Sugar Mama’s II

Our second annual $ugar Mamas Mother’s Day Weekend Invitational was a smash hit! Overall, the fleet stayed busy, bringing in a grand total of 140 sailfish raised, 121 sailfish bites, and 88 sailfish releases! On top of that, we saw 2 marlin raised, 1 marlin bite, and 1 marlin release, alongside 23 Mahi. From the 33 sailfish Sancochos, we were able to raise a grand total of $660 for our wonderful mates Tony and Selvin, helping with rehabilitation costs for their respective daughters.  After an intense two days of fighting on the water, the final leaderboard shook out excitingly! Stealing the show and securing the 1st place win was The Hooker, racking up an incredible 2,100 points. 2nd and 3rd place spots all came down to time! Just 14 minutes ahead in 2nd was Chilero with 1,900 points making it into that spot by 2:30pm. Hitting 3rd place by less than 15 minutes, at 2:54pm, team Pica Más also ended the day with 1,900 points. Rounding out the top tier, Rum Line took 4th with 1,700 points, and Finest Kind took 5th with 1,500 points. We also had some incredible individual performances to celebrate this year! Chris C. took home Top Sancocho with 6, while Andres G. reeled in a massive 42″ catch to claim the Largest Dorado title. Of course our Mom’s absolutely crushed it this weekend. Nancy L. claimed Top IWFA Lady Angler with 600 points, and Denise W. took home Top Lady Hook & Hand division, also finishing with an impressive 600 points. A huge thank you to all the incredible anglers, captains, crews, and sponsors who made the 2nd $ugar Mama’s Invitational such a resounding success. Beyond the tight lines and fierce competition, your generosity is making a real difference for our mates, and Casa Vieja Lodge as a whole. Congratulations again to all of our amazing moms and winners! It was truly a such special tournament weekend and a perfect way to honor the leading ladies in our lives!  RESULTS: 5th—Finest Kind 1500 pts 4th—Rum Line 1700 pts 3rd—Pica Mas 1900 pts 2nd—Chilero 1900 pts 1st—The Hooker 2100 pts ✿ Largest Dorado—Andy G. (42″!) ✿ Sancocho King—Chris C. (6 Sancochos!) ✿ Top Lady Hook & Hand—Denise C. (600 pts!) ✿ Top Lady Angler—Nancy L. (600 pts!) Of course, THANK YOU & GRACIAS to our Sponsors: Yeti, Ladies Love Pink, Costa, AFTCO, and The Billfish Foundation

 

Rum Line: History in Action

 

This month we are highlighting the history of an absolute icon in our lineup: the Rum Line!

Long before she joined the Casa Vieja Lodge fleet, this 40-foot custom express day-boat began her journey in 1989 in Costa Rica! Handbuilt by the legendary custom Gamefisherman yard during their iconic early era of production, she was originally christened the Jolly Roger.

Engineered with a cold-molded wood and epoxy hull, she spent her early days tearing up the pristine waters of Florida and the Bahamas as a light-tackle tournament machine.

By the late 1990s, she made her way down to Central America with the new name: Jungle Rules. There, she dominated the charter circuit in Costa Rica for a decade.

It wasn’t until 2008, when she was acquired by Jim Turner (founder of Release Boatworks and current owner of the Gamefisherman brand), that she truly found her forever home. After a meticulous structural and mechanical refit back in Florida, she was sent directly to Guatemala entirely redone as the Rum Line that we know and love today!

And now we’re in 2026! Technically a part of our Casa Vieja Lodge since 2008, she received a full makeover from our Jefe, Captain David Salazar in 2018 after the Salazar acquisition of the lodge about 4 years earlier. Since 2018 she’s been refit with dual Cummins QSC 500HP Engines, new mezzanine deck seating, and so much more.

Today, the Rum Line is widely considered legendary for conventional light-tackle and fly-fishing. Her wood-core hull silences harsh engine frequencies, acting as a natural fish-magnet by emitting a clean acoustic signature that pelagic fish can track easily. Helmed by top-tier high-liners like Captain Terry Brennan and legendary billfish pioneer Captain Chris Sheeder, she consistently posts impressive daily release numbers that outpace standard fishing boats around the globe.

The Rum Line is fully primed and ready to raise your next bucket-list fish. If you’re ready to experience the unmatched fish-raising magic of this custom Gamefisherman legend for yourself, give us a call or send us an email to lock in your dates aboard our exquisite Rum Line!

 

May Fishing Report

May was a fun one! Between our second annual $ugar Mamas Mother’s Day tournament, and a visit from our Marlin Expeditions group, we had some good, consistent fishing numbers. 

Overall this month we saw 1,707 sailfish raises, 1,453 sailfish bites, and 959 sailfish releases! PLUS 33 marlin raises, 20 marlin bites, and 13 marlin releases!

If you’d like to see these incredible numbers for yourself, check out the seriously cool Fishing Counter on our homepage! There you’ll see our total Billfishing Release numbers for 2026, plus the last several years as well!  

Below are our fishing highlights (combination of conventional & fly):

• May 1^st-2^nd, & 7^th-24^th, Pica Más (48′ Whiticar) with Capt. Nicho Alvarenga, had 205 raises, 181 bites, 120 sailfish releases, 7 marlins raised, 5 marlin bites, 5 marlin releases, 2 tuna & 3 mahi-mahi!
• May 1^st-3^rd & 8^th-19^th, Makaira (37′ Rybovich) with Capt. Jeffrey Garcia, had 180 raises, 159 bites, 109 sailfish releases, 3 marlin raises, & 12 mahi-mahi!
• May 1^st-6^th & 19^th-25^th, Release (37′ Merritt) with Capt. Sammy Baires, had 180 raises, 157 bites, 94 sailfish releases, 2 marlin raises, 1 marlin bite, 1 tuna &  4 mahi-mahi! 
• May 1^st-19^th, Finest Kind (40′ Whiticar) with Capt. Benji Bairez, had 242 raises, 175 bites, 118 sailfish releases, 1 marlin raised, & 15 mahi-mahi!
• May 1^st-24^th, Chilero (38′ Warren O’Neal) with Capt. Nico Melendrez had 280 raises, 247 bites, 158 sailfish releases, plus 3 marlin raises, 2 marlin bites, 11 tuna & 12 mahi-mahi!
• May 1^st-24^th, Rum Line (40′ Gamefisherman) with Capt. Terry Brennan, had 220 raises, 195 bites, 133 sailfish releases, 4 marlin raises, 3 marlin bites, 2 marlin releases, plus 1 tuna, 22 mahi-mahi & 4 rainbow runners!
• May 24^th, Poco Loco (47′ Nickerson) with Capt. Carlos Alvarenga, had 16 raises, 13 bites & 11 sailfish releases!
• May 1^st-25^th, The Hooker (48′ G&S) with Capt. Jono Arena, had 285 raises, 242 bites, 166 sailfish releases, 8 marlin raises, 7 marlin bites, 6 marlin releases, 2 tuna & 29 mahi-mahi!
• May 16^th-25^th, Afinity (39′ Billy Knowles) with Capt. Franz Hoffman, had 84 raises, 70 bites, 44 sailfish releases, 5 marlin raised, 2 marlin bites, 1 mahi-mahi, 7 groupers & 5 snappers!