Panamax Sailfishing Resort Vacation Captain and Fleet

Captain Tom Boice

Captain Tom Boice

Capt. Tom has fished the offshore deep sea waters of Guatemala since 1996! He has gotten to know it very well! He owns, operates and professionally maintains his boat The Que Vela! and takes great care in it’s upkeep along with all tackle and equipment. He’s owned a cliff style house on the edge of Lake Atitlan for 25 years and has a unique lifetime of wonderful experiences both on and off the local waters that he is happy to share with you.

Capt. Tom is from Colorado and still spends some time there. While there he's always available to go and have a beer in the Denver area and discuss what it is like to fish the waters in Guatemala.

Tom is easy going and will be glad to adapt to however method you might want to fish on your charter. You can kick back and drink a cool one while telling stories with friends. Tom will just hand you the rod so that you can wrestle your sailfish to the boat.

Or if you prefer Tom will be glad to show you how to rig various effective circle hook rigs and let you pitch a rigged bait to a hotly teased-up Guatemala sailfish. Tom can be your professional guide as you perfect the circle hook dropback method of setting the hook into a sail.

Your host specializes in customizing your Guatemala fishing experience to your uniquely personal desires. But more then that, Tom understands the critical importance of making sure that your vacation while Guatemala fishing is fun and safe as well as rewarding.

Within Two Degrees of Kevin Bacon!

kevin Bacon

Within two degrees of Kevin Bacon .....? You will always have something to talk about at Panamax Sailfishing Vacations. Have you ever heard of the pop culture trivia game called Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? If not, you can read about it at Wikipedia. Capt. Tom was actually Kevin Bacon's stunt double in the movie "River Wild" and also "Murder in the First." Guess what, a stay with Panamax actually gets you within two degrees of Kevin Bacon!

Speaking of entertainment, with Panamax you will be assured that we are committed to making your guided Guatemala sportfishing experience entertaining, successful, fun and even a bit educational. Allow us to prove that we can guide you to the tropical paradise resort fishing vacation you have been dreaming about for years and won't be forgetting about for many more years to come! Most all of our clients have become regulars that can't wait to return year after year

The Que Vela! is a great Guatemala fishing vessel and awaits your presence! Your envious friends and family back home that are shoveling snow from their driveways will eagerly await your fishing photos and fish stories!

Que Vela! is a great Guatemala fishing vessel! Your friends back home that are shoveling snow from their driveways will eagerly await your fishing photos and fish stories!

Guatemala fishing for our famed Pacific Sailfish is simply an awesome experience by itself but when you blend in the ability to fish for sails at eye level you suddenly get a special measure of excitement and the hands-on satisfaction that is hard to describe to anyone that hasn't yet experienced it. The Que Vela! is a Super Panga and is a beautiful, meticulously kept well equipped 34 foot center console fishing machine with a sight tower. We just upgraded her with twin four stroke Suzuki 175’s to get you out to the fish even more quickly. It has vast cockpit space to maneuver when the fish are on.

There is a fighting post that quickly attaches to the front area of the boat for when that big boy sail is on. There is a new shade cover over the front area of the boat that can quickly be detached in the case of multiple hookups so you can easily walk all around the boat. A freshwater wash down hose allows for a cool shower and can be a sweet reprieve on those hot days! The tower allows for a birds-eye view that improves spotting billfish allowing us to get to the rod faster to improve our hookup ratio. There are three GPS/Sounder units on board of which are new Simrad EVO 3 models. Also there are two radios to allow simultaneous monitoring of the ongoing fishing situation on both the English and the Spanish speaking channels. We also have custom pull down clear curtains to help on those days of spray.


Best Equipment and Tackle:

The Que Vela! sports the best quality equipment and tackle. We believe in matching the tackle to the fishing. For deep sea sailfishing, we use Shimano Tyrnos 30# reels with Hi Vis Sufix 30lb line and Shimano Saragosa 20# spinning reels with Spectra backing. It’s a lot of fun to cast to a curious sailfish that we sometimes spot following a hook up or cast to some curious dorado (mahi).

Shimano Tyrnos Reels

Shimano TyrnosWe also have 50# Penn International Two Speeds for those marlin strikes. We also have a Thomas and Thomas 14wt fly rod with an Abel 4.6 AR reel all set and ready to go for you fly fishermen that don’t happen to have a 14wt in the closet. Note: We will be glad to supply your first fly and we can recommend what extra flies for you to bring along with you

Circle Hook Rigged BallyhooWe use circle hook with ballyhoo. Due to the abundance of our local sailfish and billfish populations, the anglers of Guatemala are pioneers in circle hook rigging and drop back techniques. Capt. Tom is glad to share his tactics and techniques and gladly does it in a friendly and congenial manner. You won't just catch fish. You will learn what is takes to fool the mighty sailfish plus you'll gain the satisfaction of having done it on the fish's own level.

Best First Mate in Guatemala

Tom and Victor

Our first mate on Que Vela!, Victor Gutierez has grown up in Ixtapa and has fished in these Guatemalan waters for forty years. Since 1996 he has fished with Capt. Tom! There is not much that Victor hasn’t seen or experienced here. To say he has the eyes of an eagle would be an understatement. His reaction to a sailfish coming into the spread is catlike. Oh … and to see him rig a bonito’s belly into a teaser is masterful. One of Victor’s best aspects would be that he is quick to laugh (even with his tooth challenged smile).

Enjoy An "Eye-Level Hands-On" Experience!