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Capt. "Guatemala" Dave's Latest Report

February 25, 2011, It sounds like Capt. Gerry has had his hands full fishing since his last report. Even though the sailfish numbers haven't been at the historic level there has been a great mixed bag and lots of action.  He has even busier than normal since he is jumping form coast to coast to fish the Caribbean quite a bit as well.  If you do want the ultimate fishing trip and you have some time the possibility of a full blown two coast safari is always there and Gerry can lead you the whole way.

Gerry did send me a couple of video files which I haven't been able to open yet.  If I do I will get them where you can see them.

February 12, 2011, One thing you can depend on in Guatemala this time of year is consistently fantastic fishing.  I absolutely love opening my email box and getting these reports from Captain Gerry.  As Gerry gets the "Tijereta" into her groove we are realizing what we already knew, that the boat does not have the speed or the size to keep up with the big boys which is why we have a great Captain to at least keep on top of the best fishing.  As we get some time on the water to fine tune the spots and techniques we are planning to specifically target the inshore bottom fishing over rocks and reefs that produces amazing catches of snapper and grouper for the local hand liners.  It's hard to pull away from the fantastic offshore billfishing, but sometimes you just need something completely different.  So if you want to give it a try we can talk about the possibilities.

If you noticed in Gerry's report above that the marlin was the same one from the last report, but when excitement like that breaks out it's hard to avoid repeating yourself.  Up here in Atlantic City the snow has finally melted, but by no means can you say that the weather has broken.  I would still rather talk "Guatemala" than do all the busy work that proceeds the season opener here so if you have any questions on any trip south I'm ready to help out.

February 9, 2011,  Up here cabin fever is hitting its peak, as of now we are only three weeks from the start of Striper season, at least on the rule books.  It will be almost two months until the bite really turns on and I'm out chasing every day.  Until then I spend too much time thinking about the tropics and it gets hard to even wait for the reports to come in from Guatemala.  We are finally getting the boat out more frequently and it looks like Gerry did get a morning off so he sent me a few lines already and hopefully has more report and some pictures on the way.

So while I am waiting for more reports I'll keep plugging away here in the cold stocking shelves and getting everything ready for a spring to come, but remember it's always spring in Guatemala and you could be fishing tomorrow.  Give me a call and we'll talk about the possibilities.

February 2, 2011, The Ground Hog didn't see his shadow here in South Jersey, but the sun was bright and HOT on the Pacific Ocean in Guatemala.  and the fishing has even been hotter recently.  Dennis went out on a good by trip Sunday the 30th and what he had to say was short and sweet: "Subject: BIG FISH CLOSE IN, YES the big bad boys are 5 and 6 miles from the marina. Well yesterday Capt. Jerry had Sarah and Dustin out and the inshore fishing seemed to be slowing down, but they went 3 for 3 on big sailfish and brought home a 12# Dorado perfect for Ceviche and couldn't get away from the skipjacks that were tearing up the baits.  Capt. Gerry had to pull the hooked baits and go strictly to bait and switch with teasers only to get to the sails.  Tomorrow will be another day and I'm hoping for another report. but here's Gerry's take on the situation.  Please note the Marlin action:

January 30, 2011, Capt. Dennis has been busy keeping the fleet running like the well oiled machine that he demands and hasn't had much time to get his angle in on the reports.  Finally everything is coming together and it looks great for the best of the season.  Not only are the next few months the most consistent fishing of the year, but it also translates into the best weather throughout the country and the best time to visit all of Guatemala's wonders.  And to top it all of Semana Santa falls in Late April and that is the big vacation time for the Guatemalan population.  So besides the boats he is keeping the bakery,  "Dona Luisa Xicotencatl" in Antigua running as well. 

Dennis deserves a break and now that we're running on course he is taking a vacation in February, but everything in taken care of by Capt. Gerry, the other Captains and the Parlama manager Sergio Alfaro who is always available at Marina Pez Vela office for last minute reservations or questions.  (502) 5709-8697.

