The first day of my El Pescador trip was pretty much a normal day… woke up to the shouts of “DADDDDYYYYYY!”  These verbal explosions take place about 20 minutes too early, but it isn’t a bad way to wake up, really.

From there… store, swim lessons, store, cooked up my totally awesome and unhealthy Mac and Cheese (there’s bacon in it… 4 cheeses, butter, milk, flour, cream, garlic, onion and corn… damn good), Grandparents came in, Thanksgiving Feast for Pre-school… started getting a little anxious and finally the luggage into the car and a trip up to SFO (two hours early).  My daughter, dressed in her Princess costume from Halloween (she wears it about 2-3 hours a day) sacked out on the way up, so I didn’t get to say goodbye to her, which was the only part of the day that didn’t go to script, but at least she didn’t cry.

At the airport and I’ve heard so much about the stepped up security. What’s the fuss?  I was through in a matter of seconds, really.  No groping, sadly.  No body scanner.  I know it isn’t the universal experience, but it was really totally painless.

Now… the waiting.  Board a flight to Miami, arrive at 5:something, wait… flight to Belize City and then on to Ambergris to meet up with Shane and the good folks from El Pescador.

I’ll keep things as up-to-date as possible.

Need a rod carrier... old soccer sock and a couple of cam straps. Done.

Good times are here… the trip is here… let the adventures begin.

Before I even get out of the Miami Airport and on to Belize , I see my first bonefish… in fact, a whole school.

A good omen?

Met up with Chris Lewis in the airport… he saw me post the above pic on my facebook page… turns out he works here.  We got to chat about bonefish for a bit and the fishing in Biscayne Bay. Always nice to meet folks who take the time to follow the blog and who love bonefish like I do.

Well, I hope the folks down there at El Pescador are doing OK in the wake of Richard coming through like Keith Richards through an expensive hotel room.

Power got knocked out, while houses on stilts were blown away in the city after Hurricane Richard made a landfall south of the the City of Belize Sunday night.

via Hurricane Richard Weakens, Leaves Belize With Millions of Dollars In Damages | Golf Talk.

We don’t have to deal with that kind of stuff here in CA… earthquakes, sure… massive forest fires, OK… but Hurricanes? Not so much.

Hurricanes are a reason that the over-development that is either on the doorstep of Ambergris  (or somewhere in the living room) is important.  The mangroves, as I understand it, help absorb the force of the storms… they buffer.  When you screw with that perfect and time-tested system, well… you lose even more habitat, you lose the prey, you lose the fish and you lose the fishery.

So… put that bulldozer away and sail that dredge into deep water for an artificial reef and I hope the hurricane shutters worked.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to strike out on your own as a booking agent for fly fishing destinations?  Well, Michael Davis is finding out.  Mike has the blog False Echos and recently launched a booking company called Life on the Fly Outfitters.

Belize Bonefish - Life on the Fly

Mike, you recently started a booking company. It seems a tough business to get into. What made you jump in?

Well, actually is was part of a bigger plan, I’ve been writing the blog False Echoes for a few years, updating fly anglers about my personal trips & thoughts and used the tag line “life on the fly”. (I thought that was clever) I decided to build on that brand and incorporate the name. Life On The Fly Outfitters. I’m a business man at heart and I have a unprecedented passion for this sport.

I wanted to travel and do what I love, that is fish, I just saw it fit within a business plan.

As far as tough to get into, Bjorn you don’t know the half of it, I prepared for a year to launch this company and have had some great feedback and responses from within the industry. Part of my business plan was to design and create my own flyers, for each destination. Lodge owners really like the personal touch, as well as, the customers.

You’ve fished down in Belize a bit. Where would you recommend a hungry/thirsty angler head at the end of the day to grab a beer or a bite to eat?

Ambergris Caye, which is a little island off the mainland coast, is special to me and my family and its culture is unique in many ways. From the food to fishing it offers variety for the angler on the fly. This past march I stayed with El Pescador (which I represent) and enjoyed my stay very much. However, I had to get into the town of San Pedro and visit some old haunts. My favorite place, after a long day on the flats, is Lilly’s Treasure Chest. The service is on island time, but hands down the best Conch Ceviche on the island and the Belikin’s are always cold.

My Second, favorite place is a tiny restaurant called My Secret Deli, which is close to the lagoon side, and serves a different local meal each day, the day I was there it was Conch Chowder in Coconut Milk & Stewed Chicken. Best meal I had the whole trip. Man it makes me want to book a trip right now.

Some good grub in Ambergris

What rod/reel do you use for your bonefish?

Currently I use a Sage Fli 9ft 8wt Rod, Lamson Lightspeed 3.5 Reel & a SA Sharkskin WF-8-Floating Line. Things change and so do my preferences, I’m in love with the Scott S4S 8wt & the Hatch Monsoon 7 Plus. Next time I’m in the salt this is the rig I will be bringing for Bones.

What’s the next place you are going to cast to bonefish?

