# VELA!!! Sailfish on the fly



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

I finally accomplished something Iâ€™ve always wanted to doâ€¦and thatâ€™s catch the awe-inspiring sailfish (Vela to the locals) on the fly. It was so much fun, we did it several more times, but only after being tested by the strains of travel and weather. 

The story starts with arrival in Guatemala City via a direct flight from Houston. Guatemala City is a sprawling, urban area complete with terrible poverty and everything that goes with it and has perhaps some of the worst air quality, at least when I was there, of anywhere. A combination of smog and perhaps volcanic ash from nearby active volcanoes contributes to the extremely poor air quality. 

Our driver got us out of the big city as quickly as we couldâ€¦the traffic there makes Houston traffic seem easy by comparison, and we headed to Antigua to meet up with our Outfitter for lunch and a brief overview of the city which is a world heritage site. Antigua is a stunning little city with cobblestone streets lined with local shops selling all kinds of wares, all in the shadow of three volcanoes, one of which is active putting out ash every day we were in Country. If time had permitted, Antigua would have been a great destination point itselfâ€¦but the Velaâ€™s called. 

On the road just past Antigua, you canâ€™t miss seeing the three imposing volcanoes, Volcan de Fuego (currently active), its twin Acatenango and Mesta with near 12,000 ft peaks which you can clearly see (and we did) from far out in the Pacific. Proceeding out of Antigua and the shadows of the volcanoes towards the Pacific, we arrived at our lodge near Izatapa in a largely week end community of very nice dwellings. 

The next morning, we headed out to blue water in a 35 ft Bertramâ€¦and the blue water was only about 5 miles out which was fortunate since the seas were running 6 to 8 ft with a nasty chop on top. It was just too rough for us to be willing to take the long ride out some 20 to 30 miles to the prime sail fishing waters. That was the bad newsâ€¦but the good news was that some big blue marlin were working in the 300 ft depths just offshore so we decided to give that a go. Within an hour, we had a blue marlin on the conventional tackle and the fight was on!

Now, Iâ€™ve been fortunate to deal with some large fish in my days including 200-pound class Tarpon, but the Marlin is in a class by itself for shear staying power. We got the fish to the leader within about 20 minutes for an official catchâ€¦but the deck hand could not hold onto the mighty beast and she soundedâ€¦straight to the bottom. From then on, it was simply torture for all of us.

I have never, ever turned over a hooked fish to anyone to finish off, but had to in this case. I turned it over to the first mate who then after about 30 minutes turned it over to the deck hand who then turned it over to friend George, who then finally turned it over to the Captain to finish off this mighty fish. 

All five of us present on the boat took turns battling this great fish after I had â€œleadered itâ€â€¦and by the way although friend George and I have over 150 years on this planet between us, the others onboard were relatively young and fit and none of them could whip this fish until it finally just wore down. It wasnâ€™t a giant by Marlin standards and certainly not â€œOld man and the Seaâ€ class but it did remind us of that great story. The captain and experienced first mate estimated the fish at 350 poundsâ€¦.my first and probably last Marlinâ€¦just too much work, LOL.

Iâ€™ll post some pictures of Antigua and the marlin and then its â€œto be continuedâ€ on the sail fish on the fly.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

*Vela on the fly... continued*

The next day we were met with even stronger winds and higher waves and reluctantly decided to forgo chasing the elusive sailfish on the fly. No one was braving the conditionsâ€¦but reports were that the next day, our third and final day, would be betterâ€¦.so we toured the local area including a very large plantation which was growing sugar cane, cattle, and plantain, the vegetable-banana which is delicious fried, baked, grilled, etc.

With our last day facing us and the prospect at failing in our main purpose of catching a sailfish on the fly, we awoke to the third day with great apprehension followed by great expectation as we observed the winds had lessened. We headed out to the sailfish grounds on a much friendlier sea and ran into many signs of feeding fish including birds, floating structure, schools of spinning porpoises, whales, and yellow fin tuna. It looked like just a matter of time until the sails would showâ€¦and show they did.

To catch a sailfish on the fly requires a total focused team effortâ€¦the Captain working the boat from the flying bridge, the first mate and the deck hand working the spread and the angler who has only to cast the fly into a small imaginary one foot circle within about 2 seconds of sighting the first sail crashing the teasers.

Hereâ€™s how it worked:
1) First you put out the teasers. We had a close in teaser on the starboard outrigger with several hookless squid lures, another teaser farther back on that same outrigger with a hookless bally hoo and a third in a starboard rod holder on hookless ballyhoo behind multicolored plastic lure. Then on the port side we had one hookless teaser saving that right-hand port stern corner for the right handed fly caster. Last, the captain had a heavy spinning rod with a ballyhoo on a hook that he judiciously used only when multiple sails might be present.

2)	The fly set-up was a 12 wt TFO reel with 400 grain teeny head on a TFO 12 wt rod with a large bright pink popper.

