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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
Santa on a Jet Ski!
Our February 2002 contribution from Jan Rigden
The Beginning
This is the tale of my first attempt at SWFF in tropical waters, an accidental occurrence rather than a planned fishing trip. I suppose it has its roots in events that occurred last summer, when our holiday plans were disrupted by my wife Julie breaking her leg just a few days before we were due to leave, forcing a cancellation. Once she was recovered it became apparent that we were in need of a break, and plans were laid for a Christmas break to a tropical destination, a first for the family. We consulted various brochures and travel agents, before settling on a fortnight in Mexico, at Playacar south of Cancun.
It was only after booking the holiday that the possibility of fishing crossed my mind, rather remiss of me I know but I was focused on other things. Happily I placed the usual plea for help on the F&F website and received a number of useful replies, particularly from Pat Hilliard who pointed me towards Nassim Joaquin, a resident of Cozumel and keen Swoffer, (nassimjoaquin@hotmail.com) and his website for the Peninsular fishing club (http://www.flyfishingmexico.org). Nassim is a mine of information on fishing in the area and was quick to reply to all my questions.
The Seasons
There are a number of options for SWFF in the area, but the most widely available and reliable over most of the season is fishing the flats for Bonefish (Macabi), Tarpon (Sabalo), Permit (Palometta) and Snook (Robalo). There is some offshore fishing for Sailfish and Marlin etc, but it is at its best from March to June, which didn’t fit the time of my visit. There are a number of locations listed on the Peninsular club site, and I chose to have a day early on fishing the lagoons of Cozumel for Bonefish, and then to try a couple of days in Ascension Bay later on for all the above species. From my location Cozumel was a 5-mile drive and 45 minute ferry trip to the meeting place for my guide (Nacho Euan), but Punta Allen and Ascension Bay was a 3-hour drive, mostly through the jungle, and a bridge the like of which is rarely seen!
Tackle
I received good advice on tackle from a number of sources, including those named above, and decided that my existing trout rod would be suitable for bonefish (Carbotec 9’6” #7 3 piece), teamed with a Shimano Ultegra 7/8, which can happily hold 250 metres of backing and a # 7 line, and has a drag to die for. I also have a 4 piece #10/12 that I bought from Sparton a year ago for Pollack fishing which seemed ideal for larger quarry. I intended to try my Magnum 200 salmon reel on this rod, but after careful consideration I paid out for a Reddington anniversary reel (4” #12) which is a delight to use and holds 300yds of 30lb micron and a # 10 line happily.
The article by Nigel Haywood about lines for SWFF has a lot of good advice, and I decided to take my salmon shooting heads, floating and intermediate shooting heads in #7 and #10 weights and a #10 fast sink shooting head in case I tried anything in deeper water instead of buying new SW lines. These lines were backed with Miracle floating shooting braid and conventional micron/Dacron backing. I have read in the past that special lines are necessary owing to the temperature on the flats, but I certainly didn’t find this to be the case – my #7 Snowbee Prestige head (cut from a well used line) was a delight to use as usual and I didn’t notice any change in its performance. The floating backing is essential for quick strike and lift off, and to prevent wading over the bight when fishing.
Flies
Where do you start – the vice ran hot for many a night, especially
once I had purchased a copy of Lefty Krehs’ Saltwater flies. It became
obvious that a few essentials in a variety of sizes should meet most needs,
so after a phone call to ACW for a few missing materials I turned out
a selection of Gotchas in white, cream and pink, some charlies in a variety
of colours, and a selection of the usual Clouser minnows in chartreuse
and white, tan and white, and pink and white. I caught a few fish on the
Gotchas, but the star of the trip was undoubtedly a fly called Al’s
Shrimpf that I got from an article by Al Campbell on fly anglers online
in the saltwater section. (http://flyanglersonline.com).
The actual fly can be found at - http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/082701fotw.html.
Whilst I was advised that unweighted flies are necessary for skinny water,
it soon became apparent that they don’t work properly once the water
is a little deeper, so it is best to tie a range from no weight right
up to large chromed brass eyes for deeper water.
