A Queen amongst Vessels
As we continue the exciting Histories of our Fleet segment, this month we’re featuring our “Queen of the Fleet,” the boat that set the record on March 11, 2006 for most sailfish caught on fly in a single day (a whopping 57 total)–it’s the Release!
A 37-ft Merritt made in 1961 by Buddy Merritt himself, this vessel was the 8th hull constructed in the Merritt boatyard. He dubbed this 37′ “the perfect fishing boat,” and crafted her with one purpose in mind…to raise and catch fish.
And that she does; set up in the classic “day-boat” style, meaning that while there’s plenty of comfortable seating in the shade you’re never out of the action–which there’s always plenty of.
When this Merritt’s hull #8 was launched in 1961 she was kept as a private yacht in Stuart, Florida, debuting under the original name Tuna Teaser! After leaving there, this 37′ Merritt has only undergone a couple title changes, them being: Born Free, Sachem, & Seaquirt.
The Release debuted at Casa Vieja Lodge in 2006, coming to us from Costa Rica, and after a decade of action, we decided to give her a complete renovation! On October 20, 2017 after a short 2-year hiatus, our Releasereturned to the waters completely refurbished, powered by brand new Cummins QSB6.7 Engines, Simrad electronics, and a beautiful new teak deck. The same vessel we knew and loved, but with a little extra oomph!
Have you fished on our famous Release with Capt. Sammy before? Would you like to?? Call us today and we’ll make sure you have a celebrity-worthy time on this historic vessel!
On the Road Ocean Again…
If you’ve been keeping up with us day to day on our social media, you may have seen that our Jefe, Capt. David Salazar embarked on yet another port-to-port journey from Miami to Guatemala!
This time, he brought along our friends Capt. Mike Blount, and Capt. Jimmy Wheeler from Everglades Fishing Co. to help him get our custom 35′ Contender—which has been stationed up in Miami since 2020—back down to the lodge and back into those Guatemalan fishing waters!
According to Capt. Dave, once she’s officially back up and running on the CVL force, this 35′ Contender will be utilized mainly for more tuna and rooster fishing. Sounds good to us!
From Miami, Capt. Dave + Co. loaded up and started their journey pushing off from the coast of Key West, setting sail for Isla Mujeres, Mexico. After two nights in Mexico, the gang took off early to San Pedro, Belize to refuel.
After Belize, they sped right over to Livingston, Guatemala arriving in the the afternoon, stopping at the port in to fuel up and do customs.
After their stop in Livingston, the guys made one final push up the fresh water river of Rio Dulce in Guatemala to then haul the boat out. After they’d got her trailered, cleaned and dry, they took off early the following morning and made their last leg of the journey with David’s Dodge Ram trailering the Contender through Guatemala City, between chicken buses and mountains, to Casa Vieja Lodge!
Lucky for us, we had Everglades Fishing Co.’s videographer on board for the entire journey to document the trip! You can catch all the reels recapping the entire voyage on both our Casa Vieja Lodge Instagram and on Everglades Fishing Co.’s as well.
But for now, take a peek at their exclusive interview with Capt. Dave and his thoughts on the journey! (Click photo below for video)
Want to go fishing?
Get on the books, before its too late! As you know, we start booking up 12+ months in advance, don’t miss your opportunity to fish our epic upcoming season.
Looking for a shorter trip to fit into your busy schedule? We currently have these 3 nights/2 full days of fishing trips available:
- January 20-23; Fishing 21 & 22 aboard the Makaira (37′) or Release (37′)
- February 8-11; Fishing 9 & 10 aboard the Release (37′)
- February 12-15; Fishing 13 & 14 aboard the Finest Kind (40′) or Rum Line(40′)
- February 27-March 2; Fishing Feb. 28 & Mar. 1 aboard the Pica Mas (48′)
- March 9-12; Fishing 10 & 11 aboard the Poco Loco (44′)
Availability for 4 nights/3 days of fishing:
- December 20-24, fishing 21-22-23 aboard the Rum Line (40′)
- December 30-January 3, fishing 31-1-2 aboard the Makaira (37′)
- February 19-23, fishing 20-21-22 aboard the Release (37′)
- March 3-7, fishing 4-5-6 aboard the Finest Kind (40′)
- March 16-20, fishing 17-18-19 aboard the Hooker (48′)
- April 3-7, fishing 4-5-6 aboard the Chilero (38′)
Click the dates to book or call the Miami office (305) 854-4665. You can find our packages and rates on our website HERE.
August Fishing Report
Our warm August waters have been doing us well! Even with less boats going out every day, we still saw historic numbers these summer months! Just last week we saw sailfish raises in the high 30’s!
And though August is coming to a close, that doesn’t mean you don’t have time to get in on this action. We’ve still got a couple openings for the rest of the year, and we want you to fill the spots! Yes, you!
You’ve got 4 more months to brag to your friends that you were a part of making fishing history at Casa Vieja Lodge!
Not only is it our TENTH year in operation with Mama and Papa Salazar at the helm, but it’s also our record breaking number year as well! Less than halfway into this year we saw our fishing numbers lap last years by hitting 13K releases in May.
If you’d like to see for yourself, check out the cool new Fishing Counter we’ve installed on our homepage! There you’ll see our total Billfishing Release numbers for 2024, plus the last five years as well!
Will we end up doubling our numbers by the end of this year? It looks like we’re right on track to do just that…You won’t want to miss out on this double-whammy of an opportunity! Call the lodge today and get in on this action ASAP!
Below are a few fishing highlights (combination of conventional & fly):
- August 9th & 10th, Pica Más (48′ Whiticar)with Capt. Nicho Alvarenga, had 55 raises, 50 bites & 42 sailfish releases, 1 marlin raise, 1 marlin bite and 1 marlin release, plus 4 mahi-mahi!
- August 10th & August 21st– 22nd, the Release (37′ Merritt) with Capt. Sammy Baires, had 79 raises, 76 bites, 55 sailfish releases, plus 11 mahi-mahi!
- August 18th-21st, the Finest Kind (40′ Whiticar)with Capt. Benji Bairez, had 90 raises, 76 bites, 54 sailfish releases, 3 marlins raised, and 1 marlin bite, plus 2 tuna & 3 mahi-mahi!
