Five Years of Fleet Improvements at Casa Vieja Lodge

Travel

Jul 24

When we first visited Casa Vieja Lodge in February of 2020 we didn’t know which boat to pick. Ultimately we chose the Finest Kind, captained by Nicho Alvarenga because it was the largest available boat that week, second only to the Poco Loco, which was already taken. We’ve never looked back, and we booked the same boat all five times we’ve visited, although twice we ended up fishing on The Hooker, a world-famous boat that the lodge subsequently acquired. The Finest Kind was undergoing routine maintenance so they “upgraded” us.

Since that time, it’s become obvious that Casa Vieja has the best fleet in the fishery. Walk down the dock at the marina and you’ll see that CVL’s boats are more diverse, better equipped and better maintained. There’s no clear cut “best boat,” however. Ask five frequent guests, however, and you’ll learn that they all like different boats for different reasons.

Under the leadership of Kristen Salazar, Casa Vieja is planning to show off multiple upgrades to their physical plant this fall, including more lodging and larger pool and bar areas. That’s par for the course, as they’re constantly growing. Indeed, the already best-in-class fleet has changed substantially since we started traveling to Guatemala. The outboard-powered Contenders that were there on that first trip left temporarily for Florida, but meanwhile they’ve made the following additions:

Chilero 38' Warren O'Neal Casa Vieja Lodge — **Chilero**
**Length:** 38’
**Manufacturer:** Warren O’Neal
**Captain: Nico**

La Chingona 43' Merritt — **La Chingona**
**Length:** 43’
**Manufacturer:** Merritt
**Captain:** Carlos Alvarenga

The Hooker 48' G&S — **The Hooker**
**Length:** 48’
**Manufacturer:** G&S
**Captain:**

Pica Mas 48' Whiticar — **Pica Mas**
**Length:** 48’
**Manufacturer:** Whiticar
**Captain:** Nicho Alvarenga

Notes

As we’ve written before, The Hooker is truly a world-renowned vessel, the subject of many videos and a book by Captain Skip Smith.
La Chingona was previously known as the Isla Mas, but was renamed (in honor of La Jefa Mrs. Salazar) this year.
Chilero was previously known as Islander
As you can see from the photo captions above, Captain Nicho and his mates have moved to the Pica Mas. My brother and his friends fished with them last November and topped the leaderboard just about every day.

Shoot us a message if you’d like some advice on which boat is best for you or if you’d like to book a trip to Guatemala, the best sailfish fishery on Earth.