Left the windy lands of Ellensburg Washington for my second trip for Permit and Bonefish on May 1 and returned yesterday planning the next trip. I don’t think I have been this jazzed about new angling in over a decade. The whole experience is a learning curve, from climate adaption to leader tapers.
Rex and I began by road tripping it to Hobox island in hopes of finding a guide for whatever time we had. We managed to fish a ½ day in the mangrove sloughs catching many 20 inch Snook on sardine patterns. Good fun and a great warm up. Lesson one: gas stations don’t always have gas! But someone in most towns will even if it comes from 2 litre coke bottles.
Arriving in Xcalak we found the town nearly stopped as the tourist season was finalizing, fortunately the winds also had slowed from a gale the prior three days.
The next five days gave us all many shots at Permit, we had 20 fish schools of 5 pounders and singles to over 30 pounds. They would chase shrimp patterns right to the rod tip and most never bit but many gave us good intentions. Many times our well placed crabs or shrimp would be gobbled by bonefish feeding on the bottom below the Permit. Reminded me of ol’ whitey on the Big Hole in July!
I again managed to catch a permit on bonefish gear, a 6 wt no less, wile on foot what a battle thank god for backing. Chris and Darrell had great fishing and a few days could have caught 50 plus Bones a day but the frequent passing of Permit kept us hunting them.
Rex and I went on exploratory trips to the far inside of Chetumal bay finding huge unfished flats with larger uneducated Bones and very fast schools of Jacks hunting baitfish. Chucho then took Daryl and myself far up the ocean side in search of large untouched Permit, only to find all four flats species in a single large lagoon a ½ mile inland. The Snook and Tarpon proved too sneaky but the Permit and Bonefish made the trip.
As for the next trip, I am thinking Early December right after Montana Deer season the guides say that there is a month window there before the north winds arrive cooling the water and moving the larger numbers of Permit out. I will share more on booking that trip later in the season.
Flats fishing has bitten my soul, the new challenges and its beautiful environs have me wondering will I ever feel the same about trout fishing again.
