Tease 'em In Iztapa

Nothing tops the waters off this Central America country when it comes to tangling with 100-pound-plus sailfish.

If asked to choose the world’s greatest battlefield for Pacific sailfish, my emphatic answer: Iztapa, Guatemala. It’s virtually the place to be for consistent shots at the big spindlebeaks, especially on fly. Just ask Capt. Ron Hamlin, who in 2005 recorded his 20,000th billfish release.

It's spindlebeak heaven off Guatemala, arguably the greatest place to be year after year for action on these beautiful game fish.

Hamlin, reverently known as Capt. Hook (also the name of his boat), calls Iztapa home. His four decades of experience is legendary, and I’ve fished with him off and on for 30 of those years. In 1980, Hamlin and I set the Florida record for an Atlantic sailfish on 8-pound tippet with a 73-pounder, and in 1984 we notched an IGFA record for white marlin of 55 ½ pounds on 12-pound tippet. When it comes to pursuing Pacific sailfish, he has no peers.

In joining forces with South Fishing in Miami, Florida, Hamlin oversees a truly premier fishing program in Iztapa that offers lodging in a six-bedroom private home that’s just a short van ride from the dock. Each bedroom contains two queen beds, with oh-so-nice air conditioning on those subtropical days when a breeze just isn’t comfy enough. They operate three other boats besides Hamlin’s.

I’ve made half a dozen trips to Guatemala over the years and learned that the fishing runs in cycles. Fish seem to concentrate in one area or another, so find the hot spot and you can easily raise 60 fish a day. In that regard, boats off Iztapa – commercial and private – keep each other posted on what’s going on. If lucky, you can fish three days of huge numbers of fish, but more likely, you will hit a cycle where you either start slow and finish strong or start off raising 50 fish followed by a marked decrease. Even on a “bad” day, I’ll release several sails on fly.