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Shrimpfs in a variety of colours |
I tied this fly in sizes 4 and 6, and it worked for me in chartreuse, orange, green and pearly white, although I did change the dressing slightly in that I also tied a series with small chromed brass eyes for use in slightly deeper water – the unweighted fly worked fine in water up to about 9”, but a little weight improved its performance in water up to about 20”. I also tied a few flies for other species- following Nassims’ advice I tied some Merkins crabs in sizes 6, 4 and 2, colours tan, cream and a combination; a few poppers in various colours on long shank 2/0 hooks, and about a dozen tarpon flies in size 2 and 2/0, colours purple, black and orange. Hooks were mostly Mustad o’shaugnessy in S/S.
Day 1 – The Cozumel Lagoons
My first day dawned with a telephone alarm call at 0530 in order to catch the 7am ferry to Cozumel. A swift breakfast and a taxi to the ferry terminal – strange, no-one to be seen; the day always starts well when you realise that you have misread the timetable and the ferry doesn’t go until 8am, another hour and a half to sit on the pier - not the most auspicious of starts. Eventually I arrive in Cozumel at 0845 to be met by my guide, Nacho Euan, and we travel about 30 minutes in a beach buggy to his boat and set off for the lagoons. I should have paid heed to the early signs as the weather worsened steadily throughout the day, spoiling what should have been a gentle introduction to the bonefish. The wind strengthened to about 30 knots from the north, and eventually about 2 pm the rain started, hardly a happy few hours wading under the sun in lukewarm water and presenting the fly accurately to feeding bonefish – more of a survival exercise struggling to make the fly land anywhere near the fish without sending them fleeing across the lagoons.
I found that I could see the fish clearly from the bow of the boat with my usual Optilabs sunglasses, and eventually I managed to present the fly correctly and hooked my first Bonefish which promptly shot of in search of a mangrove root to wrap me around -after a brief and rather disappointing fight he came to the boat, was unhooked, photographed and returned - he would have been about 3lbs. I did get another smaller fish later on, but the whole day was a struggle, finished off in fine style with an exhilarating (for a professional seafarer) 10 mile boat ride back to the car through breaking rollers on a lee shore, missing the 6pm ferry back to Playa del Carmen, and the added pleasure of another 2 hours sitting on the pier soaked to the skin and freezing in a near gale before the next one. I have no complaints about the guide, who worked hard all day, or the location for this trip, but a combination of bad luck, bad planning and unseasonally bad weather did rather spoil my introduction to the bonefish, and left me hoping that my later outings would be more pleasant. I did take my Snowbee waterproof coat with me, and am very glad that I did! We saw only bonefish, though other species are available at other times in the year, so I might go again, but only for a day or two- I don’t think there would be enough variety to keep you interested for much longer.
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First Bonefish – between |
Days 2 & 3 – Punta Allen and Ascension Bay
I decided that, as in all fishing, going the extra mile usually pays dividends, and it would be daft to go to Mexico without having a couple of days at one of the best SWFF locations in the country - Nassim recommended a trip to Punta Allen and so I hired a jeep and set off. The drive from Playacar is initially quite gentle, 40 minutes to Tulum down the main route 307, all nice clean tarmac and several lanes; Tulum to Boca Paila (home of the Hardcore Fisherman) takes another 40 minutes on a moderately potholed road, after which you meet the bridge, not just any bridge but the Boca Paila bridge, known to all who have passed this way. I wish I had a photo to show you, words can’t do it justice, but on the way home I crossed in the dark (in the dark, no-one can see you scream!). It is a long wooden bridge, maybe 150 feet across the water and presently under repair so stripped of its topping on one side and missing a plank here and there on the other, but just wide enough to have your wheels on wood most of the way across. I was encouraged by the sign advising passing motorists that the weight limit for the bridge was 3.5 tonnes – and the knowledge that numerous vans and trucks passed this way daily enroute to my destination.
