Ready for Guatemala

[Carl Blackledge]

Hey Guys,

I have been busy tying flies for Guatemala, changing backing on my saltwater reels and making double hook leaders for my Sailfish adventure in January.

Guatemala has been on my bucket list for years.

I will have extra Bill fish flies if anybody is interested.

carlblackiedge@aol.com

[Tony]

can you fish for pacific sails with a 12? I have a 12 weight sage salt with at tibor signature 11-12. about 350 yds of backing.

[Carl Blackledge]

can you fish for pacific sails with a 12? I have a 12 weight sage salt with at tibor signature 11-12. about 350 yds of backing.

Tony,

I have used a 12 wt Sage Xi3 for years in Loreto and have landed as many as 5 Sail fish and one marlin in a day and my boat partner landed 3 Sail fish all on 12 wt rods. The rod is just a lever to toss the fly, After you hook the fish I let them jump and go nuts for a few minutes then I really tighten down the drag (6-7 pounds) I play them off the drag and take the rod out of the fight, I would guess about 15 min to land the normal fish.

In Guatemala which I am heading to in January will be my first time there, the boys there are recommending a 14 or a 16 wt fly rod, I have one each so it don't matter, I think that most of the fisherman they entertain are novices and don't have much experience, and the fishing crew wants you to land the Sail fish as soon as possible. Soon as you hook-up in Guatemala they also let the fish run and jump for a few minutes and then the boat backs down on the fish and you land them really fast, so I don't really understand why they want me to bring the larger rods. I do know that the average Sail fish in Guatemala does look bigger then what we get in Loreto, Loreto seem to average around 75-100 pounds.

I hope some of what I said helps.

Carl Blackledge

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Ted Juracsik of Tibor reels told me he uses a 10 weight for sailfish.

12 weight is plenty for sails

for marlin or tuna over 200 a 14 weight might be nice.

[Carl Blackledge]

Bill,

I am with you on 12 wt rods for Sailfish.

In Guatemala they have a lot of marlin, that do show up in the spreads and I guess that's why they want you to have the larger rod in hand. I do know that Jake Jordan also recommends a 16 wt rod for Sails in Guatemala. Perhaps the answer is as simple as where you chose to chase Sailfish. I do know that the Sails in Florida are half the size compared to Guatemala sails.

My 2 cents

Carl