This was my second trip to Belize. My first time was a few years back with my wife and some friends. It’s an easy place to get to and very laid back – just how I like it.
This time, it was a fishing trip with some good friends. This was my first time to ever fly fish and we were hunting for Bone Fish and Permit. Niether of these are easy fish to find or catch – so we hired the best guides in Placencia. Ewart and his brothers.
The trip started well enough, with 1st class to Belize City. However, the plane was late enough that we missed our connecting puddle jumper to Placencia. The only driver that would take us on this THREE HOUR journey (45 minutes by plane) was driving a 1980 station wagon that was not really big enough to accomodate the four of us properly. Three hours seemed like a long haul from my perspective – in the trunk of the wagon.
3 hour cab ride
If you have ever been to Belize, you know the roads are not great. I kept thinking of my 8 year old on a road trip with his constant questioning – “are we there yet.” I almost channeled him. I watched Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou on my i-pod, twice….. Bill Murray could quite possibly be the funniest man on the planet.
Fishing the flats was our goal and from where we were staying, it was a 27 mile boat ride. We took two boats and at one point, the swells were so big, that we were unable to see the other boat just 20 yards away. Our guides were “surfing” the waves with these pongas. It was kind of a beating and I’m glad we had capable captains.
Our first day was almost a bust. The wind was so strong that it made fly fishing almost impossible. If you’ve done it, you’ll know what I mean. Casting into 20 mph winds is not easy, especially when you are site fishing and concerned about presentation of the fly on the end of your leader. Of course, the guide showed us how he can cast 50 feet straight into the wind. “It’s all mental”, he said. Yeah, whatever. But hey, we all caught some fish that day and headed back to the mainland.
Our accommodations were stellar. We got the hookup in Belize. Check out the house below. I highly recommend the restaurant at Turtle Inn just down the road. I had stayed there on my first visit and it is fantastic.
Mildly sore, but rested, we set out the next day – crack of dawn – to really catch some bone fish. This time we headed to the Sapodilla Caye District, near Honduras. The water is so blue and clear that it is absolutely amazing. It is, however, quite alarming to see the amount of trash in the waters. Our guides say that a few of their neighboring countries simply throw their trash into the ocean. If you check out this link Science Daily you will see that this is certainly not an isolated problem.
This time the ride was easy because the wind had subsided and the front had moved through. We were all pretty excited about the day’s prospects. We certainly were not disappointed either, because all of us caught plenty.
One of many
Camera had wrong date….
The fish were almost too easy to catch, so we decided to stay on an island in the area so we could wake up and hunt permit EARLY. Permit are hard to find and are much more skittish than the Bone.
Remember, that house we had in Belize? The island accommodations were the exact opposite! Our guide’s mom – Sandra – owns a deserted island that has a few “cabins”. Picture this – no running water, no electricity, no a/c and no bathrooms. WTH? Our two buds bailed quickly and took the big boat back to the big casa.
Sandra makes sure we are okay with our room. She prepares dinner – Conch and pasta. A bit nervous, I ask if she has any beer…… “Of course, I’ve got some chilling for you.” Dooooood – Belikin lager never tasted so good and never will again! Happily, I took my pale lager and just listened to the waves crash on the beach. Dark, quite and alone – that beer was pretty damn good.
Belikin Lager
People ask me often: “what is your favorite beer?” Well – at this moment, it was definitely Belikin. There is certainly a beer for every mood and moment and when all you got is a pale lager, its fantastic.
Sandra
That’s Sandra – and bless that woman for thinking ahead!
I slept like a pup and had dreams of Stone Ruination…………..
Woke up before the crack of dawn and hunted the permit. Found them but could not cast to them. We boated over 70 miles for some face-time and left with a big goose egg.
Would I do it again. In a heartbeat.
Slabo out!
