The famous La Guaira Bank is only 15 miles offshore, so the run to the grounds can take as little as 45 minutes on a calm day. The area we fish is quite large (over 40 square miles), and sometime the best bite can be as far as 30 or 35 miles offshore, but figure on an hour run in the morning and evening as a "typical" day.
Swordfish are available year 'round here in Venezuela, so there's always a pretty good chance to try to convert a Grand Slam into a Super one!
As you know, in most parts of the world swordfishing is normally an early evening and night fishery. But here in Venezuelan waters most people fish for swordies during daylight hours!, But it can be pretty uncomfortable to drift stern-to if the weather is anything but pleasant, so for this reason plan your swordfishing trips around the weather conditions.
We've been keeping bites-per-day records here for the last 11 years, and we can't see a statistically significant difference between the bite on the full moon and on the new moon. The "old timers" here seem to believe that the dark moon is a little better for white marlin in the fall, but we can't see the difference in our data. Which is good for us, and good for you!
Everyone here practices exclusively tag-and-release fishing for billfish.
Dorado, Tuna and Wahoo are plentiful here at certain times of year.
Most Captains use fresh local ballyhoo, but when the bonito are plentiful on the bank (usually in the fall) they sometimes will live bait for blue marlin and sailfish. If you are particulary interested in catching really big blue marlin, follow Ralph Christiansen's example and fast-troll artificial lures, especially around a big school of tuna or dorado.
As with any other fishing destination, it's hard to predict (and impossible to guarantee) the weather. But as a general rule, sea conditions are "moderate" (i.e. 3-5 ft) in the winter and spring, and typically calmer in the summer and fall.
If you have more questions, please call our Reception Desk at 58-416-833-9038 (don't forget your international access code!) Or dial direct to:
or email us at marina01@telcel.net.ve.
Tight Lines!