As I mentioned in my last report "Verano" is arriving in Guatemala and the fishing is coming with it.  Here are the few lines Capt. Dennis did manage to send me:

I am trying to get all boats operational this week because I am off on vacation the month of Feb. I don't want the captains and crew to have to deal with this stuff. The fishing has started to really pop. Big numbers as close as 5 miles offshore. Catching fish and watching whales cruise by is what is happening right now. I will be out tomorrow on Tijereta and will send you a report.

Den

So the BITE IS ON and I hope Dennis and Gerry remember their cameras so I can really get to show how good it is!  It really is hard to sit here and write this when outside my window is snow and ice and right about now 8:49 Atlantic City Time, 7:49 Marina Pez Vela time Dennis is dropping lines in calm, blue Pacific Ocean waters.

January 27, 2011 Getting reports out of Captain Gerry can be like pulling teeth, actually it has been a little slow especially on the customer end.  For the most part the sailfish bite has been farther offshore, but Gerry assures me that the weather and the water are coming into the regular "Verano" attitude which means that they are calmer and the blue water will continually work it's way closer to the beach.  This should set up a fantastic fishery for the next few months.  He has had some good activity on the Caribbean side however where he runs trips out of the Rio Dulce and heads for the southern end of the Keys of Belize where there is a variety of fishing.  Here's a picture of a typical Grouper.  Keep an eye on this site for complete information.  I do have a good collection of pictures to post and will have a separate page soon.  For now see all the basics at www.parlama.con    Now here is what Capt. Gerry had to say for himself:

It has taken quite a bit of effort to get the fishing vacation packages together that Captains Dennis, Gerry and myself are satisfied with, but it is coming together.  We are looking for the best choices especially in variety and value in addition to prices.  I will go into this in much more detail later, but the option of working completely out of Antigua is more and more appealing.  One thing that makes it easy is that since Capt. Gerry lives in Antigua and goes down the hill every day any way he will take up to four customers both ways for only $20 each.  The ride is almost exactly one hour thru the mountains between the volcanoes and across the tropical coastal plain with some of the greatest scenery I have ever seen.  We also have great airport connections so if you can put together a group of three anglers we can pick you up at the airport take you to Antigua, spend four nights and three days fishing on the "Tijereta" with breakfast and lunch included for $900 a person.  I did not include the dinners because Antigua is such a great tourist town with such a variety of restaurants and night life that you will want to experience something different every night.  Personally I suggest that you give the Steak Houses a try.  Guatemalan Beef on the "Churrasco" is something that must be experienced.

January 4, 2011 Now  we are getting into the New Year and with the Christmas to New Year week finally over I got communication with Capt. Gerry.  He said it was a busy week with lots of Guatemalans Fishing.  Of course they love the action and since the sailfish were being a little hard to come by they concentrated on good eating Dorados that surely made great additions to lots of Holiday Fiestas. 

Here's  Gerry's Report on the Fishing

I'm sure as soon as those "Northers" that Capt. Gerry mention pass as we get a little farther past the Winter Solstice conditions will improve and the sailfish bite that started up in November will be back with a vengeance.  My father in law was up for a visit with us last week and I was really impressed with the connections that Spirit Airlines out of Atlantic City International made even working around the monster snow storm.  This is great news if you want to get out of South Jersey.  I also checked their web site and they have some great pricing in February and March so if the weather has got you down get on the computer and give me a call to check availability and we'll make it happen.

December 23, 2010 I just got another email from Capt. Gerry and getting him on the water gets him more into it.  The Tijereta is looking more and more like a great platform to enjoy Guatemala's Pacific Ocean and Gerry is putting her on the fish.  Here is his own report:

 

My interview with Tom P. has already shook up a couple sailfish aficionados and they will be headed south, If you missed the Rack and Fin Radio Show I should have it posted up here for all to hear shortly.  All these fish stories are really making this NJ cold even worse and I can't wait to be able to get my own travel plans together.  Besides I will really miss the Christmas celebration in Guatemala.  I wish everyone could see the fireworks that completely fill Guatemala City at midnight on December 24th, it is truly amazing, and the Tamales that come after are pretty darn good as well.

