vseasport
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RUINED IN GUATEMALA
I just got back to the East Cape after spending a week in Guatemala. Information on our current fishing conditions is hard to come by. Yesterday no
resort cruisers fished. This morning only 2 departed to try their luck. Inshore the water appears to be very clear and is loaded with bait. At dusk
and dawn hoards of pelicans are gorging themselves on the bait. Even the in shore tin boaters are few and far between right now. I did hear a report
that beach fishermen a little south of us are hooking some nice roosters. Walking the beach this morning, was as deserted as Redemption Island. I did
see 3 shrimp boats come in and anchor up after working all night.
My experience in Guatemala was outstanding. Visiting the ancient Mayan ruins that were discovered and carved out of the jungle was the main objective
of our trip. Tikal was unbelievable. It was also an incredible adventure, taking a river boat to Ceibal while observing crocodiles and large fresh
water turtles, then walking through the jungle listening to howler monkeys in the wild.
At Flores we found ourselves with a free day and decided to look for a place we could fish for snook. Fishing is not heavily promoted and getting info
was not easy. Finally we decided it would be worth the two hour taxi ride to Rio Dulce near Livingston where the river dumped into the Caribbean. The
following morning ready to depart at 5AM we woke to a torrential down poor. Not wanting to ride 2 hours and get shut out we decided to cancel.
You can take the fisherman off the Sea of Cortez but you can't take fishing out of his soul. In the afternoon the weather cleared and we found a
pangero to take us out on Lago Peten Itza at Flores. The guy only had one make-shift rod so I hand lined a small Rapala while we trolled. I have no
idea what the limit was but in just a couple hours we had a boat load of pez blanco.
Our time in Guatemala will always bring great memories. The people were warm and friendly, food excellent, prices reasonable, sights unbelievable and
a wonderful place to vacation. Reading the travel advisories had me very nervous and as where we live in Mexico I found none of it to be true.
One last note. We were flattered when the Fred Hall Fishing and Vacation Show approached us about using Jen Wren Sportfishing in conjunction with
Accurate Reels and Rancho Leonero for their grand prize at the Long Beach and Del Mar show this year. More on this in my next blog.
Tikal carved out of the jungle was amazing
A mile hike through the jungle opened up to Cibal ruins
The travel advisories were a crock!
Had to get a fix. Pez blanco
Shrimp boats stern tied this morning
Buena Vista sunset. As beautiful as it is I can hardly wait until next month when the focus will be on jumping game fish.
Mark Rayor
teamjenwren.com
markrayor.blogspot.com
US cell 310 308 5841
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Bajamatic
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that sounds amazing. tight lines!
yuletide
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bigzaggin
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Mood: way too ites
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Pez blanco...on a handline! Awesome.
Great report vseasport. thanks for sharing.
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bacquito
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Mood: jubilado
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Great what a trip! Thanks for posting.
bacquito
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paranewbi
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Mark, Please look for an email concerning questions on Guatemala
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audreyM
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Loved your pictures. Was there last year at this time. Loved Tikal and all the sights. Even went into Honduras, etc. Am not a fisherman, but a
snorkeler, so the islands off and around were so much fun and the people very nice. Like you we were hesitant to go but did, and did not regret it!!!
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BajaBlanca
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really remarkable photos and thanks for taking the time to share !!
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Skipjack Joe
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Nothing surpasses Tikal as a Mayan ruin.
Because of it's remoteness it's a better ruin than Machu Pichu.
Congratulations.
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CortezBlue
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Did you fish the flats?
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CP
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Wow. I had such a great time in Tikal and Flores! .... 25 years ago. Thanks for bringing back the neat experiences! Your comments make me think
not much has changed.
Though the island in el lago seemed to be heading...uhmmm, down, when we were there. Guess it never went under! It was a bit unnerving to have the
lake lapping over the doorstep of the hotel. But that was many many waters under the bridges of my life.
Gracias for the trip report!
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vseasport
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| Quote: | Originally posted by CortezBlue
Did you fish the flats? |
Flats???
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vseasport
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Is this the pond by the hotel?
It looks awfully familiar, as does the sign. We visited the area but never saw the alligator strike anything. I believe we saw water fowl on the
surface but the alligator wasn't impressed.
I wish that I had fished Flores. We had a car top boat but saw no opportunity to launch. Frankly Tikal drained us badly. We never recovered from all
the bites until we got to the highlands.
[Edited on 2-16-2012 by Skipjack Joe]
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vseasport
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
| Quote: | Originally posted by vseasport
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Is this the pond by the hotel?
It looks awfully familiar, as does the sign. We visited the area but never saw the alligator strike anything. I believe we saw water fowl on the
surface but the alligator wasn't impressed.
I wish that I had fished Flores. We had a car top boat but saw no opportunity to launch. Frankly Tikal drained us badly. We never recovered from all
the bites until we got to the highlands.
[Edited on 2-16-2012 by Skipjack Joe] |
No, this photo was taken at Tikal near the entrance hiking toward the ruins.
I'm the first one in a crowd to get a bug bite but had no problem on this whole trip. I did greace up with repelant at Cibal before hiking through
the jungle but took no other percaution.
The pangero at Flores only charged us $35US for a few hours. We could hardly believe it.
Antigua was another place we enjoyed but it was very turisty.
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oladulce
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vseasport
...At Flores we found ourselves with a free day and decided to look for a place we could fish for snook. Fishing is not heavily promoted and getting
info was not easy. Finally we decided it would be worth the two hour taxi ride to Rio Dulce near Livingston where the river dumped into the
Caribbean... |
My Dad lives on the Rio Dulce, up the river in the region where the river narrows before dumping into Lago de Izabal. He came to visit us in BCS this
summer and asked frequently "can we get fish somewhere", "no place to buy fish"? He finally went down to meet incoming pangas at the beach to try and
buy some himself. I got the impression he doesn't get a lot of good (eating) fish where he lives.
He's been there for 20+ years and I'm embarrassed to say that we've never gone to visit. His house is on the river where there are no roads and all
travel is by boat. It's going to be one of the first trips we take once our casa construction is finished in a few more months. Looking forward to it.
Thanks vseasport, for the post and the nudge to get down there.
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vseasport
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| Quote: | Originally posted by oladulce
| Quote: | Originally posted by vseasport
...At Flores we found ourselves with a free day and decided to look for a place we could fish for snook. Fishing is not heavily promoted and getting
info was not easy. Finally we decided it would be worth the two hour taxi ride to Rio Dulce near Livingston where the river dumped into the
Caribbean... |
My Dad lives on the Rio Dulce, up the river in the region where the river narrows before dumping into Lago de Izabal. He came to visit us in BCS this
summer and asked frequently "can we get fish somewhere", "no place to buy fish"? He finally went down to meet incoming pangas at the beach to try and
buy some himself. I got the impression he doesn't get a lot of good (eating) fish where he lives.
He's been there for 20+ years and I'm embarrassed to say that we've never gone to visit. His house is on the river where there are no roads and all
travel is by boat. It's going to be one of the first trips we take once our casa construction is finished in a few more months. Looking forward to it.
Thanks vseasport, for the post and the nudge to get down there. |
Need company?
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Cyanide41
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Great pics! I have never heard anyone say bad things about a trip to Guatemala
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