New for Trip #3 to Casa Vieja Lodge

OK, so I absolutely love the Casa Vieja Lodge experience – everything from the accommodations to the food to the service and of course the fishing. I’m not sure how many times I’ve written and said this, but in two trips we’ve landed 81 sailfish over six days of fishing, and the locals don’t even think that approaches being exceptional. We could get hit by a massive cold front and suffer, but I expect that we’ll have a pretty good trip no matter what. It’s one of the most consistently excellent fisheries I’ve ever visited.

So here’s my gripe: It doesn’t provide any tackle-buying opportunities.

One thing I love about going to El Salto and Picachos or any bass fishery is the chance to purchase and test out new techniques and new gear. Casa Vieja provides everything you need to catch as many sails as your arms and back can handle. They also do your laundry every day. You could just show up with the clothes on your back and maybe a change or two, plus some toiletries, and be ready for action.

But I don’t roll that way. I’m sure Hanna and I will check a bag for our many wardrobe changes, and it wouldn’t be quite as good without some new gear to test. Here’s what I’m bringing:

Hanna recently got me these mahi-themed boardshorts from Wave Life. They’ll get ample use around and in the pool after fishing, during the happy hour period before dinner. I love the way they look and feel. My only fear is that when the white part gets wet it may become see-through, exposing my package to a bunch of startled gringos and Guatemalans.

On the boat I’ll likely wear some of my traditional zippered shorts each day, and while I’ve gained the COVID 10 pounds from working at home, I still need a belt for most of them. Our friends Aaron and Kristine Rygas, who will be on the boat with us, gave me a HUK web belt. In case I forget what we’re chasing, it depicts both sailfish and marlin. It’ll also keep up my pants, likely preventing a problem similar to the one I hypothesized with respect to the board shorts, above.

Additionally, we’ve been working on some new hats to represent the brand.

I got tuna, which have become an obsession. There’s no guarantee that we’ll run into them on this trip, but it’s possible.

Hanna will be rocking the more location-appropriate sailfish on a leather patch.

We hope to have more news on hats coming soon. We’re trying to find a reasonable source for customized hats so that we can make trip-specific, limited-edition lids for all of our friends. Stay tuned for more details and examples.