December 20, 2010 Christmas holiday in Guatemala is Beach time  and especially fishing time.  We are getting some trips together so if you want to squeeze between Christmas and New Years act NOW.  We are seeing some great fishing going on and the Tijereta did get in a trip last Saturday.  Captain Gerry was hard at work, but he did manage to snap me a picture of one sailfish that was released out of a total of 5.  Hopefully he will keep the camera handy and keep sending them along. 

Capt. Gerry has also started sending me some pictures from his Caribbean, Rio Dulce trips and that looks fantastic. I ll be posting a lot more on this option but at the moment you can check out the trips on www.parlama.com and here is just a bit of the Tropics.

 

As I get more going I will post on the Rio Dulce page  Right now it's back to the cold.

December 6, 2010, It looks like the fishing in Guatemala is getting started while the Atlantic City Fishing is really cooling down.  I've had a couple of emails from Capt. Dennis and the fishing season is underway and we have the Tijereta really running right.  The only problem is that we have to get it out more often, which of course is only a problem for us.  If you are looking for a trip that is good news because we have plenty of open dates.  Right now I am really getting things together and hope to have some really great packages ready for publication very soon.  Right now a daily charter on the Tijereta is $600 which is just about half of any other sportfisherman currently available.  Remember that we also have the Parlama 23' outboards available which also catch fish and they are only $375 per day.  Here is Capt. Dennis' report on one of the Panga trips.

Dear Capt. David,

I hope to have a personal schedule out soon where I will be a "Tour Director" for the groups.  Check out the weather stickers on the main page and you'll see that it is one heck of a lot nicer down there.

September 11, 2010, Thursday the 9th was the first Charter for La Tijereta, and unfortunately we ran into a couple of small issues that were overcome, but it was a slow and difficult day evidently there was lots of bait and structure in the water but only one school
Dorado and a Large Sierra came aboard.  Ziggy the local mechanical genius was waiting to correct a steering problem to be ready for yesterdays trip #2.  This time things went much better and I will attach Dennis' report since he says it quite well.

Capt. David,

So we are definitely ready to go and if and when the weather and the bite comes together we can make it happen.  Unfortunately Dennis didn't send me any pictures yet.  Hopefully some were shot on this trip and I'll get them posted.

August 30, 2010, Break out the Champagne!  After a rebuild of the intercooler Dennis made another sea trial and everything checked out.  Here are his words:

"Today 29/8/10 we launched Tijereta into small craft warnings. We were one of two boats out. We got her up on a plane at 3300 we were doing 18 to 19 knots and 170 degrees temp. It tops out at 20+/- knots but the over heating is gone. We beat around in the slop and caught four bonitas and decided to pack it in after about three hours. I believe we are in business. Den"

Now it is the time to get to the serious business of catching fish.  Actually we didn't rush the Intercooler project too much since the rainy season weather has actually been a little worse than normal and Guatemala is still cleaning up from the earlier Hurricanes and Tropical Storms that have raised havoc with the countries roads and infrastructure.  Dennis has continued to assist Guatemala in many ways for the fourty plus years since he arrived with the Peace Corp.  I will repeat his call for help here since once the weather clears it is hard to remember that the suffering continues.  This e-mail came 6/2/2010 but the need is still there.

Dear Friends of Guatemala,

Back to the fishing, It is going to get good soon and we will be ready.   Dennis is ready to get you out fishing TODAY and I am in the process of putting together complete vacation packages that will show you all the wonders that Guatemala has to offer as well as the fantastic fishing.  Keep an eye out for continued reports and e-mail or give me a call any time to discuss your adventure.