After the bridge its just another hour and a half through the jungle on a just passable jungle track – we had some rain so the potholes were deep and muddy, and I would recommend that you hire a jeep, an ordinary car might make it, but then again it might not. After an hour I thought I must be nearly there when I came across a derelict building in the jungle on which someone had daubed the legend Punta Allen 30 minutes and a large red arrow! Its not that far, but you never get over 20 mph so it takes a long while. I arrived at 8am to find a fairly modern collection of block built residences laid out in grid style, and soon found the bungalow that I was staying in – a modern building fully equipped that I hired from an outfit known as Bonefish Bum (http://www.bonefishbum.com), who also organised my fishing – it was fine, although I now know that I can do it cheaper direct. The village noted my arrival and a few minutes later my guide (Benito Caamal) arrived and we were off to sea.
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The harbour at Punta Allen |
There is not much to do in Punta Allen but fish, the boats are all modern GRP with sizeable outboards, and livings are earned by taking people on Eco-tours around the Sian-khan Biosphere, guiding fishermen, and lobster fishing. My guide comes from a large family, and has several brothers who are also highly regarded – they also have cabanas to rent. We travelled about 40 minutes to some islands in the middle of the bay and jumped out to fish on pristine hard white sand in the sun with water about 12” deep – paradise at last. Benito soon spotted the first school of bonefish and I was quickly attached to a fish about 4lbs that sped rapidly off. We fished all day, with a short break at lunchtime for the ubiquitous ham, cheese and tomato rolls and cold sodas before returning to the action. I managed to catch 5, snap a couple off, spook plenty and get a splendid dose of sunburnt calves – we saw all sorts of other wildlife, big rays, barracuda, sharks, ospreys, crocodiles, etc, and I had a fantastic time. The highlight was the last fish of the day – we were wading around an island on the way home when I spotted a tail wavering above the water, crept into position, delivered a near perfect cast (possibly the only one), and hooked a beautiful bonefish of about 6lbs which fought like fury for about 10 minutes before coming to hand, a great ending to a wonderful day, fishing the flats as it is portrayed rather than as I had experienced on my first day.
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The fish that made |
Whilst we were out Benito organised a lobster dinner for my return - a pleasant way to end the day, and all for the princely sum of about £12 including starter and beer. Once darkness fell I realised that this was truly unsterilised Mexico, and the assorted cries of the local wildlife interrupted my sleep throughout the night. The next day dawned with a light northerly wind, and Benito advised me that this was perfect for searching for rolling Tarpon, so we made that choice and headed off. I rigged the big rod with a purple and claret Tarpon fly that Benito picked from my selection on a size 2 hook, connected to a 40lb bite leader and 20 lb weak link. When we arrived we cruised along the shore searching for bonefish whilst keeping an eye to seawards for any sign of tarpon; Benito soon spotted a bonefish, and I cast, hooked and landed him, a nice start.
I hadn’t realised how much effort goes into giving the angler one shot at a Tarpon – crewman William spotted a school of rolling Tarpon to seawards and we set off poling after them to get into position – this takes enormous effort once the water deepens, as starting the engine will usually lead to their swift departure for the rest of the day - after much effort and about half an hour we finally reached a position where we could cut off the school and I would get a shot, Benito carefully checked that the backing was laid out clear, and the fish turned towards us. Fish from about 5lbs to maybe 40lbs were heading straight for us, and the words Cast! Now! were hissed urgently into my ear.
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The purple and claret |
This is it; the whole day can come down to one cast; I hauled hard and shot the fly about 80 feet to land in front of the fish. A few seconds later the word Strip issued tersely from Benito’s lips, and three pulls later I was attached to a train! The water erupted as a small Tarpon of about 6kg leapt from the water and the rod tip was pulled violently down to the surface - I couldn’t believe that I was connected to a Tarpon (even a small one) on my first cast, and after a fight of about 10 minutes the fish was lifted gently into the boat for a quick photo and return. It would have been nice if it had been a 20kg fish, but I was glad to get one at all.
After returning the fish I decided that we should try to get another Tarpon, and so we spent the rest of the morning fruitlessly trying to get another shot - the fish were very spooky by now and we just couldn’t get into a good position – I had one more cast at a larger passing fish and he took the fly but the hook didn’t take. The wind changed after lunch and the tarpon vanished, so we spent the rest of the day hunting bonefish, which proved harder than I expected – they were very scarce on the ground and even harder to hook – after starting the day with two casts and two fish I went the next 4 hours with hardly a bite – frustrating to say the least. Fortunately about an hour and a half before we went home we found a school of bonefish working in about 3 feet of water, and followed them along the coast.
