Even when fishing side-by-side certain captains and certain boats tend to produce more raises, bites and releases than some others. It can’t be dumb luck. As with everything in fishing, getting the sailfish to commit is part art and part science, and few are better at it than Captain David Salazar.

We’ve now spent a total of 12 days on the water at Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala, and we’ve released over a hundred sailfish, I don’t necessarily know much more about how to locate them. Every day CVL owner David Salazar, needs to work with his team to locate or relocate the billfish. They work collaboratively to narrow things down, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

While Salazar’s fishing skills can’t be questioned, what really amazed me was his passion for the sport. He’s seen thousands of billfish come to the boat, and yet he was every bit as excited for each additional one as we were. He’s an exceptional teacher, and coached us through the bait-and-switch with remarkable patience.