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Week
of November 3, 2002
A 6.5 day fishing trip with 2 clients yielded 3
permit, over 20 bonefish, and enough jacks, barracudas and snappers that we
stopped counting. All 3 permit were caught at Punta Ycacos and about
half the bonefish at the Sapodilla Cayes. Permit were caught on
Turneffe crabs (olive/green with red eyes, #2 hook). Best flies for
bones proved to be Bonefish Clousers (brown and white with flash, red and
black eyes) and Marabous. Best bets for jacks were Clousers,
cockroaches and poppers. Also saw quite a few tarpon starting to show
up -- the numbers increased dramatically in just a week. (Report by
Kevin Modera)
Late
Summer/Fall Fishing
May 30, 2002
Cubera Snappers and Crevalle Jacks have started to
spawn in the Gladden Spit area, local fishermen have started bringing in big Vermillion
Snappers (bottom fishing). Big, 5 foot+ tarpon spotted near False Caye a few days
ago. Schools of blackfin tuna at the reef (it's summertime!)
April 10, 2002
Catching tarpon in the 15-60# range around
mangrove cayes - chartreuse and yellow Clousers on 4/0 hooks. Permit in the 15#
range on the flats off the Placencia coast - Del Brown's Merkins, Will Bauer's Permit Fly
and shrimp patterns - #5-#7 hooks. Weather generally calm and hot, good visibility
on the flats. (Report by Daniel Cabral)
March 28, 2002
Big tarpon (80-100#) and bonefish (1.5-3#) are
prime flyfishing targets. Tarpon being caught on Black/Red Cockroaches, bones on
pink/green Clousers. Also catching good numbers of bonita on pink/green Clousers
while trolling with fly rods.
February 12, 2002
Permit and tarpon continue to be very good this
winter season - and not just juvenile tarpon as is usually the case from January through
March. The big guys are around in good quantity -- 30 to 50 pound range.
Tarpon have been feeding from below the baitfish in 7 to 8 feet of water, and seem to be
plentiful right now, especially around Lagoon Caye. The most successful fly
lately has been a greenish/brownish Clouser on a 3/0 hook with a long shank.
Large bonefish down at the Sapodilla Cayes (around
8 pounds). Biting well on pink/white and brown/white slightly weighted Crazy
Charlies and tan/white Surf Candies.
As usual for the winter, Black Grouper, King
Mackerl and barracuda are around in good numbers.
January 3, 2002
Christmas
Permit
Dear Jamal:
Remember those green Bonefish Sliders
we tied while you were down here in November (well, you tied them -- but they
were my design and colors, but who's counting, anyway)? Remember I told you they would
work in the Punta Ycacos Lagoon? Well, guess what, I was right.
Anthony and Thomas, a father and son
that fished with me over Christmas of 2000, came back this year (2001). Neither had ever
caught a permit, and both wanted to catch one badly. So, I took them down to Punta Ycacos
Lagoon armed to the teeth - - including those Bonefish Sliders.
Thomas and First Christmas Permit |
They catch their first
permit -- a 4-pounder -- on a Bonefish Bitter (8-weight floating line). We then look for
more permit for about an hour and a half, and while looking, I decide the time is right
for my fly, well, our fly -- the green Bonefish Slider. Well, we find more permit, and another likely target -- a good
sized one as it turns out, although it looked small at first.
As you known, down at Punta Ycacos, when the tide
is |
| falling, most times the
permit cruise, stop and feed. Thomas is a pretty good caster but on his first three casts,
the fish either saw the fly, didn't like it or never saw it at all. But, Thomas' fourth cast is perfect. The permit stops, picks up the
fly, tail in air, looking nice. |
|
The line jumps briefly and I tell Thomas to set the hook. After that, I have to go to work, cause that fish is not waiting
for anybody -- it is leaving the building at a very high speed -- as it turns out, a very
respectable 22-pounder! |
Kevin, Thomas and Second Christmas Permit |
The bad news is that
we caught that fish on the fly that YOU tied, so I have to go home and tie some myself for
the next day.
Well, I'm not trying to take away
your fly-tying fame, but we go back down to Punta Ycacos the next day. After some
grueling hours catching nothing, we are almost about to head back to the ranch when I
decide to pull for another half-hour into an area where I usually see cruisers.
We see permit swimming along, but
only occasionally feeding here and there. So, after a hard day at the office (as usual), I
am about to give up and call it a day. But, for some reason I decide to try one more
thing.
So, I push my way out of the Lagoon
in an area that will take me past some places where I occasionally see fish pass by. Then
I see it.
Third Christmas Permit |
I tell
Thomas - "You drop that fly in front of that fish, and it will take it." His
first cast was almost in front of the fish, but a little on the side.
"Take it up and wait," I
tell Thomas. I then quickly push another 200 yards, cut the fish off, and yell at Thomas,
"Put it right in front of that fish!" The fly lands between 3 and 4 feet away
from that fish -- we can barely even see the tail. But, that fly line starts moving, and I
knew the fish had it. "Set the hook, Thomas!" The line tightens. "Put him
on the reel!" The reel starts screaming like crazy. |
| After an hour and 15
minutes, we land that fish, and it was big. Clearly not as big as the one Thomas caught on
YOUR fly, but big, nonetheless. |
The permit Thomas
caught on YOUR fly WAS bigger than mine. That is something I have to live with, that's the
truth. But fisherman to fisherman, MINE WAS BIGGER!!!!!
And that's my Christmas fishing
story.
Kevin, January 3, 2002
Daniel, Thomas and Tarpon |
P.S. Thomas also caught this
nice-sized tarpon with Daniel Cabral, my first cousin. Thomas landed it on a chartreuse Clouser out at Tarpon (Tarpum)
Caye.
(I think it might be a little larger than the one
you caught in November.) |
December 23,
2001
Permit biting down at Punta Ycacos Lagoon!
Two clients landed 3 permit today - two in the 6 to 7 pound range - but one was 22
pounds! All three caught on clear floating line using bonefish sliders - dark green
with red along back. Day alternated between light clouds and full sun. Temps
in the mid-eighties. Good visibility.
December 15, 2001
Fished Placencia with Kevin Modera 12/8/01 -
12/11/01. The fishing was excellent.
Bonefish were plentiful and easily caught. Most
small but a few 3-4 pounders.
After trying on severa previous trips, I finally
caught Permit on this one. Caught one off the Placencia coast and one down south in the
Punta Ycacos Lagoon. Three others were hooked but not landed.
Also landed three tarpon and lost as many. No
giants but good jumpers and very entertaining.
Jacks, Mackerel and other assorted 'food fish' per
usual.
Why success this trip? Practice? Luck? Karma?
Actually, Kevin has developed two fairly simple but perfect flies for the area.
The town looks a bit barren after Iris but the
beer is still cold and the people warm.
How good was the trip? I'll be back in 79 days.
JAMAL MAHDAVIAN
August 5, 2001
According to Daniel
Cabral, lots of tarpon out at Tarpon (a/k/a Tarpum) Caye right now. Daniel also
reports good numbers of bonefish around Gladden Caye. Kevin's clients have been catching good sized (40-60
pound) King Mackerels in the last week out in the area of Ranguana Caye. Weather
early last week caught us in a tropical wave from Sunday through Tuesday. However,
very little wind in the last few days, although nights have brought some thunder showers
around midnight. |