August 1, 2010, As with any new venture we have hit our share of snags.   Some general used boat problems, and a lot of tough weather from Mother Nature.  Two Tropical Storms pounded Guatemala,  Hurricane Agatha was the big one and really beat up on the roads and Bridges.  Then they had one come in and dump more rain from the other coast.  Then to add to that Volcano Pacaya dumped ash over most of the country.  The good news is the boat has been fishing, so far just inshore since we've had some difficulty with the boat overheating at high speed. 

April 24, 2010, It's been almost a month since the last report, but Dennis if not looking for perfection is putting out the effort for a great fishing machine.  I got an email about a week ago that said they were making the trip down to the Marina last week, however until yesterday I hadn't heard confirmation.  It seems that Dennis' information about the trip was lost in cyberspace so he updated me yesterday.  I guess that is best said in his words,

 "Well the big news was that it went down on the 15th. We left at 4:30 am to beat the traffic here in Antigua and Ciudad Vieja. That all came off like clock work. The truck with the turbo fixed pulled like it was hauling a little red wagon. We delivered the boat , talked with the guys and were back in Antigua by 8:30. Wed. night the 21st. Otto the glass man called to say he finished the gel coat on the deck and wanted two days for it to properly dry. With that we will probably start the motor and check the systems on land tomorrow and start sea trials Sunday or Monday. I'm ready. Den"

He sent one picture from the marina where our Pocket Sportfisherman will join the big battle wagons on the Pacific Ocean and I know Capt. Gerry and Capt. Dennis will dig into their experience and knowledge to keep right up with them, maybe not in speed but I know they will post great numbers, but even more important great fun which is what it really is all about.

March 28, 2010, We're making progress, pictures are up and an email from Capt. Dennis.  I've been trying to catch up on the Absecon Marina work since I got back last Monday, but I've been thinking Guatemala almost every minute.  I finally got an email from Capt. Dennis and it sounds like we are going great and will have one heck of a fishing machine in a couple weeks.  Here are his words:

March 21, 2010, The Trip is almost over, but the adventure begins ! Today it's pack the bags and have a "despidida" with the family to catch a plane tomorrow.  I know I haven't had a chance to update the reports for the last ten days, but everything is finally rolling along like it should even though we are almost a month off of what I hoped would be our schedule.  Last weekend was a quick family trip down to the Esquintla area where my brother in law's family has a small vacation rancho where we spend a night catching up on old times and catching a few cocktails, and sweating them out in the costal heat.  But it was back here to the city by noon Sunday to have Capt. Dennis pick me up along with his able employee, Carlos to head down to Puerto Barrios to spend the night before facing the bureaucracy of the Customs house of Puerto Santo Tomas on Monday morning.  I hope to get a chance to get a better description of the process, but even though a huge number of people had previously checked the papers and all taxes had been paid , Dennis and I had to don reflective vests and hard hats and present the paperwork to at least five more offices before we were finally allowed to leave the Customs Area of Puerto Santo Tomas.  After arriving at the Bank at 8:30 in the morning to start the process, we crossed the gate at almost noon exactly. (pictures are up click here)

 I have to admit I had my doubts about getting that 9,000 pound monster up the hill with Dennis' Ford Ranger Diesel truck , but it definitely was up for the task.  The only slight setback was that we blew the hose to the turbo and when sucking air we couldn't keep up the uphill rpms.  After a couple quick patches with tape that didn't hold up to the heat we stripped some hose clamps off the boat and wrapped the hole with an intertube and clamped it in place.  By the time we hit Antigua it was 10:00pm and Dennis had finally found the right combination of gears and rpms to make it ride well, Hopefully he won't need that knowledge much more after he drives it on a one way trip to the Pacific. 

