Fly Fishing Adventures in Guatemala!

publication date: Jul 20, 2007

'Sailing Away' with Guy Elson

PEZ VELA
Bluewater fly fishing definitely brings elegance and style to offshore angling, but it is not always the most productive technique in this arena. Couple this with a sparsely populated, nomadic quarry like Sailfish and you need to even the odds some how if success on the fly is to be achieved. The solution to this conundrum is the small port of Pez Vela on the pacific sea board of southern Guatemala. Pez Vela, only 3 hours drive from Guatemala City, sits on the outskirts of Port Iztapa and roughly translated means Sailfish. For those who need a little more encouragement, Captain Hook, one of several resident charter boats caught and released 57 Sailfish in one day on a fly here, only one of a myriad of world records held at this port.

This journey started roughly a year ago in Vanuatu (South Pacific). I dearly wanted to catch a Billfish on a fly rod, but four barren days brought home the difficulty of this task. A year passed, but the gauntlet had been laid down and the task of finding Sailfish in April was on. An exhaustive internet search ensued which saw Guatemala turn up trumps with Puerto Iztapa.

Shoehorned between Mexico, Belize and El Salvador the majority of Guatemala’s coast line lies on the pacific. Active volcanoes littered the landscape and cavernous marine mountain ranges spire from the abyss producing a unique fishery, ideally suited for Billfish and only a short ride from the shore. Guatemala City is a four hour flight from Miami International and buses depart from zone four terminal every half hour from 5am to 6pm to Puerto Iztapa. This 3 hour trip cost about $2 US and often is via Escuintla and Puerto San Jose. My girlfriend and I paid $20 US per night for a basic but clean double room at Sol Y Playa Tropical in central Iztapa (881 4365). From here we traveled daily to Puerto Pez Vela, roughly 8 km north by local mini bus costing $10 US return.

Day 1
I arrived into the marina on Monday morning with mixed emotions. We had had some problems the previous night with contacting the captain of the boat and the threat of no boat or captain was heavy on my mind. My fears however soon ebbed away as we were greeted my Tino and his brother and led to their boat. As the dark volcanic beaches of Iztapa dipped under the horizon we deployed two hookless white and blue bubble headed teasers each rigged with a ballyhoo. One hour turned into two with no sign of any Sails then silence was punctuated as line peeled off the right teasers. A large bull Mahi Mahi launched skywards with our teaser but several attempts to feed it a fly ended in frustration. We decided to try another mark. Within ten minutes of trolling a dark bill appeared, slicing the water behind the right teaser. Tino grabbed the rod and artfully teased the fish to within casting distance. With heart in mouth I made a presentation cast and begun stripping line back. This was met by a blistering run but the hook missed its mark. Once again the teasers were released and this time three Sailfish took chase, one of which being larger and noticeably more aggressive then its two counterparts. Another cast saw my fly mauled by the largest Sail estimated at over 100 pounds. Strangely this fish didn’t jump, immediately sounding deep to our stern, soon to be joined by two other sails which remained with him for the duration of the fight. Over an hour passed but the stalemate was broken when our boat maneuvered too quickly giving the fish a slack line and an opportunity to throw the hook.

Day 2
We raised one Sailfish in the morning and had a flurry of hits from several large Mahi Mahi but no hook up with the fly. Early afternoon we raised a 300 pound Blue Marlin which took both teasers but showed little interest in the fly. This encouraged us to get a rigged lure ready just in case another Marlin turned up. Shortly after the first Marlin the short dark Bill of a second Blue Marlin wagged through the wake of our boat. Instinctively Tino cast the rigged lure back into a shot gun position and immediately hooked up. A big Blue estimated at 400 pounds almost spooled my TLD 20 on its first run. Some impressive acrobatics ensued and after an hour we had him grey-hounding on the surface by the boat, but my hopes an early release were not realized. The Marlin sounded which queued a 3 hour arm-wrestle. On 30 pound tackle this fish was not going to accept direction and my arm was starting to make an upsetting clicking noise… I was beaten and we cut the line.

Day 3
Pez Vela was hosting a national game fishing tournament so we accompanied 20 other boats out to the drop off. We decided to do some light tackle trawling for the morning which produced several Bonito. By lunchtime 40 Sails had been tagged in the tournament and a hot Sailfish bite was on. The Sails had become very aggressive, worrying teasers to within a few feet of the boat. We engaged a pack of four mid size Sails, and as the boat pulled into neutral they milled around some 30 yards to our rear. This was my chance, I cast behind them and made my retrieve. One fish split from the pack, engulfed my fly and gently turned. I struck it so hard the rod nearly sprung from my hands surprising both the fish and myself, this time the hook had set! There was a striking difference between the stamina of a 70 pound Sail and one 30 pound its’ senior, offering me far greater control during the fight. Eleven minutes later the Sailfish was boat side and my goal of a Bill fish on the fly had been realized.

We'll be sharing Guy's adventures in Belize soon so keep checking back into Fish & Fly to see what else he gets up to on his fishing travels!

Information

If you would like more information about visiting Guatemala with its fantastic sportfishing opportunities and Mayan history, please visit their tourist website at INGUAT.

Frontiers also offer sportfishing holidays to Guatemala. Click here to see their destinations.

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