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Only a tiddler I know, |
That last hour or so will stay in my memory for some time – I have no idea how many bonefish I caught, interspersed with the occasional Jack or Pompano, but I had a fish every cast until we left - fish of 2-4lbs in weight. The fishing was not as challenging as stalking the fish, but they are certainly much less spooky in deeper water, and will take the fly even when stationary; by the time we left I was sated, and looking forward to a warm bath and a rest from the relentless sun.
We didn’t see any Permit during my short stay; Ascension Bay is famous for Permit and Grand Slams, but I am told that you are more likely to succeed between March and June if this is your preference. Benito did warn me that a week chasing Permit quite often only produces one or two fish – they are notoriously fickle and spooky so your casting and flies need to be perfect and your patience will be thoroughly tested – I think I would concentrate on the more common species and have a rod rigged for permit in case one is spotted – the Tan/Cream merkin is the fly of choice I believe.
Lessons Learnt
Bonefish fight hard, but not as hard as the press would have you believe – against a good drag none of the fish I caught ran far enough to get past the 50 meters of braided backing and into the Dacron – but they do have plenty of stamina and are lightning fast, 5 or 6 runs were not unusual. Any competent trout outfit will cope with bonefish of the sizes I caught, and it is not necessary to buy exotic lines and gear – I thought that my Shimano Ultegra was perfect for the job, and is showing no signs of ill health after its brush with saltwater.
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My guide Benito and mate William |
Use plenty of sun block, particularly on your legs – it not only stops burning but also helps to keep the sea lice off – they love a good meal of blood and can sting a bit – now I know how a sea trout feels.
Best buy was a couple of cotton fishing shirts and a proper flats hat with neck and ear protection that a friend sent over from the states – It gets pretty warm even in the middle of winter.
Although my trout rod coped with the fishing that I experienced, I felt that a tippier rod in a #8 would have been better when I was fishing in strong winds. When the weather was fine then any normal UK rod in a #6 or #7 would cope admirably.
The guides earn their living lobster fishing, running Eco-tours and guiding, and with the American tourists a bit thinner on the ground than usual they are keen for our business. I thought they were reasonable - $200/$250 gets you a guide and boat for 2 anglers for the day including lunch, you may even get a better deal if you are staying for several days – you can’t call £80/£100 a day each expensive for fishing of this quality, you can pay a lot more to fish a salmon river bereft of fish! I fished alone but there was plenty of water and fish for two anglers to fish together without feeling deprived.
Benito was pleased that I wanted to try for tarpon, snook and other species – the American visitors apparently prefer to fish mostly for bonefish, whilst the guides prefer some variety.
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A selection of Del’s |
A pair of flats boots are essential – I bought a pair of Typhoon neoprene pull on boots in a sale at the local sports store for £10 -I think they were probably sailing or windsurfing boots, but they fulfilled the role admirably.
The family loved Mexico too – we stayed about 50 miles south of Cancun and thought it was brilliant – there is loads to see and do and we can’t wait to go again (unfortunately the piggy bank needs a serious refill!). There is loads of diving and snorkelling, swimming with the dolphins, Mayan ruins, etc.
The driving was fine -the main road is very good and car hire is reasonable
– a jeep is quoted at up to $100 a day but you can usually get a
deal for about $350 a week including insurance etc, and they didn’t
bat an eyelid when I returned mine with a liberal coating of dried mud
from the Punta Allen road.
If you fancy it, give Benito a ring on 00 52 984 87 78017, he will be
pleased to help with accommodation and guiding, or just turn up –
there are plenty of guides in the village who will be glad to take you
out – I found the whole village very friendly and helpful, maybe
not as developed as we are used to, but you can get everything that you
need at the local stores. Feel free to email me for more information on
jannjulie@yahoo.co.uk. Would
I go again? You bet, I reckon that if you can go outside the main holiday
season (unlike us) you could probably do a whole week including guided
fishing, accommodation and flights for about £1000.
P.S. – It shouldn’t be too hard to work out where the title came from! And a big thank you to everyone who contributed help and advice. And it’s a lot warmer than Shetland, Always!!
Jan Rigden.