Guatemala is one of the largest breeding grounds for Pacific sailfish and boasts one of the highest concentrations of sails in the world. Along Guatemala’s Pacific coast, strong currents moving east from Mexico collide with currents moving west from El Salvador, creating an enormous natural occurring eddy, rich in bait and pelagic fish, making it a haven for sailfish, marlin, dorado, tuna, grouper, and many other species.

Year after year Guatemala has consistent numbers of rises, bites and releases, all recorded and reported, backed up with testimonials from satisfied anglers that agree we are the Sailfish Capital of the World. A quick search on the Internet, Media and Press will provide figures that say pretty much the same thing: catches of over 25 sailfish per day are common, double and triple hookups are common, on average between 15 and 22 sailfish are caught and released per boat, per day; Fishing is hot year round! Conservative numbers estimated by local boat captains report between 1000 and 1400 sailfish are caught and released, per boat, per year, using conventional tackle and bait.

To reinforce the claim of Guatemala truly being the Sailfish capital of the world, below is a chart from the US Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA published in their 2011 Newsletter. The figure depicts catch per unit of effort (CPUE) in number of fish per angler day reported by region from 1969 to 2011.

Check out the 2011 Billfish Newsletter Report and see why Guatemal’s is truly The Sailfish Capital of the World. Click here.