USA : +1 (512) 535-1751 SA : +27 (60) 894 3401

	USA: +1 (512) 535-1751
	SA Brad +27 (71) 103-0030
	SA Cindy +27 (60) 894 3401

GUATEMALAN BILLFISHING ADVENTURES · EST. 2005

Adventure With Purpose.

Serious Guatemala billfishing.
Prepared properly. Hosted personally.

Since 2005, Guatemalan Billfishing Adventures has brought together serious offshore fishing, experienced people, private hospitality and personal coordination into one seamless Guatemala experience.

EXPLORE THE GBA STORY ↓

Guests arriving at the marina for a day aboard Decisive in Guatemala

THE GBA STORY

The fishing creates
the opportunity.

Preparation makes the most of it.

Guatemalan Billfishing Adventures was established in 2005 by Brad and Cindy Philipps around a simple belief: great fishing is only one part of a great fishing trip.

The boat should be ready. The crew should know what comes next. The driver should know the flight. The room should be waiting. Breakfast should work around the fishing — not the other way around.

And when a billfish appears behind the boat, everyone should already be prepared for the opportunity.

That philosophy continues to define GBA today. From Decisive and the offshore crew to Billfish Inn, Casa Philipps and the people coordinating each journey, every part has its own role — but the guest experiences one GBA trip.

Prepared properly.
Delivered consistently.
Made personal.
Built on respect.

THE EXPERTISE BEHIND THE STANDARD

Capt. Brad Philipps

25 seasons in Guatemala.
40,000+ billfish released.
Still watching the spread.

Brad has spent more than two decades in Guatemala learning what happens in the few seconds between raising a billfish and turning that opportunity into a fish.

The spread. The tease. The timing of the cast. Boat position. Communication. Knowing when to wait and when everything needs to happen at once.

That experience matters most when it can be shared. Coaching aboard Decisive is part of the fishing — whether an angler is releasing a first Pacific sailfish or preparing for a shot at blue marlin.

The approach remains the same: prepare first, pay attention and be ready when the opportunity arrives.

Experience matters most
when it becomes useful.

Capt. Brad Philipps coaching an angler aboard Decisive in Guatemala

CAPT. BRAD PHILIPPS Guatemala

Blue marlin action during a fly fishing trip aboard Decisive in Guatemala

GBA STORIES

Brad Philipps 2.0

WORDS BY MARK B. HATTER

A return to Guatemala.
A rebuilt team.
And blue marlin on fly aboard Decisive.

▶️ WATCH THE FILM

THE RETURN

Preparation before opportunity.

When Brad returned to Guatemala, Decisive had spent almost three years out of the water and much of the operation had to be rebuilt.

The boat had to come back. A new crew had to be trained. The systems and rhythm behind the fishing had to be established again.

“Don't come.”

When the bite and weather were wrong for a planned trip, Brad preferred to move it rather than take the charter simply because the dates were booked. The anglers' opportunity mattered more.

THE MOMENT

Then everything happens at once.

When Mark Hatter and his group returned later that year, a Pacific blue marlin appeared behind Decisive.

Teaser. Switch. Fly in position. The crew moving from repetition rather than reaction.

CAAAHST.

A few seconds of opportunity revealed the preparation behind them — the teaser, the cast, the boat handling, the communication and the decisions happening in real time.

Fishing Days

Blue Marlin Raised

Hooked On Fly

Released On Fly

At the helm aboard Decisive with the St Helena coastline beyond

BEYOND GUATEMALA

St Helena. 2027.

The search for Mrs Double G.

After 25 seasons fishing Guatemala, Capt. Brad Philipps is preparing for a very different challenge in the South Atlantic.

From mid-February through the end of May 2027, an exploratory marlin season is planned in St Helena aboard another boat carrying the Decisive name.

The first season is about discovery: small groups, six fishing days at a time, experienced local knowledge and enough days on the water to begin understanding what this remote marlin fishery may really hold.

“I don't think everyone quite realizes how historic this project is — or the marlin opportunity we are going to uncover.”

“Mrs Double G could be out there.”

— CAPT. BRAD PHILIPPS

Rather than arrive with a finished commercial formula, the objective for 2027 is to put in the time: learn the seasonal patterns, work alongside experienced St Helena fishermen and build the operation around what the fishery itself reveals.

Anglers fishing with GBA during the 2026/27 Guatemala season will receive priority access to a limited number of introductory St Helena opportunities during March, April and May 2027.

A new ocean.
Another Decisive.
One very big objective.

Decisive — St Helena is a separate vessel and operation from Decisive in Guatemala.

THE PERSONAL SIDE OF GBA

Cindy Philipps

From the first conversation
to the final departure.

Great fishing may be the reason guests come to Guatemala. How everything works around it is what makes the trip feel easy.

Since Guatemalan Billfishing Adventures was established in 2005, Cindy has been at the centre of that experience — coordinating guests, dates, airport transfers, Billfish Inn, special occasions and the Antigua chapter at Casa Philipps.

For first-time visitors, that means making an unfamiliar destination feel straightforward.

For returning anglers and families, it often means remembering the details before they need to ask.

The fishing day may begin offshore, but the GBA experience begins long before anyone steps aboard Decisive.

Private from door to dock.
Personal from beginning to end.

A warm welcome at Billfish Inn in Guatemala

CINDY PHILIPPS The personal side of GBA

ONE GBA

Different parts.
One experience.

The boat, the people, the Pacific base and Antigua Guatemala each have a role. The guest should experience them as one seamless trip.

Decisive

The fishing platform.

The 40-foot Gamefisherman at the centre of the GBA offshore experience.

Capt. Brad Philipps at the helm in Guatemala

Brad + Crew

Experience in action.

Preparation, coaching, boat handling and the systems behind the fishing.

Billfish Inn

The private Pacific base.

A place to arrive, eat well, recover from the day and begin again the following morning.

Casa Philipps

The Antigua chapter.

The natural second chapter for guests who want Guatemala to continue beyond the fishing.

THE NUMBERS

Built over time.

2005

GBA Established

Capt. Brad's Guatemala Seasons

40,000+

Billfish Released

Sailfish swimming underwater during release in Guatemala

GUATEMALAN BILLFISHING ADVENTURES

The bite may be unpredictable. The preparation should not be.

Serious fishing. Private hospitality.
Guatemala, properly done.

EXPLORE THE FISHING → VIEW AVAILABLE DATES → STORIES & MASTERCLASSES →


Client Testimonials

Eyes closed, one of the best bill-fishing experiences in this world we live in. Numbers don’t lie. And to top that of, the service from the staff at their lodge Billfish Inn -Guatemalan Billfishing Adventures!, exquisite food (those ribs, those tacos ohhh boy!!!) and great facilities 7 minutes from the marina, really second to none. An Outstanding operation...
I don't even know where to start with my praise and thanks for an amazing four days fishing aboard Decisive. I consider it an honor to fish with Brad Philipps. He and his crew of Kennedy and Johnny are quite simply the best in the world at what they do. The Decisive is the perfect boat for Guatemala. Our trip was filled with double....
I have been visiting Guatemala since 2004 and have , except for my first time, always fished with Brad and been hosted by Cindy. My first time fishing in Guatemala before I met Brad , was not a roaring success as in those days the options to stay in and around the port were not so numerous. All that changed when I started fishing with Guatemalan Billfishing Adventures....