Well… that looks interesting… very interesting indeed.
Some folks probably won’t like me posting that. It’s probably their secret. Luckily, there are enough secrets out there that they can’t possibly all be as secret as you think.
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Tags: Boca Paila, bonefishing, fly fishing, Mexico
Hey Bjorn,
Sorry to say, but I’m one of the folks who has an extreme dislike for posting this. If someone does the research, expends the sweat, etc to figure this out and do it, more power to them. but making it easy and accessible to any dope with an internet connection leads to all things bad. I find that people who do the work to figure it out tend to treat the places and environment with respect. In contrast, those that come to it easily (like this) tend to be the ones that trash it and move on. I suggest refraining from such postings in the future. Just sayin…
I understand where you are coming from, but I have to think that even this very explicit video is unlikely to really impact much of anything. First, it is un-guided travel in Mexico and enough Americans are pretty sketched out by that anyway at this point. Second, it is still bonefishing and so not something just anyone is going to be able to pick up and do out of the box. I’d bet that this video might get 5-10 people to actually fish that spot. We all need a little help from somewhere, ya know? I’ve had a lot and I’ve appreciated every bit of it. I don’t have the time or resources at this point in my life to go find my own patch of something when it is a plane ride and a week’s vacation away. Ya know?
Agreed. He may as well post a huge “fish here” sign with an arrow at the bridge. That flat is one of only a few on the lagoon side that is accessible without a boat. Also – it requires a long walk from the road in relatively deep water in an area with lots of crocs and a few sharks.
Hi Aaron, Bjorn and Brent,
I first fished that flat DIY in 2000 and perhaps a 1/2 dozen trips since then too about 2007. Good DIY spots are tough to find but very easy to spoil.
Brent is very correct about the Croc’s. Seen a few of them there at the Boca mouth channel, from the brige and even once directly at the “walk-in” point at the road (about an 8 footer)…more than large enough to put an end to a fishing day as well as a persons life.
Even more dangerous down there than Croc’s at the moment is the drug cartel activity combined with the overly nervous drug interdiction military units that patrol the BP road and beach. Last DIY trip there in 2007 (and I will be the last). My friend and I were given a very difficult time by them. We and our vehicle, gear and persons were searched and questioned to no end. I really wish I spoke spanish that day. I didn’t think we were going to get out of it but then their radio squelched something and they left in a awful hurry. And again on that trip, we were approached and harrassed by a foot patrol while fishing for huge snook on the beach. Searches and questions again as well as a severe scolding and threatened arrest as the area is a (by permit only) bird breeding sanctuary which was later verified by us once we saw the signs on the trail back to the bridge as well as a talk with the attendant at the park entrance.
If I ever fish there again, It’ll be while guided. At least I’ll have a translator.
PS, in the past, I’ve seen up to 8 anglers wading that beautiful flat at one time and that was back then…I can only imagine how it will be now since that “X marks the spot” video. I only hope whomever goes there is fully informed as to the dangers, natural and/or otherwise.
Regards,
Henry
Good news – I gave these guys a bit of a hard time (tactfully) via You Tube and they decided to remove the hot spotting portion of their video. They edited the video and re-loaded it. No more location details.
Henry, I fished this flat and the Boca Paila/Ascension Bay area last year and had no encounters with the police. They were visibly present from Tulum north, but I think they’ve received guidance to stop hassling tourists. It’s an amazing area with some of the nicest local people in the world…95% of the drug cartel issues are in the border towns and pacific coastal towns. I highly recommend you go back and give it another chance.
Always love to see a good conversation on a blog post.
Thanks for the thoughtful contributions.
Just came across this discussion of our video. First off, awesome blog and many thanks to Bonefishbjorn for the link .
We found this area in the first place based upon info on the internet and so appreciate being able to scout locations by doing research on the net. Regarding the “turn-by-turn directions” out to the flat, Brent is right, we traded some comments on youtube and I ended up agreeing with him, sometimes too much info is a bad thing. They’ve been removed and what remains is just enough to get folks looking in the right direction without any info that wasn’t already out there. There’s sort of a learning curve to doing these types of videos and I think we learned how much info is too much on this, our first.
As for the area, we had no hassles, no crocs (though they are there, as at every other rivermouth we’ve fished and surfed in the tropics), no corrupt policia and no crazed drug cartel member sightings all week. As Brent indicates, this area is an incredible, unspoiled place with incredibly friendly people who, by the way, are hurting as a result of the decrease in tourism caused by the reports on the news about places that are 800 miles from Tulum. I highly recommend that folks give it a try and, for those who don’t feel like being out there on their own, check out Pesca Maya or Boca Paila Lodge, both great operations with excellent guides.
Anyway, many thanks for the link and for checking out the video.