10 satellite tags off the coast of Guatemala to study the behavior and habitat use of sailfish in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). Of the 10 satellite tags, 7 produced high quality data sets while 1 tagged sailfish was caught by commercial fisherman off Mexico and 1 tagged sailfish died due to post release mortality. The final remaining tag status remains unknown and likely represents a mortality or fishery event.
Of the 7 tags with data, no sailfish traveled eastward toward El Salvador and Nicaragua while all tagged sailfish traveled westward, northwestward or southwestward (Figure 1 Top). This is consistent with the majority of sailfish tagged throughout the EPO.
Figure 1: (Top) Map of seven satellite tags placed on sailfish off Guatemala in April 2018. (Bottom) Zoomed in map of sailfish tag density created from satellite tag data showing regions of highest sailfish presence in shades of blue with darker shades inidicating higher levels of tag density.
Sailfish traveled to regions known to be productivity hotspots such as the San Jose Canyon off the coast of Guatemala and the Tehuantepec upwelling system south of the Mexican coast indicated by the darker blue in Figure 1 bottom plot. Tagged sailfish tended to immediately leave the tagging location after the tagging event but only 2 of these made long distance migratory movements outside of the EPO region toward the west. The majority of sailfish stayed in the region with multiple sailfish returning to the relative location where tagging occurred.
The likelihood of sailfish to remain coastal within the Guatemalan economic zone region is critical for management and conservation as measures to protect this species within Guatemala may be more effective than in other locales given the high density of local sailfish. Through regional conservation regulations such as those put in place by the Guatemala Sailfish Conservation Commission, it will be possible to maintain the high catch rates seen historically in the region.
Sailfish preference for specific habitat ranges can be obtained from the tagging data and when analyzed next to sea surface temperature, a clear preference for the EPO warm pool is present (Figure 2). Here we see a preference for waters between 29o and 30o Celsius with a range of 26o to 32o Celsius. This is just one example of sailfish preference estimation made possible with the use of satellite tagging data and available satellite oceanographic information.
You want to have a better understanding of how sea-surface temperature (SST) charts and satellite imagery can help you find fish. You want to learn how to rig baits like a pro. And you want to fish an incredible location without any hassle.
With Expedition FishTrack you can build your fishing resume and improve upon all of these skills while networking with fellow anglers and enjoy three full days of fishing for sailfish and marlin.
This all-inclusive trip includes three days fishing for sailfish and marlin at Pacific Fins in Guatemala, as well as evening seminars. Dates are December 7-11, 2019. Space is very limited.
Scheduled for December 7-11, 2019, the inaugural Expedition FishTrack will be hosted by Pacific Fins Resort and Marina in Guatemala, home to the world’s most best billfish bite. The expedition includes three days of guided fishing, instructional seminars, on-water fishing tips, four nights lodging, all food and beverage, airport transfers, use of tackle and a take home swag bag. Cost is $4,500 per person, and FishTrack Premium members receive a discount of $150, so if you’re not already a premium member make sure to join now.
“We often get asked how the satellite imagery and sea-surface temperature charts on FishTrack helps anglers find more fish, so we try to come up with interactive ways to educate our users,” says Charlie Levine, FishTrack editor and publisher. “Expedition FishTrack is a program that brings it all together. We will host informal evening seminars, as well as on-water angling and boat-handling instruction. And luckily for everyone who attends Expedition FishTrack, we’ve partnered with Pacific Fins Resort and Marina in Guatemala, a world-class fishing lodge with excellent boats and accommodations.”
INSTRUCTORS
Tony DiGiulian, Lead Instructor: Tony has more than 40 years experience as a captain, mate and consultant. He has led clients to more than 10,000 billfish captures. He co-founded the IGFA School of Sportfishing and runs fishing seminars at many of the top boat shows. He is a dedicated conservationist and was named The Billfish Foundation’s Conservation Ambassador in 2010. Tony will lead all bait-rigging and angling seminars at Expedition FishTrack.
Charlie Levine: Charlie is the Editor and Publisher of FishTrack.com and helped grow the satellite imagery provider from its beginnings into one of the most trusted SST services in the offshore fishing world. He has fished many hot spots around the world and has written hundreds of articles on all facets of sport fishing. Charlie will run satellite imagery seminars and tutorials at Expedition FishTrack.
Ozzy Delgado: Based out of Miami, Florida, Ozzy is an experienced offshore angler and fly-fisherman. Ozzy has worked in the sportfishing industry for many years, with stints at Grundéns, Guy Harvey Magazine and Mako Marine. He is currently the VP of sales and marketing for Pacific Fins. Ozzy will make sure all students have everything they need on site.