In Antigua the boat spent the first night on the street then we snuck it thru his gateway to the yard where he has a garage and easy access to tools.  This was a tight fit and I will be much more descriptive when I get the pictures posted.  That morning was when I got to meet Captain Gerald Jordan, A very experienced and colorful Guatemalan/American who came over from the other side of the country on Rio Dulce, who will have the job of completing all our sea trials and being the Tijereta's first Guatemalan Captain until Capt. Dennis' next big project on the Caribbean becomes a reality.  Much more on that later.  I spent all day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and till noon on Friday working with Dennis and Gerry and we made an amazing amount of progress.  I know not to be too optimistic, but there is a possibility that the boat could hit the water during Easter Week.  I will tell you that whenever it does it will be Right and it will be one hell of a fishing machine. 

I've got lots more to say and pictures to post, but the time had come to pack bags and say family goodbyes so that will come after I reach New Jersey , so for now Adios from Guatemala.

March 10, 2010, Finally a breakthrough ! I got a call from Dennis yesterday and all the paperwork has been approved! Now comes the real work.  His administrator has to makes some kind of final payment then I will go with Capt. Dennis on the ride to the Caribbean side of Guatemala to make the pickup. He still has to figure our exact plan and timetable because he is fishing today on one of his other boats, which will give me a report later, but what I see as the most difficult is figuring what would be the best time to negotiate the traffic here in Guatemala City.  This is truly a metropolitan city and since it was founded in the  1500's long before the Pilgrims even thought of heading to New England, which means the roadways are made for walking and horse carts and now the amount of cars per capita is approaching that of the United states.  There is a loop road which we will be using that goes from the Atlantic Road to the Pan American Highway which is where we have to go, but it still will be very crowded.  Before the boat left I repacked the trailer axels and the tires look good so I hope just to have an interesting uneventful HOT ride down the Atlantic Costal Plane.  I probably won't get back to this computer until after we get the boat together, but I'll leave updates on the other message boards.

March 8, 2010, A little wind out of my sails, but... progress is being made.  I've been in Guatemala about four days now and had to bring down some final paperwork to get the boat out of the Customs House.  Dennis and I thought it was going to happen last Friday, but of all things Friday was the Saint Day for Santo Tomas the Patron Saint of the port town and EVERYONE had a holiday.  Hopefully the boat will be released today and the plan is that Dennis is going to drive down to Puerto Santo Tomas this afternoon and bring it back tomorrow.  The ride down is about 5 1/2 hours and Dennis figures that the ride back will be about double that with a mostly uphill drive and traffic to deal with around Guatemala City to get back down to Antigua.  If that goes as planned I'll be heading down to Antigua to help with the rigging and I may still see the boat hit the water.

February 26, 2010,  It's Full Steam Ahead !! Finally after finding all the papers and paying all the taxes Capt. Dennis will have the Tijereta hauled up to Antigua today so we can finish the rigging and go fishing.  That is great news as I am sitting here in another blizzard and really can't wait to get down there.  I have my reservations and I will be traveling with my wife Judy and son Kevin next Wednesday.  We will be staying down until March 22 to allow enough time to get things set up right, hopefully catch a few fish and do a little relaxing and recuperation to get ready for the next New Jersey fishing season.  Of course the Store here in NJ will be open with my right hand Ray manning the counter and counting out the bloodworms. 

Now that I have firm dates when I will be in Guatemala if you want to meet me down there I'll do my best to see that you get the best trip possible.  In this day of electronic communication it is great that we can communicate so easily just click on this email link write me a line, and if I am where I can get at a computer I'll get back to you.  Unfortunately I am not equipted with all the latest portable technology so there may be some lag time.  If you are interested Ray will be able to give you a local phone number where I will be reached and you can call Capt. Dennis in Guatemala at 011-502-5704-4254 or 011-502-7832-7578 and he will help you as well.  Whatever keep checking back for the reports and pictures because I'm sure there will be some good ones.

