Belize 2007

Shrimp?  What No, Shrimp!

After a long overnight flight to Belize City, we were scheduled to have an hour layover before our flight to Placencia, enough time to relax and have lunch before our flight out.  Unbeknown to us, Margie was holding a plane to Placencia for us.  After we made our way through immigration and customs, Steven quickly moved our luggage to the terminal where Margie was waiting for us.  As usual the terminal was busy with an air of confusion, but there was Margie urging me to move through the crowd so we could talk.  It was then I realized what she was up to, a few minutes later we were on our way to Placencia way ahead of schedule.  I just hoped that she could get a message down to the folks that were to meet us at the airport in Placencia.  Something that I have learned from my travels south of the border is to just relax, everything will work its way out.

Great we were at our hotel early: plenty of time to shop, eat lunch, get our gear ready for tomorrow and even take a nap before dinner.

The guides met us at Cozy’s for dinner; we discussed our next days fishing plan, talk about what was new in town and what time to meet tomorrow.  We all decided it was a 6:00 am start time the first morning.  Since it had been windy the past few days, we all met at the dock along the lagoon. 

Our first day fishing:  Kurt was waiting for us at the dock, so it didn’t take long for us to load up our gear and head out.  We poled a few flats on the way out and then with the tide coming in we stopped the panga on a very long flat where Bob and I decided to walk instead of poling the flat.  It certainly was the right decision; the flat was loaded with permit from one end to the other.  We didn’t walk very far to find the first permit to cast too.  After each opportunity, Bob and I would discuss what he did right or wrong so he could (both of us) learn from the experience.  After countless opportunities, we finally found a pair of willing permit.  Bob’s first cast was short so I had him make another quick cast about 10’ closer, perfect.  Just wait for them to get a little closer, strip, stop, strip, strip, stop; I think he ate the fly, strip, strip, FISH ON!  Clear your line, rod up, Kurt bring the boat, Plink!  Unfortunately for Bob the permit ran off the deep, windy side of the flat and he was cut off by the coral.  Meanwhile, the rest of the group:  John and Roger reported catching good numbers of snook from the lagoon area, Dan and Mike caught a number of bonefish and James and Willie chased permit to no avail.

We went south for a long boat ride, only seeing one permit and only a few tarpon in Monkey River.  Roger and John were hard at it again and landed a 10 lb snook.  Willie and James hooked some tarpon but none to the boat and Dan and Mike again ended the day with a few nice bonefish.

It was back out to the flats for Bob and me in search of that permit but none were found to be hungry enough to eat our offerings.  Around noon we decided to just spend the rest of the day somewhere we could just catch some fish.  Kurt said, “I have the perfect spot”.  Not far from where we were Kurt spotted some birds working a school of bait in the deep water just off a flat.  Bob and I got out of the boat and walked to the deep edge, on our first cast it was an instant hook-up for both of us.  The action continued like this for the next 3+ hours.  Meanwhile, John landed a nice 8 lb permit, James landed his first tarpon and Dan and Mike again ended up with some nice bonefish.  Since Cozy’s was closed, we when down to the “Thatch”.  This is a restaurant that we always enjoy because they have the best fried shrimp in town.  I hung back so I could talk to the waitress,   I told her that before she takes the dinner order that I want her to say “Sorry but we have no shrimp today; they do not deliver on Monday”.  She was reluctant at first until I explained that the reason we came here was because of the “fried shrimp”.  We both had a good laugh and I proceeded to the table.  When she came to the table, she said exactly what we had rehearsed.  You could hear the disappointment from the group and some even said lets go and started to get up.  That’s when she ratted on me and we both started to laugh.  Needless to say, that wasn’t the end of that little joke!

The next day Dan and Mike were out early, meeting their guide at 5:00 am, so they could head to a secret tarpon location.  Bob and I met Kurt and we headed southeast to some new flats and islands.  The tide was still to low when we arrived so we poled some deep water flats for a while.  When the tide was higher we went back and had a few shots at some permit and caught a few nice bonefish.  Roger and John searched the flats for some permit but found none willing to eat but Roger did get a few jacks (one of his favorites) on a fly.  I was just about to get into the shower when someone knocked on the door; it was Dan and Mike and were they stocoked.  Dan landed one tarpon about ten pounds but Mike hooked a fish about 50 lbs.  After a good pull and a few jumps, the fly came out, Mike showed me the straightened out hook on his gummy minnow.  It’s too bad that the maker of these flies doesn’t use a stronger hook!

Dan and Mike were out early again today, the rest of us meet our guides at the usual time 5:30 am.  We all headed out to the flats.  We went out to Tarpon Caye, a prime location for bigger tarpon.  We were not disappointed, the fish were there but not in the numbers that I have seen in past trips.  Bob did get a couple of grabs but nothing solid.  I had some flies (spoons) that a friend had given me to try to figure out just what they would catch.  I tried a floating minnow pattern but they were not interested.  Next I tried a tube minnow pattern, it was an instant take but not on a tarpon.  The pelicans loved the pattern.  It didn’t matter how far I cast the fly from the birds they were quickly on top of it.  So much for that pattern.  Next it was a sinking minnow (spoon), it looked good in the water but no takes.  I think I’ll next try them on Dorado in Baja!  We all had a number of good opportunities for permit but all came up empty.  Dan and Mike hooked or missed a number of tarpon, none to the boat.  At dinner at we discussed our week’s trip and what we were going to do tomorrow our final day.

The next morning, I could see the pressure on some of the faces, lots of opportunities this week but nothing to show for the effort.  First of all; that’s fishing, second that’s why you come back, trip after trip, year after year.  Bob and I traded shots today, the first time that we did this the whole week.  We both had our opportunities; in fact I’m still disappointed with my self for not hooking the one permit that ate my fly.  I thought for sure that Dan or Mike would end up with at least a couple of tarpon and even a permit today, but that did not happen.  James and Willie caught a few more nice bonefish and Roger and John got into a few more snook.

Our Friday night dinner was held at Cozy’s; all but one of the guides joined us for our final dinner in Placencia.  It was our time to say thanks to the guides, share a few stories, have a few laughs before our departure in the morning.

Looking forward to another fun and exciting trip in 2008. 

One other note:

If you are not a fly tier and are purchasing crab patterns, pick a variety of patterns with different sized eyes in various weights.  If you are fishing flats like we are in Belize, the barbell eyes are too heavy.  Don’t be afraid to cut them off.  Since you are fishing skinny water anyway, just allow a few more seconds for the crab to sink and make sure your strip is very slow.  Remember, it doesn’t take much to move a fly with little or no weight.

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