I’m on the hunt for a trip that my dad and I can take to find some bones. My dad has been going to the Babine for the past several years, but he’s not headed back in 2010. The Babine is a beautiful place and the steelhead are amazing… last year my dad got a 25 pounder… the fish of several lifetimes. His decision not to return, at least for now, means that he has some fly fishing capital freed up.
Yeah, the Babine is pretty sweet... and cold.
A father-son trip means this can’t be a DIY experience. My dad has a lifetime of fishing experience, but only about 12-13 years of fly fishing, so I need a place where a double-haul isn’t mandatory, where the fish are 50 feet away, not 90 and where you find schools, not singles or doubles.
Enter Belize. It seems like Belize and the Mexican Yucatan both provide the kind of fishing I’m looking for.
Looking at possible places to fish and outfits to book through, one has quickly risen to the fore… Ed Blank’s Adventures on the Fly. Ed’s been very responsive on email as I’ve been asking questions and getting clarifications. He’s let me know when the lowest cost dates are, what I can expect, what the options will be.
The option that is top of the list right now is El Pescador on Ambergris. There are deals if you go slightly off-season that drop this lodge way down into the affordable range… below $2K.
Look for me and my dad on a flat in Belize in the summer of 2010 (if we can line up grandma to watch my daughter!).
El Pescador - Belize
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Tags: Belize, bonefishing, Bonefishing Lodge, El Pescador, flyfishing
Not sure where you live buuuuut, there’s a bloggers camping trip at Long Key State Parki in the Keys. Camping right on the water, and the best bonefish flat in the US….April 11th-16th
Well… THAT sounds interesting. You have any other details on that? Don’t know if I could swing it, but it would be interesting to enter into negotiations with Central Command.
Here is the link to the info – if you need to be picked up from the airport or something, I might be able to arrange something – probably the least expensive way to stay in the Keys.
http://rob-abadbackcastandotherinanemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/any-takers-for-florida-keys-trip.html
Hi Bjorn —
Just got back from a Belize vacation where I managed to smuggle in some fishing for bones. Belize is great, but a few things to keep in mind: you might not need to cast 70,80, or 90 feet, but there is usually a pretty good wind there so some sort of haul is often necessary to punch flies up into the wind. Don’t know if your father is comfortable doing that but if not I would definitely take a little time to brush up on it. I took a 9-weight which I thought would be a little heavy but which actually worked quite nicely.
If I were you I would also take a look at Turneffe — I did some diving there but no fishing (the weather was really bad that day) but it’s simply gorgeous, a world-class fishery. I’m thinking about trying to head back there later on this year. I have a fishing friend who lives in Belize (and who has a boat — almost a must in this country) and he goes out and camps on Turneffe for anywhere from 3-7 days at a time, fishing the whole time. It’s not luxury but he’s had some fabulous fishing there. Tons of bones, many shots at permit, and, depending on the time of year, often a lot of tarpon too. I need to figure out my schedule but I’m definitely gonna get back there! sometime soon!
I’m going to be putting up a few posts on our site (www.spinozarods.com) about the trip, but I figured I’d drop you a line directly too.
-Jonas
Thanks Jonas, that is all good stuff. My dad has cast in the wind, but it tends to be a whole body experience. Cost is a major consideration on this trip too and it seems like Turneffe runs a bit more than Ambergris. I’ve heard great things about Turneffe though. The camping sounds interesting, but without your own boat, I wonder how the fishing would be. I look forward to reading your trip report.
B-