Gassing Up

 

Dear Casa Vieja Family,

Our Fish & Stay packages are designed to provide an all-inclusive experience, and our rates account for normal inflation and operating costs, including fuel. Our philosophy is simple: Normal increases are on us. Extraordinary increases, we share.

Since March, marine diesel in Guatemala has risen from approximately $5.00 per gallon (Q38.30) to $7.36 (Q56.20)—an increase of nearly 47%. Rather than pass that entire increase on to our anglers, Casa Vieja will continue to absorb the normal fuel costs included in our packages, along with a significant portion of this extraordinary increase.

We have established a marine diesel threshold of approximately $5.90 per gallon (Q45). Below that threshold, there is no fuel surcharge.

Above it, a temporary surcharge applies per boat, per fishing day, based on vessel size. As of October 15^th until the 31^st we sit at the first shown pricing tier:

37′–39′ Gameboats—$75/day

40′–44′ Gameboats—$100/day

48′ Gameboats—$125/day

The surcharge is per boat, not per angler, and is shared among the anglers aboard. We update our fuel surcharge information on the 1^st and the 15^th of each month. For existing reservations, the applicable surcharge will be reflected on the final invoice.

Most importantly, this is temporary. Fuel prices will be reviewed twice monthly and the surcharge adjusted accordingly. When diesel falls below our threshold, the surcharge goes away.

We believe sharing an extraordinary increase is the fairest way to continue delivering the boats, crews, service and experience you expect from Casa Vieja.

Thank you for your understanding, loyalty and for being part of the Casa Vieja family. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Guatemala.

Tight lines,

Kristen Salazar

 

IRTRA

We all know how hard our team works around the lodge day in and day out, so trading those daily routines for a massive group getaway was long overdue.

This month, nearly 100 of us Casa Vieja Lodge employees packed up and headed out for an unforgettable two-night trip to IRTRA! Aka, Guatemalan Disney World…

On Wednesday, October 7^th, we loaded up from the lodge early, met up and checked in at our hotel, then settled down for a couple of days of fun. That evening, we immediately kicked off the events with an energetic dinner at the resort’s Mexican restaurant, setting an excited tone for the days ahead.

Our first full park day was all about cooling off and letting loose at the Xocomil water park. It gave everyone a wonderful chance to splash around, unwind, and act like little kids again. The fan favorite for the children and adults all around was the Wave Pool! (Check out how much fun everyone had in the pic below!) 

Our second park day brought on the thrills as we explored the rides and attractions at Xetulul—the animatronic park! From roller coasters, to flying swings, it was fantastic to see the team kicking back, smiling, and soaking up the relaxed atmosphere all the way through the late afternoon.

At the end of the day, when we were all exhausted, we loaded up in the vans for the ride back to Puerto San José. On the drive home, it was widely agreed that getting away to simply hang out, and enjoy a change of scenery gave us all a fresh burst of energy and left us with memories we’ll be talking about for months to come.

A giant thank you to all of our management who put everything from schedules, to park tickets, and even ride coordination together. To our team who brought the fun and smiles all week long. And of course to our fantastic Jefa, Kristen Salazar and family, best company holiday trip ever! ❤

 

October Fishing Report

October was a blast! It was our first month of fishing for our new La Hechicera and our three new mates: Cristobal, Efrain and Victor! We’re really starting to get into a nice groove around here as things start ramping up for our busiest season! Take a look below to see how our fleet did!

Overall this month we saw 486 sailfish raises, 432 sailfish bites, and 281 sailfish releases! We saw a striped and a black marlin, mixed in among the other blue marlin releases, and even got a nice wahoo on the board! 

If you’d like to see these real-time 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):

• October 2^nd, 3^rd, & 15^th-24^th The Hooker (48′ G&S) with Capt. Jono Arena, had 114 raises, 102 bites, 71 sailfish releases, 2 marlin raised, 2 marlin bites, 1 marlin released, 20 mahi-mahi, & 1 wahoo!
• October 13^th & 14^th, 23^rd-25^th, La Hechicera (43’ Merritt Sportfish) with Capt. Cristobàl, had 64 raises, 50 bites, 35 sailfish releases, 2 marlin raised, 2 marlin bites, 2 marlin releases plus 7 mahi-mahi! 
• October 15^th-25^th, Finest Kind (40′ Whiticar) with Capt. Benji Bairez, had 50 raises, 47 bites, 28 sailfish releases, 4 marlins raised, and 3 marlin bites, and 1 marlin releases; plus 3 tuna, & 2 mahi-mahi!
• October 15^th-16^th & 27^th, Makaira (37′ Rybovich) with Capt. Jeffrey Garcia, had 17 raises, 13 bites, 8 sailfish releases, plus 14 tuna & 4 mahi-mahi!
• October 15^th-25^th, Poco Loco (47′ Nickerson) with Capt. Efrain, had 84 raises, 78 bites, 49 sailfish releases, 1 marlin raised, 1 marlin bite, 1 marlin released & 4 mahi-mahi!
• October 15^th-17^th, Release (37′ Merritt) with Capt. Sammy Baires, had 22 raises, 22 bites, 16 sailfish releases, 1 stripe marlin raise,  1 stripe marlin bite, & 1 tuna!
• October 15^th-27^th, Rum Line (40′ Gamefisherman) with Capt. Terry Brennan, had 69 raises, 60 bites, 38 sailfish releases, 8 marlin raises, 6 marlin bites, 3 marlin releases plus 8 tuna & 1 mahi-mahi!
• October 17^th, 23^rd & 24^th Afinity (39′ Billy Knowles) with Capt. Franz Hoffman, had 29 raises, 26 bites, 13 sailfish releases, 3 marlin raised, 2 marlin bites, 2 marlin releases, & 3 tuna!
• October 23^rd-25^th, Chilero (38′ Warren O’Neal) with Capt. Nico Melendrez had 30 sailfish raises, 28 sailfish bites & 19 sailfish releases, 1 marlin raised, plus 6 mahi-mahi!
• October 23^rd, Pica Más (48′ Whiticar) with Capt. Victor, had 7 raises, 6 bites & 4 sailfish releases!