3)	The â€œgameâ€ then goes like thisâ€¦. the captain, from his flying bridge perch will likely first see the sail (s) approaching the spread and he then calls out for the first mate and deck hand to rapidly bring in all the teasers except the in close starboard squids teaser. When he calls for this, itâ€™s a scramble for everyone to get to their positions and take actionsâ€¦. bring in the teasers and the fly angler gets ready for a 2 second window to open with a sail on that remaining starboard squid.

The â€œcastâ€ is behind and to the side of the fish and the fly must be immediately stripped rapidly away from the teaser where the sail will see it and crash on it. The first mate, just in case, has ready a big mullet which he can use to splash the water to get the sail into a frenzy if neededâ€¦but of course he must remove it quickly so the sail will search for the flyâ€¦and this is where you, the fly person has about 2 seconds of shear panic and terror to get that sail to eat your flyâ€¦. nothing like it that I have ever experienced. Nothing.

The cast isnâ€™t long (about 30 ft), but must be placed perfectly behind and to the side of the fish on the starboard teaser so as not to tangle with any other teasers being removed, while being careful not to line the fish, and not to snag any of the many rods hanging in the rod holders.

There are usually no second chances. It all happens in split secondsâ€¦and if you mess up, you not only lose your shot at the fish, but you absolutely let down everyone else who is working so hard to get you the shot. It is a team effort and an extreme Chinese fire drill. You succeed or fail as a team. Nothing like it.

When it all works perfectly, it is truly a thing of beauty and a dancing sail fish on the line is a great reward. Landing the fish is anticlimactic. It is all in the take, a concentrated few seconds of extreme action.

That third day, we were rewarded with 6 beautiful Pacific sails, four of which were caught on the fly, one which was lost at the boat on the fly and another one which was caught as part of an incredible double in which the Captain deployed that fore mentioned spinning real while I was battling a big sail on the fly rod. There were three sails simultaneously working our spread and I got one on the fly and friend George took the one on the spinning rod and the third sail was just left disappointed, LOL, with nothing but teasers to chase.

Sailfish on the fly is everything I had imagined it would be and much more. Thrilling, exciting and bonding with your team. It is special.


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## Blast-n-cast (May 7, 2010)

Thanks for the report and pics. That sounds and looks like so much fun!


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

Wow.....great report and congratulations on your success. But I am curious as to why your crew never used any Panama strips. It would appear that everyone has gone plastic nowadays. I am sure Meadowlark is old enough to be familiar with these baits but for those born after the advent of using plastics for billfish in the Lower 48 and Central America, Bahamas, etc....a Panama bait is the belly of a mackerel/tuna/bonito that is cut out and sewn closed. Originally, they were real hooked baits. If properly brined, they were very durable and easily outlasted a ballyhoo or squid.

It was only natural then, that Dr. Web Robinson would use a Panama strip (bait) as a teaser, when he was pioneering his own techniques for catching billfish on fly tackle. It was sewn together without a hook and worked like a charm.

The advantage to using a brined natural bait, is that you can actually let the billfish take the thing (and taste it), and then the man on the teaser can pull it out of the fish's mouth. This really pizzes the fish off and most often he will attack the thing again with a vengeance. This is when they get all lit up with excitement.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Blast-n-cast said:


> Thanks for the report and pics. That sounds and looks like so much fun!


It is more fun than we could have imagined and won't be my last go at it, hopefully. Thanks for your comments.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Permit Rat said:


> ... I am curious as to why your crew never used any Panama strips. It would appear that everyone has gone plastic nowadays. I am sure Meadowlark is old enough to be familiar with these baits ...
> 
> ...


Yes I'm familiar with them... and LOL definitely old enough hwell:

I'm not sure but the answer may be in the techniques they have developed for preserving the ballyhoo. They are incredibly fresh looking in spite of being dead for many days. Also, the ballyhoo is very prolific in that area...so match the hatch. They even reuse them from one trip to the next and a have a big cooler full that lasts them many weeks. They have solved the bait problem it seems. I did inquire about the techniques they use for preserving them...and they were understandably reluctant to provide much details, but whatever it is, it works fantastic.

If we felt we needed any extra motivation for the fish, we would slap the water surface as hard as possible with a big mullet and of course pull it out quickly. You have to be very careful in doing that when the angler has a fly out or going out because you don't want to distract the target fish.

The window for that is incredibly small. That may be the most intense 2 seconds in fly fishing. It is incredibly intense. The sails would come all the way to the stern as long as you had something to interest them....and missing the fly just served to **** them off more.

I'll never look at sail fishing the same way...no question sail fish on the fly is the most exciting way to go.


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

Meadowlark said:


> Yes I'm familiar with them... and LOL definitely old enough hwell:
> 
> I'm not sure but the answer may be in the techniques they have developed for preserving the ballyhoo. They are incredibly fresh looking in spite of being dead for many days. Also, the ballyhoo is very prolific in that area...so match the hatch...........


Maybe they finally discovered embalming fluid down there. They used to use it in Florida, but now it may be too hard to get. Central American countries may have less strict regulations where that kind of thing is involved.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Permit Rat said:


> Maybe they finally discovered embalming fluid down there. They used to use it in Florida, but now it may be too hard to get. Central American countries may have less strict regulations where that kind of thing is involved.


