Bluewater and offshore fly fishing are growing in popularity. And for good reason—the destinations offer quality accommodations and amenities, more than ever before guides and charter boat captains can accommodate fly anglers, and most importantly, many bluewater and offshore species will crush a well-presented fly. With nearly two decades of experience fly fishing around the world, Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures offers bluewater and offshore programs on three continents.
Plus, few things in fly fishing compare to the pull of a hundred-pound sailfish screaming line off your reel as it leaps and twists airborne.
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Australia, and the Seychelles are the bluewater and offshore destinations we recommend and book. If you are new to bluewater or offshore fly fishing, read our Debunking 10 Myths About Bluewater Fly Fishing and then continue on reading here to learn about the world’s best bluewater and offshore fly fishing trips.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is sometimes referred to as the Switzerland of Central America because of its comfortable lifestyle, peaceful democracy, and overwhelming natural beauty. The country’s waters are healthy and full of fish, the beauty is staggering, and the sluggish pace of life seductive. Bluewater and offshore fishing options here are varied:
Crocodile Bay Resort, tucked into the southern region known as the Osa Peninsula, is a place where serious bluewater anglers will find some of the best bluewater fishing in the world. This is an area and a fishery that offers very consistent action for sailfish, marlin, roosters, tuna, wahoo, dorado and more
Louisiana
Only a two-hour drive south of New Orleans is Venice, Louisiana. And there is a good reason why it is also rightfully known as the “Fishing Capital of the World!” The oil rigs dotting the indigo blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico are like underwater skyscrapers for aquatic life that attract dozens of different gamefish that can be targeted by anglers – tuna, dolphinfish, wahoo, jacks, cobia, snapper, mackerel, tripletail, triggerfish, and marlin!
The Sportsmans Lodge is your base of operation in Venice. It is very clean, cool, and has a make yourself at home feel to it which is apparent with the self-serve open bar, television seating area, and outside patio for socializing. Anglers going offshore will arise for an early breakfast buffet of biscuits and gravy, eggs, and bacon. Then best of all, your offshore captain will pull up his boat right next to the lodge for quick and easy boarding, and it’s off for open waters with a full-throttle and speakers turned up!
Guatemala
Located at the northern end of the Central American isthmus, Guatemala’s volatile topography is a mountainous and forested jumble of volcanoes, jungle, and rugged Pacific coastline. Guatemala has such strong bluewater fishing because of the Equatorial Counter Current, a well-defined west-to-east ocean flow that creates a type of “billfish highway” which gathers most of the billfish just off Guatemala’s coast. With numbers like “85 sailfish released in a single day” and “35 on the fly in one day,” it’s hard for any other region in the world to compete with this year-round bite.
Casa Vieja Lodge is perhaps the most famous lodge in the entire world of bluewater sportfishing. It has long been known for world-class bluewater boats and crews, the best captains in the business, and the highest quality accommodations in the area.
Australia
Australia is a land like no other, with spectacular landscapes and rich ancient culture. It is the earth’s sixth-largest country in land area and is the only nation to govern an entire continent. With tropical waters in the north and a temperate climate in the south, it provides unique fly-fishing opportunities and a diversity of species that are found nowhere else in the world. Our favorite bluewater fishing occurs on the west coast of Exmouth. When fishing to billfish, most fish are seen cruising or teased-up. Other species, such as giant trevally, can often be chummed-in if anglers wish.
Seychelles
A longtime destination for traveling anglers, the Seychelles lie off the east coast of southern Africa. Home to hundreds of remote atolls, hundreds of fly rod-able species are available. When you take into account the sheer diversity of fish species found in the Seychellois islands, the seclusion, the epic scenery, and the overall action, these are saltwater fisheries that are truly unlike any other found on the planet. Bluewater and offshore anglers will delight in accessible and available opportunities.
Because the destinations Yellow Dog offers in the Seychelles are each unique in their own way, contact us today to learn which lodge-based or mothership operation best suits your desires.
Bluewater and offshore fishing with Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures offers an array of unique fly-fishing experiences. Big boats, open water and the opportunity for non-anglers to be on-board a boat with companion non-anglers mean this is not your typical saltwater fly-fishing experience.
If you have ever considered a bluewater or offshore fly-fishing trip, contact us today and we can answer any questions. Or, if you’re a seasoned bluewater angler, we may have a new trip you’d like to hear about.
Related Articles:
Debunking 10 Myths about Bluewater Fly Fishing
Jeff Currier On Fly Fishing for Blue Marlin in Costa Rica
