Mexico fishing bliss

[muskymatt]

What a great week last week in Mexico. Barcelo Maya Beach resort was so amazing. Caught a nice Trigger fish off the rocks near the beach before being told "No Pesca a playa" LOL.

Also got a one day excursion to Ascension bay for bone fish on the fly and what a day it was. Only took 2 pics of fish because the action was fast and furious. Biggest was about 4 lbs and they fight light frigging crazy, so awesome..

Had 2 of my own guides and they knew their stuff. Put me on fish all day long, Bonefish, Permit which were too spooked to bite, Barracuda, sharks and others....

I would do this again tomorrow if I could.

Pesca Maya Lodge and their guides treat you right. But not cheap, was $610 US but included a pick up at the resort, breakfast, lunch on the boat, 5 hrs of fishing and a return ride to the lodge.

Did a rappel into a Cenote , climbed ancient Mayan ruins, snorkeled the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world and swam and drank and walked the beach ect. You get the point.

Some pics of the fish.

 

[Weeds]

Sounds like a great trip! I'll be in Mexico for a week in May but don't think I'll get the chance to do any fishing. Always a good time regardless though.

[AKRISONER]

well done, I know that the next time i get down there I am saving my nickles for another excursion myself.

 

Did you hook into any tarpon? I had 2 on and obviously lost both.

[Acountdeleted]

Very nice! Looks like an awesome trip.

[grimsbylander]

That sounds like a fantastic trip!

[muskymatt]

well done, I know that the next time i get down there I am saving my nickles for another excursion myself.

 

Did you hook into any tarpon? I had 2 on and obviously lost both.

No Tarpon! Guide says it was not the right time of year for them in the bay.

[AKRISONER]

No Tarpon! Guide says it was not the right time of year for them in the bay.

 

that would explain it. I was targeting juveniles in the mangroves near isla blanca...the big ones are out to sea.

 

Mind you juveniles are 15 pounds of complete fury.

[muskymatt]

 

that would explain it. I was targeting juveniles in the mangroves near isla blanca...the big ones are out to sea.

 

Mind you juveniles are 15 pounds of complete fury.

Yeah they said when the Tarpon are in the bay they are like 20lb max. Still would be an awesome fight. We chased around some permit but were not able to get them within range. Guide said a hook up with the ones we saw would be about a 40 min fight. Dang!!

[misfish]

Did they say why,

 

"No Pesca a playa"

 

Cool looking fish.

[muskymatt]

Did they say why,

 

"No Pesca a playa"

 

Cool looking fish.

Yes, when they told me not to fish at the resort that is exactly what they said lol

[finja]

I did a trip to Pesca Maya from a resort a few years ago. My experience was exaxtly the same. Lots of small bonefish that fought hard on the light tackle we used. Couldn't hook a permit or a tarpon, although we saw both.

 

Unless things have improved, the"road" to Ascension Bay is a nightmare. I literally felt like i was going to vomit and hit my head on the van roof a couple of times (and I'm not tall). The van ride IIRC was about 2 hours. I had nerves all day thinking about the return trip....

[AKRISONER]

Yeah they said when the Tarpon are in the bay they are like 20lb max. Still would be an awesome fight. We chased around some permit but were not able to get them within range. Guide said a hook up with the ones we saw would be about a 40 min fight. Dang!!

 

great/not so great story about permit.

 

while on my trip we were in the middle a fairly significant bay with probably close to 10-15FOW casting for baracuda with spoons (i couldnt fly cast at this time)

 

when my guide starts freaking out, i say whats up and he whispers with insane intensity "permit"

 

i look over and i see a crowd of about 50 fins sticking out of the water 50 feet from the boat. My guide starts quietly racing around the boat to set me up with a lure to throw out infront of the crowd. hands me the rod and says ok cast...

 

i say ok, and immediately throw a cast, as the lure is flying through the air my guide says "NOOOOOOOOOOOO"

 

I look back at him and frantically say "what, whats wrong!?"

 

"why did you cast!!??"

 

"You told me to!"

 

"No, i didnt"

 

what i quickly realized is that when he said cast, he meant, get ready to cast when i say so...the language barrier prevented him from being able to convey that he wanted me prepared to cast and do exactly as he said.

 

he tried some maneuvering to get back infront of the school but my one cast was enough to spook the entire school of what he said was most likely 100+ giant permits.

 

According to him in his entire life guiding every day for 20+ years...he had seen a similar situation one time where a school that large had appeared within casting distance with no requirement to move what so ever.

 

He was sure to add in the dig that "That will never happen again in your life"

 

That was the story of my fishing trip, me friggin blowing it all day long..i dont know why i guess i was just too excited, my casting accuracy was friggin aweful, my hook sets were pathetic, different gear could also be to blame? whatever it was, i should have basically had a grand slam twice over if I wasnt such a failure.

 

 

 

I wanted to also ask, how is your double haul? Im not good at it yet and im wondering how much of necessity you found it to be. I am a natural when it comes to regular fly casting but the timing on the double haul is something that i need to work on a lot more.

 

also been trying to perfect the tongariro roll cast..

Edited March 29, 2017 by AKRISONER

[muskymatt]

 

great/not so great story about permit.

 

while on my trip we were in the middle a fairly significant bay with probably close to 10-15FOW casting for baracuda with spoons (i couldnt fly cast at this time)

 

when my guide starts freaking out, i say whats up and he whispers with insane intensity "permit"

 

i look over and i see a crowd of about 50 fins sticking out of the water 50 feet from the boat. My guide starts quietly racing around the boat to set me up with a lure to throw out infront of the crowd. hands me the rod and says ok cast...

 

i say ok, and immediately throw a cast, as the lure is flying through the air my guide says "NOOOOOOOOOOOO"

 

I look back at him and frantically say "what, whats wrong!?"

 

"why did you cast!!??"

 

"You told me to!"

 

"No, i didnt"

 

what i quickly realized is that when he said cast, he meant, get ready to cast when i say so...the language barrier prevented him from being able to convey that he wanted me prepared to cast and do exactly as he said.

 

he tried some maneuvering to get back infront of the school but my one cast was enough to spook the entire school of what he said was most likely 100+ giant permits.

 

According to him in his entire life guiding every day for 20+ years...he had seen a similar situation one time where a school that large had appeared within casting distance with no requirement to move what so ever.

 

He was sure to add in the dig that "That will never happen again in your life"

 

That was the story of my fishing trip, me friggin blowing it all day long..i dont know why i guess i was just too excited, my casting accuracy was friggin aweful, my hook sets were pathetic, different gear could also be to blame? whatever it was, i should have basically had a grand slam twice over if I wasnt such a failure.

 

 

 

I wanted to also ask, how is your double haul? Im not good at it yet and im wondering how much of necessity you found it to be. I am a natural when it comes to regular fly casting but the timing on the double haul is something that i need to work on a lot more.

 

also been trying to perfect the tongariro roll cast..

My double haul is not too bad. The heavier line and needing to get it out 60+ feet in the wind was challenging. I had some good ones and some not so good ones lol. I could tell the guide was wishing I was a bit more experienced but hey, I didn't do too bad. He tried really hard to get me on to the permit and I appreciated it.