BELIZE FISHING ADVENTURES

 

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BELIZE MOTHERSHIP CRUISES-GENERAL INFO

FEATURE ARTICLE- A FISHING ADVENTURE WITH A FAMILY FLAVOR

REPORT: MAIDEN MOTHERSHIP TRIP

TRIP PREPARATION INFO.

REPORT: BELIZE'S RESIDENT TARPON

FEATURE ARTICLE- THREE FISHING NOVICES EXPERIENCE BELIZE VIA MOTHERSHIP

NON - FISHING ACTIVITIES

 

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QUEST FOR PERMIT

The report below on exploring permit areas was done in early September, 1999. Since then, the permit fishery has been getting more attention and there are more of our clients pursuing this greatest of all fly fishing challenges. There has always been the opportunity to get high numbers of shots at tailing and cruising fish on some of the less frequented flats off the coast of Central Belize, but recently the catch results have been increasing. Last year, nine (that we know of) fly fisherman released their first permit during a mothership trip. The four charters between mid-February and mid-March this year recorded 22 hook-ups, an almost unbelievable number.

PERMIT REPORT

 If the word "permit" suggests to you a piece of paper you qualified for in your teenage years before the DMV allowed you to take a test for your driving license, this report won't have much interest for you. However, if you've ever cast a fly to "permit", you will most likely find this very interesting reading.
 The last week of August saw us complete a seven night, six day trip to attempt to verify the guide rumors that have been floating around for the last few years. Those rumors alluded to great numbers of permit residing in the waters surrounding the cays extending sixty miles south of Belize City. What we confirmed is that there are staggering numbers of permit in this area. We also confirmed (at least for us) that catching releasing permit is the most challenging endeavor in the realm of flyfishing.  

 THE RAW NUMBERS We kept a careful record of the fish we saw and cast to.

The categories of experiences we recorded were defined as follows:

Sightings :

a permit - whether it was a single fish or a school, it was only counted as one sighting.

 Tailing:

We counted either a single tailing fish or a school with more that one fish tailing as one "tailing experience" sighted.

 Cast to:

The number of times that we sighted permit and were in range to get a meaningful cast(s) off.

Refusals:

The number of times we were sure our fly was seen by a permit and refused.

 121  58  71  28
 (over 300 fish total)

 Action? We averaged seeing permit about every 30 minutes from each of the two flats skiffs we used. Catching was a lot more difficult - we released only two fish, the largest in the sixteen pound range. Describing the numbers of ways we failed would take more space and time than I have in this report. Maybe we're lousy permit fisherman??

 THE TARGET AREA

Since we were going to be fishing an area out of range of any fishing lodge, we used Captain Martin McCord's new mother-ship, the Meca, as our base of operations. We fished three different areas for two days each. Our three anchorages were, first, in the vicinity of Robinson Point Lighthouse followed by the flats surrounding the Sandfly Cays.  The furthest south we ventured (and our last anchorage) was the Blue Ground Range - about sixty miles south of Belize City.

  We always fished within a very short run from the Meca _and, often, we actually fished flats in sight of our base. We did not touch the stretch of flats further south known as "permit alley." That area can be fished from lodges in the vicinity of Placencia. For about an hour on our third morning, we did see another flats boat - the only other sport fisherman we saw during our entire trip. These fish are not pressured as they can only be reasonably accessed via a mothership. Almost all Belize mothership trips focus on the tarpon/bonefish flats and mangrove fisheries north of Belize City and the Turneffe Islands; there haven't been more than two or three mothership trips a year that focus on the southerly direction.

 THE WEATHER

We had terrific weather that was both a blessing and a curse. For the most part of four days, the water's surface was like glass with the other two days not much different. It made sighting fish easy, but the conditions did make for nervous fish. Given the low number of takes we had, I must admit to fantasying about how exciting this weather would have made the tarpon fishing to the north - a fishery I have a lot experience pursuing over the last dozen years.

THE GROUP

We were not an experienced group of saltwater fly fisherman. My three companions were basically trout fisherman without any saltwater fly fishing exposure (only one had done some bonefish and baby tarpon fishing). The first few days were a learning experience for our group, but they could all cast well and caught on fast to spotting fish and getting the fly to them.

MOST EXCITING EVENT

On two consecutive days, we saw 15-20 permit from ten to thirty-plus pounds tailing in a small area in the mouth of a cut in the mangroves. Both days this event was triggered by the outgoing tide. The water was shallow and they were selectively feeding on something the tide was pushing through this cut. They fed so aggressively we were able to get within twenty feet without disturbing them. Even if we spooked them with a cast, they were so excited about what they were eating they came right back and started tailing again. Obviously, we did not discover the answer to what they were eating, but we did spend an hour each day trying. It was as exciting as failing can possibly be!

WHY DO AN "EXCLUSIVE" PERMIT TRIP?

While there are great numbers of permit, there are not the options available that are present in other parts of the Belizian coastline. If you tired of casting to permit, you couldn't find numbers of bonefish (I saw only two), run to the tarpon flats (we saw only one tarpon roll in the areas we fished for permit), or jump into the mangroves for snook, snappers, and "baby tarpon." Obviously, this is not an experience for every saltwater fly fisherman. Maybe it's worth considering after you've conquered the most difficult spring creek you can imagine and caught more than your share of salmon, tarpon, bonefish, and trout; in other words, if the challenge is what turns you on and you don't need numbers of fish to call a trip "successful," this can be a very stimulating endeavor. The catch rate was very low, but the intense action kept our attention.

SOME THINGS YOU CAN COUNT ON

By the second or third evening, you can't recall what day of the week it is as your tensions and brains melt away with the isolation, tropical heat, pristine surroundings, and daily intensity of pursuing the great varieties of fish available in Belize. The Meca _is a very comfortable base of operations with air-conditioned cabins and good food. Most important, there is a crew of three dedicated to only one thing: making your trip whatever you want it to be. Martin McCord is a great captain and guide. We were booked for a seven night trip with six full days of fishing. Our seventh night we anchored near Belize City so we could get to the airport easily the next day for our flights home. Captain McCord was so concerned about one of our "trout fisherman's" lack of success on the permit flats that he was up early our last morning and took him out for a few unscheduled hours of chasing tarpon in some of his favorite spots north of Belize City. He got the "rookie" some shots at baby tarpon in the mangroves and he jumped a fifty-pound fish on the flats. That tarpon, in 15 minutes of excitement before the leader failed, gave that first time saltwater fly fisherman something he'll never forget! As usual with McCord, you have to cry "uncle" to get him to quit fishing!

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