radios de guatemala Article

Not Just Billfishing In Guatemala
By kevin styles
Although the main attraction for anglers in is the huge numbers of aggressive Pacific Sailfish that are present all year round - there are also good opportunities for many other species of gamefish in the calm blue waters off the coast.


In fact inshore fishing can be a perfect day that offers the prospect of sub-tropical saltwater fish as well as what would be normally considered bluewater only billfishing.

At times the warm ocean eddies can push in as close as two miles from the dock in Guatemala, so while your main quarry may be aggressive amberjacks in nearshore waters, it is possible at the same time to come across the sail of a billfish languishing on the surface within plain view of the marina.

Most inshore fishing is done from local pangas or centre console boats in the 17-23ft class, as light tackle or fly tackle is generally the order of the day.

Close to the harbour entrance any early morning you will also see local fishermen dropping handlines baited with squid trying to catch snapper (or pargo as they are called in the Pacific) for the table or market.

Inshore waters offer the prospect of the much sought after Roosterfish. Although the immediate coastline does not provide ideal conditions for fishing for these gamefish, they can be found usually trolling around areas of strong current within a few miles of the Pez Vela marina.

Typically Roosterfish are pursued with either livebait or soft imitations cast around hard structure or rock formations. As we don't


have any significant outcroppings or high reef for bait to concentrate close to shore, we resort to trolling either ballyhoo or rapala lures and aim to cover more ground.

This results in lower reported catch rates than other locales - but the Roosters are around, and can be caught - it does offer a less expensive option for a charter day or "rest day" (or half day), with a chance of bagging another trophy. Like most other members of the Jack family, it is not considered to be a good eating fish. Another exciting and productive way to fish the inshore waters of is to "chase the shrimp boats".

Typically there are four or five shrimpers working within a few miles of the harbor, and the local captains will be happy to contact them to find out when they are lifting their nets - as when they do this, the nets are always followed by large schools of competitive and aggressive fish - predominantly amberjacks.

If you are looking for nonstop fishing action either on conventional or the fly - that will leave you with a very sore arm at the end of the day - then this is a great and very economical alternative for a full of half day fishing.

Inshore fishing for either roosterfish or jacks is often done from pangas or small open fishermen/centre console boats that are less capable of making the run offshore in search of the larger pelagic fish.

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For more information and our 40 page guide to fishing in Guaemala visit our website or click => http://www.fishing-guatemala.com
Fishing in Guatemala offers not just spectacular billfishing, but also good inshore fishing. For our free 40 page guide to fishing in Guatemala simply register and we will send it to you immediately with no obligation.