Yes, formaldehyde is part of the process. I did determine that much, but they also do some stuff to hide any un-natural smell...and they store the prepared baits carefully on shelves in the cooler out of any water.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Another photo. These sails were very dark colored and highly acrobatic.


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## Ish (Oct 30, 2008)

Meadowlark said:


> Yes, formaldehyde is part of the process. I did determine that much, but they also do some stuff to hide any un-natural smell...and they store the prepared baits carefully on shelves in the cooler out of any water.


congratulation and good job!

looks like this old boy's been drinking the formaldehyde...


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Ish said:


> ...looks like this old boy's been drinking the formaldehyde...
> 
> That's pretty much typical of your responses here. My friend is still doing what many, much younger guys would never even try. He deserves respect....not slimy comments.


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## bd24 (Aug 24, 2016)

Meadowlark said:


> Ish said:
> 
> 
> > ...looks like this old boy's been drinking the formaldehyde...
> ...


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

Thank you for the great report, Guatemala in on my short list for next fishing vacation.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Kenner21 said:


> Thank you for the great report, Guatemala in on my short list for next fishing vacation.


Thank you for your comments. IMO, Guatemala is very under rated as a fishing destination. People I talked to down there believe the Pacific fishing there is far superior to Costa Rica and Panama.

Some day I would like to explore the small area on the Caribbean side which is just south of the Belizean Permit hot spots. A town named Livingston and a river there offer interesting targets.

We never felt uneasy and the people, which are mostly Mayan are very friendly.

Hope you get there some day.


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## Ish (Oct 30, 2008)

Meadowlark said:


> Ish said:
> 
> 
> > ...looks like this old boy's been drinking the formaldehyde...
> ...


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

That was a great trip Lark...... It looks like the fly uses a small chugger head to get the sail's attention?

I agree that Guatemala is probably the best spot anywhere for big sails. Panama and Costa Rica are better on many of the other species, but not sails. I have some good friends that have fished all 3 countries and they concur with your thoughts on this. They sure seem to have a lot better size on the Pacific side.

The last Marlin that I caught in Costa Rica was when I was in my early 50s. I also felt that I didn't need to do that anymore!:help: They are just too much like getting into a full blown, extended, tug-a-war. 

The preservation methods that they used on the ballyhoo is extremely interesting. One would think that some U.S. bait companies would have been able to figure that out. Maybe some have, but I haven't found them. Had they ever been frozen or just always dry refrigeration?


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Dick Hanks said:


> That was a great trip Lark...... It looks like the fly uses a small chugger head to get the sail's attention?


*Exactly, Dick. ...and it doesn't take much chugging either to get their attention when they are thinking the food has gotten away from them. 
*



Dick Hanks said:


> I agree that Guatemala is probably the best spot anywhere for big sails. Panama and Costa Rica are better on many of the other species, but not sails. I have some good friends that have fished all 3 countries and they concur with your thoughts on this. They sure seem to have a lot better size on the Pacific side.


*We were pleasantly surprised by the good size on the sailsâ€¦on the â€œconâ€ side, I wanted to look around for roosterfish and likely roosterfish spots, but other than the surf, didnâ€™t find any. Thatâ€™s one area that Costa Rica and Panama seem to be superiorâ€¦love those roosters*.



Dick Hanks said:


> ...
> The last Marlin that I caught in Costa Rica was when I was in my early 50s. I also felt that I didn't need to do that anymore!:help: They are just too much like getting into a full blown, extended, tug-a-war.
> 
> *Yes, just too much work no matter your age...but I highly respect those that go after them and succeed. It is not easy, not easy by any means.*
> ...


*As best I could determine, never frozen, never touched water after caught. They were tight lipped about it and I was really interested in getting specifics, but no cigar this time.

Thanks for your comments.

*


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## southpaw (Feb 25, 2009)

Looks like an awesome trip. Thanks for the write up and pics and congrats on the sail!

Congrats on leadering that blue too. Marlin are a completely different ball game than sails and every fish seems to fight differently with each one seeming to have a different bag of tricks. A few of my buddies and I hooked into this fish a couple years ago out of Port Mansfield in a 25' CC.










It'll always be one of my most memorable fish and I wasn't even on the crank! We were trolling a rip when it looked like a bomb hit our shotgun line. Never saw a bill or what it was but the fish immediately sounded to around 550'. We had the drag locked almost all the way down and she never slowed down. We thought we might have foul hooked a shark or something but all of us onboard kind of had a feeling that it was a big blue. About 30 minutes in she came up and greyhounded for all of us to see before sounding again. That's when things got a lot more tense. Anyways my buddy fought this fish on standup gear with a fighting belt for over an hour before we finally got here landed. He was in his late 20s and was absolutely whooped by the end of it. I can't remember what the exact length and girth ended up being but by all estimates we looked up it was well over 500lbs.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Wow what a trip. The sail fish is beautiful.


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