Bjorn your list might be longer then mine, but a I would like to visit the destinations that I represent: I work with Big Charlie’s Lodge in South Andros, Pesca Maya in Mexico & Avalon’s Programs in Cuba. I had a chance to visit Cuba a few years back, didn’t have time to fish but what a beautiful country, I may try to get there again once the regime changes hands.

What’s the best bit of advice you ever got about pursuing bonefish?

Make your casts count & know your ability. The crossover anglers who come from Fresh to Salt are prime examples. Salt is a different game. It is a more intense, quicker draw, casts need to be precise and flawless. A tailing Permit will teach you this lesson as well.

El Pescador... soon, Michael and I will have both fished there.

We have all seen the “bonefishing uniform.” What parts of that traditional uniform do you think are essential and what parts do you think we can leave behind?

If your fair skinned like me Sun Block , Sun Block & more Sun Block. Seriously, I won’t go on the flats without long pants & long sleeve shirts. Nothing could make up for the 7 days of blisters on the back of your legs, then being completely covered. I also don’t go anywhere without a second pair of sunglasses.

Thanks Michael.  Good luck to you!

About 40 days to go…

Kind of looking forward to it.

I think I’m just about ready for The Drake Film Festival with this little video.  To be honest, I haven’t had as much hair as that guy has… ever.

OK… maybe film isn’t my calling.

My ticket is paid for. I’m headed to Belize in November.  Sadly, I couldn’t pay for the ticket in Trident Layers.

I’ll be headed to El Pescador where I’ll hope to chat in person with Lori-Ann Murphy.

I still wait to hear if my friend Shane will be able to come along. If not, I’ll be flying solo.

Can’t wait.  Started tying some #8′s last night.

Can't wait.

I enjoyed my recent interview with Lori-Ann Murphy of El Pescador.  After talking with her I did some more poking around on-line to see what I could find out about development or over-development in Ambergris.

The first thing I found was nice little video by Wil Flack, good friend of Lori-Ann and seemingly all around good guy.

South Beach Belize… it sounds pleasant, doesn’t it?  Wouldn’t it be nice to retire down in Belize… grab your rod in the morning after you’ve had your coffee and go and catch a bonefish in out your front door?  It does sound nice.  The downside is that they have to dredge the bejesus out of the flats and bulldoze the hell out of the mangroves to get that front door there.  All those mangroves are where the fish live/grow/hunt.  You nuke the mangroves and you nuke the fishing.

I don’t even know that much about saltwater fishing, but I can understand that pretty well.

This is what greed looks like.

Sounds like these guys have been botching the job since day -1 (and more).

You can seen the construction, right up against a protected area.

It is a little difficult to figure out what exactly is happening on the ground.  I found the website for Ambergris Caye Citizens for Sustainable Development and their listing of the status of current projects. They seem to think that the project has not been green-lit, although it is easy enough to find folks selling South Beach Belize property.

It sounds like the project is on hold for now.  Before you go and drop some coin on a little bit of raped and pillaged Belize, just think that these guys sold plots for a project that isn’t even in the bag.  That can’t be good.

I have no idea, but I can’t get this video to embed in this post… here’s a link to a video called “How South Beach Belize Will Impact Ambergris.”

AMBERGRIS CAYE, Belize — “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this,” I asked.

OK, not a very original line but this time an honest question.

Lori-Ann Murphy is the fishing and guest relation’s host for one of the best fishing and most famous lodges in the tropics, El Pescador Lodge in the Central American country of Belize.

via Slam: Six degrees of Kevin Bacon – ESPN.

Lori-Ann is also in the new fly fishing show Buccaneers and Bones, the successor to Pirates of the Flats.

Lori-Ann Murphy

More news on Buccaneers and Bones from the filming down in Belize and El Pescador.

…this past week Ambergris Caye was host to some heavy weights in the entertainment industry as they filmed “Buccaneers and Bones”. El Pescador (Lodge) was chosen from three locations in Belize to host Orion Multimedia, Michael Keaton actor/director, Tom Brokaw news anchor/author, Yvon Chouninard founder Patagonia, Bill Klyn director Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, Zach Gilford actor, Thomas McGuane acclaimed author, Lori-Ann Murphy director of fishing at El Pescador, and Aaron Adams, scientist, Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. According to Ali Flota of El Pescador, this was the “Coup de grace of fly fishing”, and truly an honor.

via El Pescador hosts Stars, Belize News, San Pedro Sun.

Don't you wish you were there? (photo from San Pedro Sun)

“Buccaneers and Bones” is the succesor to Pirates of  the Flats and the Ambergris Daily shed a little light on the filming currently going on in Belize.

The “Buccaneers and Bones” series features the anglers’ passion for fishing and the camaraderie they share as they search for answers on how to safeguard our environment. In addition to fishing the famed salt water flats of Belize, these notables are fishing for answers, too. How can we save our last great coastal environments? It’s a question that has been the heart of Bonefish and Tarpon Trust’s mission since 1998, and is being pursued by some of the world’s top scientists.

As you can imagine, I’m looking forward to this.