If you know me, you know I am a people person and I like to ask a lot of questions. It’s not that I am nosey, it’s just the way I learn. I am just inquisitive and curious. I also think if you are with someone for 10 hours on a boat and you don’t converse with them that is downright rude.

On our most recent trip to Casa Vieja Lodge, it was a great surprise to find out that we were fishing with Capt. Nicho Alvarenga, as Capt. David Salazar (the captain of The Poco Loco/Hooker) was at the Miami Boat Show. Pete and I fished with Capt. Nicho, on his boat, The Finest Kind, our first trip down in 2020 for Pete’s 50th birthday and he made it an EPIC trip -- such a great trip that we have now returned for our third time.

Our first trip down was amazing. It was my first saltwater experience and everything about Guatemala was mind-boggling, edge-of-the-seat, exhilarating and monumental. It also helped that Pete couldn’t get the smile off his face from start to finish. We loved it so much we came home and almost immediately rebooked for 2021.

Pete purchased several books on billfishing and tried to learn the bait and switch (all out of water, of course) and upon our next trip it was our goal to catch our own sailfish. Both of us had success and we were hooked, literally and figuratively.

On trip number three we brought six new people with us as no one could stand missing out any longer. They had to join.

Now that I was over the WOW factor (not really….I still get the warm and fuzzies with every aspect of this trip) and have caught sailfish on my own, it was time to get to know the captain who makes all the magic and organized mayhem happen.

The Finest Kind is a 40’ Whiticar and is one of Guatemala’s premier charter boats.

HPFC: Where are you from?

Capt. Nicho: Puerto San Jose, Guatemala

HPFC: How long have you been guiding?

Capt: Nicho: I started when I was 8 years old. My father was a commercial fisherman so that is how this all started. We caught a lot of shark and I did that until I was about 30 years old. Then I started with the sport fishing in 1996.

HPFC: How long have you worked with Casa Vieja Lodge?

Capt Nicho: I started working for Fins ‘N Feathers and then continued to what is now known as Casa Vieja Lodge in 1998.

HPFC: What are the best conditions for catching sailfish?

Capt. Nicho: When there is no wind and the water is calm, calm, calm. The temperature of the water needs to be hot -- 83 or 84 is perfect for Sailfish.

Our few days on the water were windy and the water temps were in the low 80’s. Instead of letting the conditions beat us, Capt. Nicho took us further out in the ocean to find those warmer temps, even if that meant we had a shorter time with lines in the water. He and I watched the water temperatures rise on the electronics. Sure enough, when we hit 82.6 degrees he saw our first shadow and that is where the run of 10 Sailfish in an hour and a half started. That extra effort is what makes a great captain!

HPFC: Why are the teasers always on top of the water?

Capt Nicho: Sailfish will rise to the top to eat and won’t dive down. Marlin will go down as far as 250 feet to eat so that is why we throw out bonita and have it sink in between the teasers.

HPFC: How do you know you are in the right spot? To me, everything ut here looks the same.

Capt. Nicho: It doesn’t look the same to me. I look for birds and dolphins, that is always a good sign there are fish around. The water temperature and the clear blue water makes a difference too.

HPFC: I sat with you on the upper deck and watched the water like you did and you called out “Left long teaser! Left long teaser!” yet I didn’t see a thing.

Capt. Nicho: Sometimes the sailfish or marlin will come up and you will see their fin but mostly I see a shadow and that is how I know there is a fish. It’s funny how you didn’t see the fish because I see it there, I just see it so clearly.

HPFC: What is the best time of year for fly fisherman?

Capt. Nicho: Fly fishing is best when it is hot, hot, hot. The sailfish like to go for the teasers when the weather is really hot, that is perfect for the fly rod.

HPFC: Which boat in the fleet is your favorite?

Capt. Nicho: I like the Finest Kind, because it’s my boat, I am on it every day. But I want to work with the Poco Loco. It’s bigger, it’s more comfortable and maybe one day I can get it.

HPFC: What is your favorite fish to catch?

Capt Nicho: Sailfish and marlin. I like sailfish because they are fast and hard to find and then I find them.

HPFC: What is your favorite fish to eat?

Capt. Nicho: Dorado (Mahi Mahi) and tuna, this is my favorite to eat.

HPFC: What's the most difficult part of being a Captain?

Capt Nicho: When the fishing is very slow, I feel bad cause I want the client to be happy. I catch a lot of fish all the time and the clients know this so I need to have this happen all the time and I feel bad when the fishing is slow.

HPFC: What was your best day on the water at Casa Vieja?

Capt. Nicho: Eighty-seven sailfish caught and 120 something bites, I can’t remember and it was in February or March.

HPFC: Do you like to fish?

Capt. Nicho: Yes [giggles]. “I like a-my work.”

HPFC: If you were to take a trip away from Casa Vieja where would you go?

Capt. Nicho: I want to go to another country that has good fishing. Panama has good marlin, big marlin, black marlin. So, Panama, that is where I want to go.

Capt. Nicho speaks really good English and was just as curious about me as I was about him. Either that or he was really bored sitting up all alone and just appeased me.

There should be no questions about whether you should take a trip to Casa Vieja Lodge and now you know about one of the amazing captains you can choose from. Pete and I are planning for our 2023 trip and I have my questions ready for the next lucky captain who gets me aboard his vessel.