2020 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout
Our annual No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout was full of non-stop fun, excellent camaraderie, outfit changes galore and fantastic fishing! We thought everything was going as planned with the ladies aboard the Finest Kind leading the pack daily and even on the last day, they brought home 14 Sailfish and 1 Blue Marlin on 30lb. However, Capt Terry at the helm of the Rum Line put all his cards on red, ran 41 miles out, and found the roses. Fishing fly and conventional they had 74 raises, 66 bites, 50 releases, and secured First Place! On the final day of fishing, the boats totaled 117/161 Sailfish and 2 Blue Marlin releases.
Over 3 days of fishing on 7 boats a total of 232/352 Sailfish, 5/7 Blue Marlin releases, 8 dorados, and 134 SANCOCHOS!! Team Release graciously matched the $2,780, and many other anglers as well as those in the social media world helped sweeten the pot for a grand total of $11,160 which will go towards groceries for staff and crews of participating teams! Thank you all for joining us and making the 2020 No Sancocho Sailfish Shootout awesome! Join us next year Nov 4-6, 2021! Check out the full results HERE. Below are the final standings:
2. Finest Kind – Capt. Nicho Alvarenga (460pts)
3. Release – Capt. Eddie Bairez (400pts)
4. Makaira – Capt. Jason Brice (370pts)
5. Sails Call – Capt. Chris Stars (230pts)
6. Pez Raton – Capt. Benji Baires (210pts)
7. Spindrift – Capt. Efrain Rizzo (190pts)
Top Angler: Capt. Ridge Murphy
Largest Dorado: Sean Brighton (56”)
Sancocho King: Capt. Ridge Murphy (18)
Thanks to our beloved sponsors, Cummins Engines, Costa Sunglasses, YETI, Traeger Grills, SIMRAD, Contender Boats, and Sportsman Adventures.
Lodge News
The Presidential Challenge of Central America (PCCA), will be December 4-6, 2020, and will be 100% VIRTUAL. Casa Vieja Lodge was host to the PCCA for many years, and this year’s concept is one of the most innovative we’ve seen yet. Book your boat with us to fish in Guatemala and be part of the PCCA and compete for Top Team in Central America. For more tournament info see HERE.
A big congrats goes out to our former Rum Line Capt. Chris Sheeder for receiving The Billfish Foundation 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. It goes without saying Capt. Chris has released many fish in his career and has been fulfilling angler dreams once they step aboard with him. We were proud to have him part of the Casa Vieja Lodge family for so many years, CONGRATS CAPT. CHRIS!
Fishing Report
Check out a few fishing highlights below. Remember, you can always stay up to date with our daily fishing reports on our website HERE:
- November 1st-9th, the Makaira (37′ Rybovich) with Capt. Jason Brice had 121 raises, 115 bites, 79 sailfish releases, plus 9 marlin raises, 5 marlin bites, 1 tuna, and 7 mahi-mahi!
- November 3rd-8th, the Rum Line (40′ Gamefisherman) with Capt. Terry Brennan had 141 raises, 126 bites, 84 sailfish releases plus 2 marlin raises, 2 marlin bites, 1 marlin release, and 2 mahi-mahi!
- November 5th-7th, the Spindrift (38′ Stolper) with Capt. Franz Hoffman/Capt. Nico Melendrez, had 29 raises, 24 bites, and 19 sailfish releases plus 3 mahi-mahi!
- November 5th-10th, the Finest Kind (40′ Whiticar) with Capt. Nicho Alvarenga had 135 raises, 125 bites, 81 sailfish releases plus 4 marlin raises, 3 marlin bites, and 3 marlin releases!
- November 5th-10th, the Release (37′ Merritt) with Capt. Eddie Bairez had 110 raises, 103 bites, 79 sailfish releases, plus 5 marlin raises, 5 marlin bites, 3 marlin releases, and 1 mahi-mahi!
- November 5th-10th, the Pez Raton (35′ Contender), with Capt. Benji Baires, had 95 raises, 78 bites, and 53 sailfish releases plus 1 marlin raise, 1 marlin bite, 1 marlin release, and 2 Mahi-Mahi!