Heading back to Casa Vieja this year we weren’t sure we’d get the same kind of air show we experienced in 2020, but true to form each one of our 44 sailfish jumped multiple times. It’s something you have see to believe — and then you need to see it again and again.

Clearly we don’t need a specific reason beyond what we’ve already experienced in Guatemala to make a third trip there. In two three-day trips we’ve caught 37 and 44 sailfish, respectively, and more of the same would justify the effort of getting there. Nevertheless, we’ve only seen and done a small sliver of what the place has to offer.

Part of the reason that we chose Guatemala for our winter getaway was the ease of travel. Of course, in the era of COVID – and in the world of the Robbins family generally – there always seem to be complications.

From the moment you drive through the gates of Casa Vieja Lodge, step out of the van and receive the “Drink of the Day,” you know that the food and libationss are going to be great. That first taste of the amazing local ingredients in your glass are just the “teaser” for everything you’ll be served daily, on land and water.

As our trip to Guatemala approached, several family members urged us to postpone the trip, but in the end we decided that our health and risk tolerance weighed in favor of going ahead as planned. Guatemala has required a recent negative COVID test to enter for several months, but only recently did the CDC require one for reentry into the United States. That meant getting our brains swabbed twice, but 10 seconds of discomfort versus 40-plus sailfish seemed like a fair trade.

Casa Vieja Lodge can’t control the weather or the fishing — although both have been exceptional each time we’ve visited — but they’re very conscious to knock it out of the park when it comes to variables they can control.

If you want to get out of a COVID-induced malaise, a trip to Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala is a quick way to jump start your heart.

During our trip to Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala, which exceeded all expectations, Hanna and I caught the billfish bug. Unfortunately, it’s a tad bit more expensive than catching, say, the crappie bug, so we’ll have to choose our future locations surgically.

If you’re traveling to catch a new species, unless you’re exclusively a trophy hunter and you’re willing to blank, go someplace where you’re going to get a lot of bites. That may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often travelers disregard it. They’ll go to a fishery that has “some” smallmouths or “some” muskies and target those lesser fish, rather than either targeting the predominant species or going someplace that actually has numbers. Then they’re surprised that they don’t succeed.