The Jan 29th saw Dave Maddaluna, Mike Malin and Dan Wadley release 23 sailfish from 33 bites, with some nice dorado to add to the day. There were plenty fish all over and it seemed they preferred the greener water closer inshore. They went 31 from 37 the next day, great angling and those Laser Sharp Eagle Claw circle hooks doing the trick. Their final day saw the guys release 22 sailfish from 26 bites, to give Dave, Mike and Dan a total of 76 sailfish for their 3 days of fishing, with all the action between 10 and 16 miles.
We started fly-fishing with Carlton and Doug Layton of NC on the 1st of February and raised 18 sailfish, they each caught their first billfish on the fly....nice work guys!!! 2 from 2 on fly, 4 released on conventional and 1 on the spinning gear for a fun day.....flat seas, loads of tailers and jumpers but tuff to get them to bite the fly with so much bait around. The sails stayed a little finicky the next two days but we were able to catch a couple more on fly and some on conventional and spin, as a well a nice blue that would not bite, to make a for a great trip in which the guys were able to learn a lot about the techniques of fly-fishing for billfish to take home with him.
The 4th saw Mike Coe and his son Andy join us for some superb fishing. We caught a sail on fly and then found a log the first day to raise 3 blues but were unlucky not to keep any stuck. Staying on the sails the next day we raised a total of 53 sailfish to release 12 on fly and 4 on spinning gear.........with some nice marlin seen and caught by the fleet, a busy day for an 82 year old angler!!!! We raised 29 sails the next day, releasing 8 on fly, 3 on spinning gear and a 250lb blue marlin on the Alutecnos 30/50 standup outfit to round it all off for the Coe's. Mike has visited us for years and he said it was the best trip ever, sharing such great fishing with his son sure made it even that much more special.
Jeff and Judy Schneider joined us with their longtime red-fish guide and friends Gary and Viki Taylor on the 8th. The first day was very overcast with 3 blue marlin up for the fly rod, but we were unlucky not to convert with one of them teasing right under the fly twice, we did release Gary his first sail on fly...nice going!!! We raised 20 sailfish, 7 miles off the beach the next day on a short day of fly-fishing, releasing 4 on fly and 5 on bait, and Viki's fish billfish on fly...go girl!!! Their final day we released 8 on bait, 1 on fly and some slammer dorado the next day before heading to Antigua to show them all the beautiful sights of the Old City.
We were back at it on the 20th with our Texan friends Bobby and Bryan Richter, and James and Jake Pries, releasing 17 sailfish from 27 bites on bait. 'Decisive' raised 63 sailfish and a blue marlin the next day, mixing it up on both the fly rod and light conventional tackle, releasing a total of 10 sails on fly and 22 on the conventional tackle for another great day. The next day saw us raise 43 sailfish, mixing it up on fly and bait for a total of 9 on fly, 10 on conventional and 5 on spinning gear, for another great day. We raised 40 sailfish the next day and 2 blue marlin. Released 8 sailfish on the fly rod, 15 on bait and some nice dorado for a fresh fish dinner. We unfortunately missed the two blues, one of which was an aggressive fish over 400lbs, but what a sight to see her coming off the teaser and climb onto the pitch bait!!! Flat seas, blue water, jumpers everywhere, loads of action, what a great trip. It just doesn't get much better than this, a great 4 days of fishing, we really get spoilt here in Guatemala.
Jim and Lynne Owens of Alabama started with us on the 24th going 27 from 35 on sails and we missed a nice blue right at the end of the day. The following day the wonderful couple kindly invited Cindy and our son Darren (age 3) along for the action. We ran over the fish by some 10 miles but came back to them for another awesome day, releasing 39 from 46 bites........great anglers made for unreal averages!!! Little Darren released his first of two sailfish, there's no doubt he's getting a head start to things and a proud moment for his dad to see him take to it all so naturally. Now the problem is keeping him off the boat and in school!!! The next day we released 21 sailfish from 28 bites to end a wonderful trip. Double's, triples and quad's were the order of the trip for Jim and Lynne Owens releasing 87 sailfish for their three days with us, some slammer dorado up to 40lbs and a nice marlin we missed.........now that's fishing!!!
The 27th saw our friend Scott Lund with us for a day on the water with his friend Ron Lameneck. We left the sailfish and went out wide looking for a blue for Ron, a nice one showed on the teasers but wouldn't play. The sails we saw were tricky on the fly but we did release 7 on bait and caught 5 nice yellowfin tuna for sushi dinners.
Roger Linder, Jim Hoolihan, Tim Bonner and Gene Radecki all of Minnesota started a 4 day trip with us the 28th releasing 21 sailfish from 34 bites, catching 4 yellowfin around the spinner dolphins, always an amazing sight. The following day we released 14 from 18 bites and 16 from 20 the next. The boys finished off with another outstanding day releasing 39 sailfish from 56 bites to put the icing on a trip they just couldn't stop raving about.
The hot teaser for the month has been the Legend Lures new chromed Krakatoa, we only use Berkley Trilene line, Alutecnos reels/rods, Eagle Claw circle hooks and Pelagic Offshore Gear so we are lucky enough to be some of the best equipped in the game, and the results show with the numbers we get to post each month.
Until next report, tight lines and healthy releases.
Capt. Brad Philipps
''Decisive''