Guatemala Sailfish On Fly: Sailfish Bay Lodge

Posted under fly fishing reports by Gregg Arnold

Guatemala Sailfish on fly

Capt Gregg Arnold, our new member of World Angling Crew submits this report about a recent trip he took to Guatemala to fish for Pacific sailfish on fly.
We flew into Guatemala City and took a 90 minute limo ride to Sail Fish Bay Lodge located near Iztapa.  The resort is located on a barrier Island near the Chiquimulia Canal.  Our rooms were first class, and the food was excellent.  Boats and Captains all first class!  I went with Jack & Chris Bookout. The fishing started out pretty fast and furious the first morning as we all hooked up in the first 4 hours. This picture represents the size of the fish that we caught although there were others much larger to be had.  This fish is about 9′ long and roughly 110 lbs.  The gear I used was a Scott 14wt. with a Tibor Pacific with 50# braid backing below 60 # high vis mono that was attached to my fly line.  The fly line had been shortened to about 60′.  I used a 5′ section of 60# as the butt and attached it to the 20# Bimini and Cam Ziegler Squid Fly.  No nonsense rig that did the trick.  Plenty of fish and good times.  The boats are well kept and suited for this kind of fishing including a well stocked cooler with sandwiches and beer.  In the evenings we shared stories, dinner, and adult beverages with the other anglers that were at the lodge. The view was exceptional and the pool just right after a long day fighting fish.

Gregg