big buoy fishing charters

Every year 6 of us go on a fishing trip at a new location. All of us are anglers by hobby and so we expect a lot from a new fishing experience. All I can say is it was wonderful. The atmosphere at the lodge is conducive to relaxation and fun. Further, Eric is a wonderful host who worked to make sure we were all satisfied. Last, if you get a chance take a day and visit Antigua - just a wonderful city and sightseeing. Plenty of sailfish, dorado and yellowfin were had along with great food and nice surroundings.

Eric and the staff are awesome. We could not have had better service. The meals were outstanding and Eric was very accommodating on and off the island. Looking forward to our next trip in June

I just returned from an awesome stay and fishing trip with captain eric and crew. the big bouy villa and staff were great. The food was very good,but it was the catching. Not fishing that made the trip. costa rica has nothing on this place. Ben there done that. chris McDonald Carolina beach n.c.

Were planning another trip here in the future. Hoping the fishing picks up a little better, we just had a run of bad luck. The view is amazing. The hospitality was over the top. The people were beyond nice!!! Loved my trip!! It's a must go!!!!!

I made my 3rd fishing trip with Eric and Big Buoy in August, 2014. This trip down, I took a fishing buddy to turn him on to Eric's fine service and hospitality (See Scott L's feedback). I was blown away by the new villa Eric recently purchased....wow, nice! The locale is quiet and a great place to just chill. I half-jokingly asked Eric if he would consider renting me a room on a full-time basis. Another great fishing trip hosted by the best guide I've yet to fish with.....and I've fished all over the world. I have selfish reasons and hesitancy to post another great review for Big Buoy; if the "secret" gets out, I'll have to compete with other guests to get a slot on Eric's agenda! Thanks Eric and Big Buoy!

Myself and three friends arrived on a Saturday afternoon after driving in from Lake Atitlan. When we took the boat to the house we were very pleased with our accommodations. Since we had driven all day we didn't really stop anywhere to have a full meal so Capt. Eric had some food made up for us which tasted very well. The four of us relaxed around the house and beach for a few hours drinking beer until dinner was served. We had a great dinner with Capt. Eric, we were all telling stories and drinking plenty of fluids for the next day. Needless to say I think 5am came a little sooner than what we were expecting. Either way we got up for the day and had a filling breakfast of sausage, eggs, pancakes and bacon. We then went to the marina and got on the boat. After an hour or so of heading out to sea the crew started preparing the lines. Within 10-15 min we had the first sailfish hooked! I was fortunate enough to be the first one to reel in the fish, which was itself one of the best fishing experiences I have had, to make things better as I was reeling it in one of the volcanoes off in the distance was spouting off some smoke. Overall we caught 13 sailfish and had a great time. Capt. Eric has quite the setup to accommodate your needs whether on shore or at sea. You won't be disappointed at all!

