Cancun update ..

[Rustic-Fisher]

Back from Cancun , and thanks for all the tips !  Took the advice and hooked up with Fin chasers for a day charter , great experience.  It was tough fishing , crazy North winds and a giant rainstorm throughout the night . Guide worked his ass off ,we had some great chances and even landed a few . We were running all day looking for the fish

Resort pick up was a breeze,  lunch and all drinks supplied . Equipment was provided, when we do it again though we’ll bring our own. Fly rods and spinning gear were decent . 
Snaking our way through the narrow  channels was crazy !!  
Even in the difficult conditions they found us fish !!

Resort fishing …. used shimano med/heavy travel rods , 3000 spinning reels .  
We fished a rocky point and the beaches (morning ,evening ) when nobody was swimming.  Zero issues from anyone ! Locals even fished the point . There is a national reef on tne otherside of the point that you cant fish so you gotta be mindful , we did see uniforms out there checking . 
Had tons of hits and follows and fish . 
Large jerk baits , senkos , were good . Small spoons caught a variety of fish from the beach . 

By far best choice is bait , second last day got a chef to hook us up with raw shrimp, we used that to catch small bait size fish (runners/snapper) then used chunks of them to hook larger fish. We had 3 huge somethings on lol , definitely should of done this on day one . 
Now time to pull out the Ice gear out !!!! 
(size reference, my 15 year old is 6’1) 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 03:57 PM by Rustic-Fisher

[TJQ]

That's awesome!

[Big Cliff]

Love the report and the pictures. Thanks for sharing!

[limeyangler]

Great report… thanks. Love the baby Snook.

[glen]

Wait for a few days when it’s -20 here and come back and read this post.  
cancun will seem like a great idea.  The sky is almost as blue as the water.  
 

[Rizzo]

looks like snook, jacks, a small tarpon and some others fish I don't know...some kind of trout?

[CrowMan]

Appreciate the report...I feel warmer already  !

I don't recognize the guide...I've only fished with Miguel or his son Rafa...but yup they certainly work hard down there..

[wee scot]

Fantastic report 

[akaShag]

On 1/18/2025 at 6:15 PM, glen said:

Wait for a few days when it’s -20 here and come back and read this post.  
cancun will seem like a great idea.  The sky is almost as blue as the water.  
 

I would rather have minus thirty than plus thirty any time!  And rather ice fish than get sunburned.......😉

But THANKS for the report, Rustic-Fisher!

Doug

[Fang]

Watch that salt water bug it can get really contagious, Thanks for sharing, love the flat bottom in that panga. Super looking jack, one of the best fighting fish I've ever hooked on light tackle

Might be time to look back at Cancun area I had one trip a long time ago up by Isles Mujeres but the winds blew sargassum weed in so bad along the shorelines you could not cast out anywhere public. I've been heading to Cozumel since well before Covid (was actually in Cozumel late Feb 2020 when things were heating up before the full lock down). Amazing hidden bonefish destination with a great local guide for the north end and I've never seen another boat out there in the number of trips I've done. Easy 10-20 fish days and loads on spin gear so you don't have to fly fish for them. 

You also get runs of permit, big jacks and tarpon along the beaches depending on the time of year. We always stayed on the upper north west side by the big golf course and you have miles of beach northward that you can walk and cast too with tons of small jacks and needlefish everywhere.

 

[AKRISONER]

a great spot, i have also been out with the operators son, was one of the best guiding experiences I have ever had. He worked so hard to put me on fish and genuinely was a really nice guy. Caught some fish, as well!

Definitely a far better experience than I had in Cuba, even though I caught more in cuba...the guides felt like they were robbing me the entire time.

[akaShag]

3 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

the guides felt like they were robbing me the entire time.

you broke the code.............😉

[AKRISONER]

25 minutes ago, akaShag said:

you broke the code.............😉

Not sure what “the code” is beyond the fact that I didn’t speak Spanish and couldn’t double haul directly into 20mph wind.

[CrowMan]

My wife owns/operates a travel business, so I've been very fortunate to travel and fish extensively down south over the years...Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico (Carribean and Pacific), Turks & Caicos, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Belize, Argentina, Chile...even the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. For the most part, all of the guides/charters that I've dealt with have been dedicated, hard working and professional. Almost all of them take great pride in what they do, and in most of these countries it's a respected profession that many aspire to..

The best of the best have been in Belize...it's a former British colony so they speak perfect English, and the government licensing program ensures they are well versed in boating and knowledge of the fishery. In terms of fly fishing, most of them have also been excellent instructors. I had a buddy come out with me that had never fly fished in his life, and by the end of the day he could put fly on a dinner plate out 60ft. Guides in the Bahamas out islands are a close second.

The one exception was an offshore charter in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The Captain and mate literally got so drunk that our group of 4 ended up taking over the boat (40ft sport cruiser), did our own fishing (we caught several Striped Marlin and Mahi) and drove the boat back to the marina with the 2 of them passed out..

[CrowMan]

6 hours ago, Fang said:

Watch that salt water bug it can get really contagious, Thanks for sharing, love the flat bottom in that panga. Super looking jack, one of the best fighting fish I've ever hooked on light tackle

Might be time to look back at Cancun area I had one trip a long time ago up by Isles Mujeres but the winds blew sargassum weed in so bad along the shorelines you could not cast out anywhere public. I've been heading to Cozumel since well before Covid (was actually in Cozumel late Feb 2020 when things were heating up before the full lock down). Amazing hidden bonefish destination with a great local guide for the north end and I've never seen another boat out there in the number of trips I've done. Easy 10-20 fish days and loads on spin gear so you don't have to fly fish for them. 

You also get runs of permit, big jacks and tarpon along the beaches depending on the time of year. We always stayed on the upper north west side by the big golf course and you have miles of beach northward that you can walk and cast too with tons of small jacks and needlefish everywhere.

 

Did you fish with "Nacho" in Cozumel ?  Awesome guide...