Fishing in Guatemala

The Pacific coast in Guatemala forms a giant bay. Strong currents coming west to east from the Mexican coast turn back after hitting the coast of El Salvador and create an enormous, natural occurring eddy, rich in bait and pelagic fish where billfish and many other sport fishing species are found in great numbers. For this reason, in recent years, Guatemala has earned the reputation as the most prolific fishing ground in the world for sailfish. Although there are sailfish present year round, the height of the season, November through May, can offer up shots at 20 plus sailfish per day.

Blue Marlin appear for a brief period of time during the autumn and spring, however, they are not the predominant target species here. Good numbers of tuna and dorado arrive in the summer months which, combined with the ubiquitous sailfish, affords the opportunity for a great mixed bag. Inshore fishing opportunities for roosterfish and mackerel are available depending on current water conditions.

Longstanding Guatemalan law mandates the catch and release of all billfish with the majority of all billfish techniques utilizing circle hooks thus further reducing the mortality of all released billfish.

The distance that a captain may have to run offshore is dependent on water conditions and the location of the 'productive bite', which can be as few as six miles to occasionally 40 miles plus. On the whole, the Guatemalan seas are relatively calm.