Eric caters to his clients like he was born to do it. I have never experienced such a flawless trip, with an excellent captain, first rate deckhands, outstanding meals, beautiful lodging, and every whim catered to without a grumble from airport pick up to airport drop off.Eric picked us up himself at the airport and stopped at several stores along the way to the island for everything and anything we wanted. He is an excellent converser who never tired of my endless questions regarding the country, the scenery, or the fishing. We arrived at a gated restaurant and were taken to his island paradise lodge. The waves from the ocean hitting the opposite shore of the island along with the spectacular pool quickly erased the weariness from a day of travel. Once we were relaxed we were treated to an excellent meal prepared on location by someone who knows their way around the kitchen! After dinner drinks were available for those who wished to have them - I personally recommend the fresh squeezed pineapple juice with the local rum, awesome!The next morning we arose early, had a big, freshly prepared breakfast, and headed to the marina where his fishing boat is kept. We were greeted at the marina by his first and second mates Eddie and Pablo, who quickly stored the gear we brought along and started the boat out to sea. Once we reached the fishing grounds Eddie and Pablo quickly started setting out two strings of teasers and four lines out behind the boat. Before the fourth line was out we had our first Dorado on! We caught 20-30 dorado and then hooked our first sailfish. Eddie and Pablo never tired of my questions regarding the fishing, and showed me how they rigged the ballyhoo with smiles on their faces the entire time. They had a hard time keeping up with the fish cleaning and bait rigging as we were catching two and three dorado at a time, but still maintained cheerful demeanors. We ended up catching 40 - 50 dorado and 3 sailfish the first day, and this is the slow time of the year to fish! Captain Eric demonstrated exceptional knowledge of the fish, the equipment, and a mastery of his fishing boat. Over the three days of fishing we caught 9 sailfish and 80 - 100 dorado, with lunch cooked on the boat and ceviche and sashimi served as snacks. We saw countless sea turtles and somewhere around 1000 spinner dolphins, along with numerous seabirds. The highlight of the fishing was watching Pablo have to pull the teaser very hard to get it out of the mouth of a sailfish as Eddie reeled in a ballyhoo three feet off the side of the boat - a sail stuck up out of the water three feet from the boat and the ballyhoo disappeared! The sailfish was quickly hooked and went into a spectacular aerial display - another video recorded from a spectacular trip. The fish was landed, a quick picture taken, and the fish released for another day. The final day we came in a bit earlier than the other two, showered, changed, and headed to Antigua for dinner and cigars. Eric pointed out and named all the volcanos, some of which were actively emitting smoke. Eric knows the town of Antigua like the back of his hand, and we had an excellent dinner, followed by a stop at an excellent cigar bar. We made it back to his island lodge relaxed and satiated.The following morning was the worst part of the trip - packing to leave was absolutely brutal, which is really how a fishing trip should be. We again had a spectacular breakfast before heading to the main land and alas the airport. Hard to believe how genuine Eric, his boat mates and staff at the lodge really are! I would have stayed another week, or until he kicked me out if I didn't have responsibilities stateside. I would give his operation my highest marks for every aspect of the visit and highly recommend a visit if you ever want to catch dorado and billfish. In fact, I left a deposit with him to return in February, for four days of fishing instead of three.Good Fishing and you can't go wrong with Captain Eric,S. Looker

The Lobo Sportfishing Crew and family were headed to Guatemala for Jeff's Wedding in Antigua. We decided before the wedding we were going to fish down in Iztapa. We scheduled one day of fishing with Capt. Eric and stayed at his new lodge on the Island for 5 days. We fished aboard the 31' Custom Bertram "SUR REEL" and the experience we took from this trip was simply Surreal. We fished with Eric Goetz & Eddie Bairez and they made this trip wild. We caught 14-23 Sail Fish and 1-3 Blue Marlin. What made this trip even more epic is our Blue Marlin jumped on one side and dove straight under the boat and jumped on the other side. The line got caught on the props and Eddie reached down and trapped the line from the props and wrapped the line around his hand while Pablo the first mate grabbed the line from the rod. Eddis had Capt. Eric back down hard on the fish to relieve tension from the line. Pablo and Eddie tied the line and the fight was on! We landed the Blue Marlin set weight 350lbs+ on 50lb stand up gear in a little over half hour! Most charters would have just cut the line and call it a day, these guys are true sportsmen! We took tons of video which can be seen on you tube. Search Lobo Sportfishing Big Buoy Sportfishing to see some epic videos!The accommodations were amazing, the lodge featured AC rooms, a large pool, lava sand beaches wildlife and much more. From the minute we meet Eric we knew this was going to be an amazing trip! Eric came to Guatemala City to pick us up. Throughout our stay at his lodge he gave us a tour of all the major billfish lodges that you often read about in magazines, which we are happy to say Big Buoy was hands down the best of all the lodge locations. We felt safe in this paradise. Eric took us out on the town for some authentic cuisine & ice cream! He went out of his way by even driving us to Antigua and making sure we were settled before he departed back home to Iztapa. Our biggest regret was not fishing more days with Big Buoy Fishing. We will definitely go back!LoboSportfishing.com Crew

had a fab trip with these guys had a striped marlin around 250lb and a blue marlin around 400lbwell looked after deck hands were great, cant wait to go back