SCHEDULE
Arrive December 7: All guests are responsible for booking their own airfare to Guatemala City. Once you arrive, clear customs and head for the airport exit. Students will be welcomed at the airport by Pacific Fins staff. All travel is extremely safe and hosted. Board the Pacific Fins vans for the ride to the coast. Upon arrival at the resort, enjoy a welcome beverage and feel free to freshen up. There will be a group dinner where guests can choose from the outstanding menu prepared by the on-staff gourmet chef. Students will have a chance to network with one another over dinner and drinks. The Expedition FishTrackstaff will have welcome remarks, explain the agenda and hand out swag bags.
Fish December 8: Guests will gather for breakfast and boat assignments will be given out. Each student will have a chance to fish with each instructor over the three days of fishing. While driving out to the fishing grounds, students will be briefed on the drop-back and pitch-baiting techniques used in Guatemala, where sailfish and marlin are caught on circle-hook rigged ballyhoo with 30-pound fishing gear. After fishing, return to the lodge. Take time to freshen up, enjoy appetizers, drinks and dinner. Evening talk about satellite imagery, sea-surface temperature charts, chlorophyll charts, altimetry, tide, currents and all of the tools on FishTrack that helps anglers find hot spots, anywhere in the world. The floor will be open for questions and each individual will have ample time with FishTrack staff to make sure they understand how to use these valuable tools to help them find fish in their home waters and abroad.
Fish December 9: Guests will gather for breakfast and boat assignments will be given out. On the ride out to the fishing grounds we will compare sea surface temperature charts with real-time conditions. Each angler will have plenty of time to bring up more questions about angling techniques or FishTrack tools. After fishing, return to the lodge for appetizers, dinner and drinks. Lead instructor Tony DiGiulian will run a bait-rigging demonstration. Some of the baits he will teach include the circle-hook ballyhoo, o-ring ballyhoo, Spanish mackerel, strip baits and any other rigs students would like to see.
Fish December 10: After breakfast, guests will head to the marina. On this day we will host a mini tournament with awards for most fish caught and most improved angler. After fishing, guests will be driven back to Pacific Fins to enjoy appetizers, drinks and dinner. After dinner, Pacific Fins owner Niels Erichsen will lead a discussion about billfish conservation. Niels has been keeping records on the local sailfish population for many years and can highlight this fishery, the issues of post-release mortality and how important circle hooks are to our mission of sustaining this valuable resource. After this discussion, awards and diplomas will be handed out to Expedition FishTrack participants.
December 11: Guests will enjoy breakfast before departing for the airport. The staff from Pacific Fins can also plan excursions for this day if you’d like to stay and visit the local volcanos, catch a roosterfish, schedule additional fishing days or head to the colonial city of Antigua for some shopping and tours. For more information on the excursions available contact Ozzy at ozzy@pacificfinsresort.com.
FishTrack is extremely excited to launch this new program. Expedition FishTrack is open to any and all anglers from anywhere in the world. Take advantage of this affordable trip and come meet your fellow anglers while fine-tuning your skills. You will go home a better angler. That much we can guarantee. For more information, contact Charlie Levine at clevine@fishtrack.com or 407-222-3893.
What is Unfathomed you may ask… Unfathomed with Captain George Gozdz strives to present the highest quality fishing show that appeals to fisherman and non-fisherman alike through portraying the outdoor lifestyle with cinematic storytelling. Fishing will serve as the bond to combine unique personalities, exciting destinations, and fishery education to provide an engaging viewer experience.
Meet Capt. George:
Throughout his childhood, fishing was George’s true passion. As a young boy, he fished the waterways of Florida and dreamed of one day becoming a famous fisherman like his television idols. As a young man, with that dream still in his heart, he entered the field of emergency medicine, but his down time was always spent on the water. 15 years in a high-stress work environment convinced this father of 2 to follow his dreams. After several years operating as a local guide, Captain George became a frequent guest host on a number of popular fishing shows. In 2010, this exposure and his reputation as an angler’s angler led him to being tapped as the host of one of the most popular fishing shows “Reel Time Florida Sportsman” that has run for 8 seasons. With over 100 shows, Captain George has garnered an incredible following and proven his loyalty to industry partners. With Captain George as the host, RTFS has had mass appeal due to its innovative approach with use of compelling storytelling based on the outdoors, combined with cutting edge cinematography.
Unfathomed 2019 Episode 2- Guatemala part 1. Join George as he travels to Pacific Fins in Guatemala and experiences the best billfishing in the world. Fishing is only half the lure in this beautiful country. George sets off on an adventure and experiences the volcano Pacaya, the mountain coffee fields, the ancient city of Antigua, and more.
Unfathomed 2019 Episode 3- Guatemala part 2. The journey of discovery continues in Guatemala. Incredible sailfish action is also highlighted by the rich culture of this wonderful country. After multiple sailfish releases including one on a fly rod, George travels to explore the volcano Pacaya.