February 19, 2010, Still waiting for the good word.  I did get an email from Capt. Dennis and basically what it said is that no news is no news.  Somehow there must have been a mix up in money transfers and the boat never got loaded in Miami Last week.  Hopefully the schedule puts it in port tomorrow.  The shipper forwarded the original papers and bills of laden so it appears that we are on tract.  I just clicked on the Spirit web site and checked on the fares for March and the prices have dropped substantially since when I last looked.  Round trip from AC to Guatemala is running about $325 total.  I don't know when we'll have the Tijereta on line, but Capt. Dennis has the Tonina and MantaRaya ready to fish and I'm sure openings are available.  At $375 a day for the charters I could have you down to Guatemala fishing sails and dorado for three days with a place to sleep for under $1,000 per person for a two man crew.  With three on the boat I probably can get you in the all inclusive with a night in Antigua for about the same price.  As soon as I book my dates I'll make sure I'm there to help you thru the the process and give you a hand onboard if you want. 

Al Ristori did me the favor of putting the details of the new project in his blog here.

Jersey Shore Fishing
Saltwater fishing updates from The Star-Ledger's Al Ristori

I did ad a little more to my Guatemala fishing biography if you do want to jump over there and go living in the past a little more,  GuateBiography

As soon as I have real news I will be posting it.

February 15, 2010, Did the boat reach Guatemala ?  According to the shipper, Elle Logistics, Inc. of Miami, It should have reached port yesterday.  I am waiting for confirmation emails and when Capt. Dennis gets it out of the Guatemalan customs and back to Antigua for refitting and detailing to be ready to fish.  If all the papers are in order and they should be we should be rolling forward with the plan very shortly.  I have sent press releases out to many fishing editors of magazines, newspapers and web sites and hope to get this good news as public as possible.  Mike Shepard who writes, "Shep on Fishing" in the Atlantic City Press Friday  put an article in that column and I have already had a lot of local feedback.  If you want to be one of the first to fish on the Tijereta I suggest that you keep close watch here and we make arrangements as soon as things are tightened up because I do expect the boat to be busy.  I really can't wait until I can start putting real reports on this page.

February 6, 2010, This is actually my first report on this page.  The boat a 25' Carver as noted above was loaded on a truck Friday morning and I have received confirmation that it has reached Miami.  It will now be loaded on a ship and transported to the port of Santo Tomas in Guatemala where the real adventure begins.  It will be up to Captain Dennis to handle all the Guatemalan customs and registration procedures.  When it is all Said and Done the boat will be flying a new Guatemalan Flag and will be christened "El Tirejeta del Mar" which is Spanish for " The Magnificent Frigate Bird"

It will join the other boats of the Parlama (sea turtle) Fleet, 24' Cuddy Cabin outboard boats the "Tonina" (bottle nosed dolphin) and the "MantaRaya" (Manta Ray) to bring an economical alternative to gain access to the fantastic fishing that awaits on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.  We still don't have a schedule,  but besides the paperwork we are going to do a small makeover and detailing to get it ready in Antigua where there are master carpenters and painters waiting to get at it.  With luck there is a possibility that we will be fishing for the "Semana Santa" which would give me a chance to send some lucky anglers down during the high season.

What is my intention is to make these pages the most complete Portal to Guatemala's Great Sportfishing and all the tourism wonders that are available there.  I plan to make this as un biased as possible and if I can get the blog pages up and running as they are supposed to I will be looking for any input I can get about all the categories that may be of interest.  You will note that I am including links to all the fishing pages I have found as well as a selection of options for Hotels and other types of places to stay and lots of other activities.  As I am including direct links to all available sites, the fact that you find them here is by no means saying that I am giving any kind of endorsement.  As I personally gain more knowledge I will be reporting my experiences with all my contacts. 

After all my first intention is to get you to decide to get out fishing on "El Tirejeta", but I know it is only one boat and many of you out there don't find price to be an object when picking your fishing trips.  I sure wish I had that problem!  In any case contact me so I can help you find the boat, and fishing package that really suits the way you want to fish.  Please keep an eye on these pages as I will do my best to keep them updated with the freshest reports and news from Guatemala possible.

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