Capt Eric is the real deal- he CARES about his customers.My wife and I have fished the world, many, MANY locations and with some of the best Capt's and mates in the world. Capt Eric takes personal care from picking up at the airport, to the stay at the nice Casa withi pool, to the fantastic fishing. Great food also. We took our two grandchildren on their first Billfish trip- they caught NIONE each and got some great teaching from Capt Eric also. He also provided us great access for a couple days of sightseeing in Antigua!I can honestly say, without any reservation, IF you want to fish Gutamala, you can NOT do better than to Fish with Capt Eric!!!Thanks for a fantastic trip Eric!I can honestly say that if you want to fish Gutamala

This was my second trip in six months with Big Buoy's Capt Eric. Last time was with my wife, this time was with two friends. We caught 11 sailfish on the fly and two on spinning gear. We could have caught several more but wanted to get them on flies. Eric and his crew are excellent fishermen and work hard at making your trip enjoyable. They are also very respectable to women anglers. If you are lucky enough to catch a dorado, they may even make ceviche or sashimi on the boat for a snack! The villa is excellent and pool very refreshing at the end of the day. Nancy's suppers are excellent and the ice cream trips are most welcome at the end of the day. Going back as soon as possible!

The accommodations were excellent, a three tier pool, nice rooms, great kitchen and cabaña. The two mates on the boat were outstanding, friendly and helpful. The fishing was great, 60 dorado and 12 sailfish caught in one day. BUT, the best part was Capt. Eric. My wife and I had an emergency and had to leave a day early and Capt. Eric went out of his way to drive the other two members of our trip 3 hours out of his way when they completed the second day of the fishing trip. He did not have to do so and that is a perfect example of the service we received. We would highly recommend this boat. Thank you.

Our group of 4 fishermen have visited numerous other locations (Costa, Cabo, etc.) over the years and our time with Captain Eric Goetz and Big Buoy Fishing was better than all of those trips. From the moment we began discussing a trip with Eric, he was extremely informative and helped us thru every step of the decision making process. It was great to have an advisor like Eric to take the time to educate us and it was very valuable for us to talk with someone who understood our perspective and what questions we needed to be asking. Once we got to Guatemala City, Eric took care of us every step of the way. He personally toured us around Puerto San Jose and arranged all of our transportation to and from the marina. Eric even took us out at night to see the nightlife and was by our side at each turn. Being safe was a priority and with Eric, that was exactly how we felt. Our last night, Eric even carried us back to Antigua, ate dinner with us and took us to the airport the next day. We highly recommend staying in Antigua your last night if you have the opportunity, it is an amazing City with a ton of history and culture, very safe. We stayed at the El Convento but heard the Santo Domingo is also excellent.The fishing was spectacular! In reading all the reports and hype, we showed up expecting to catch some sailfish but what surprised us was the availability of other species. We caught sailfish, black marlin, dorado and yellowfin tuna. It was incredible!In summary, you can't go wrong with Captain Eric and Big Buoy Fishing. If I can provide any further details or experiential testimony, please talk with Eric and he can give you my contact info. We are already talking about our next trip !ClintLookout Mountain, GA

When my friend and I went to Guatemala I thought there was no way we could afford to go on a sail fishing trip. We decided to go to the dock in the morning and see if you would talk to someone and maybe squeeze on a boat for the day. Eric met us at the dock and arranged a last minute trip for just the two of us at a reasonable price. He was very accommodating with us and made us feel like kings. We had been sleeping in $10 hostels the whole trip and doing everything on a budget so the fishing was definitely a great change of pace. Although all the fishing reports were horrible for the week our guides were determined to get us a fish. They radioed back to Eric and he said to take us out a little deeper. They did and we caught one! The best fight of our lives. We actually shared the fish and both took turns reeling it in. Thanks so much Eric for your hospitality and an awesome experience.

It was a Great trip. We caught 11 sailfish on flies and 5 on a spinning rod that was being used for teasers. A lot of the time we had multiple fish to cast to and on the second day we opted to catch doubles with the teasers rather than pass up the opportunity. We brought a lot of fish to the boat and had doubles all three days, which is really exciting. We stayed in a great villa with excellent home cooking. For all 3 of us it was a Trip of a lifetime. We had a great crew each day and Captain Eric took care of us from the moment we arrived until we departed and he showed us a great time. He even took us out for ice cream every night, which can be an adventure in itself in Guatemala.