Port of call: Belize- A novel approach

Another incredible opportunity I had on a cruise ship was a stop by the ship at Belize City. This was on a West Caribbean cruise that also featured stops in Costa Rica and Panama. These other stops are another story.

Although I had ample opprtunities to contact the usual operators of fishing trips for Belize City, I did not. I was snooked out by prior trips to Key Island Estate (www.keyislandestate.com) where I lost count of what I caught and released. My permit fever was eased the prior June by my second trip to Tropical Beach Resort (www.bayislandtropicalbeachresort.com) where I was successful. Now I was way up from Honduras in Belize and looking for something new. Since I was taking this as a partial family experience, I thought I'd better mix up shore excursions with fishing opportunities.

So, I chose a snorkelling trip to Goff's Cay on the reef dropoff and packed two rods. After jumping into this incredible water for a good dive, I saw what was underneath the 3 -engined 25 footer than ran us out there: loads of fish from top to bottom. After the other snorkellers were in the water and under the guidance of other boats, I persuaded my Captain, "Pike" to take me slightly further out and away from the people.

I had two ultralight spinners loaded with 4 and 6 pound line, so I kept my casts to the ascending reef wall from 5 to 20 feet deep. I was loaded up on 30 pound fluorocarbon and small white bucktails. My first cast yielded an immediate hookup with a "flag" yellowtail snapper..then another, and another. "Pike looked longingly at the fish, but said the fish could not be kept, and had to be released..to his regret! More casts slightly offshore were nailed by some of the biggest houndfish I have ever seen: one was almost 4 feet long. When these fish got cautious, big blue runners moved in, and it was one after the other again. Periodically, cero mackeral would crowd the act, and cut me off.

The one deep drop I made with the lure in 50 feet of water was nailed within three seconds and cut off in three seconds more..Pike was sure that was a 'cuda. It turned out to be a riotous 4 hours of fishing.

I was glad I made an angling choice that was offbeat and unusual. I could have done the usual things..maybe gone off for permit on fly and pray for a catch so I could drink cognac from a silver cup to join the annointed few. I am grateful to follow a different drumbeat, one that avoids the runaway elitism that has almost totally polluted flats and inshore fishing. Simply, I was happy to be under the bright tropical sun, catching and releasing fish, in fellowship with new friends!

Jan

Port of call: Belize- A novel approach

Another incredible opportunity I had on a cruise ship was a stop by the ship at Belize City. This was on a West Caribbean cruise that also featured stops in Costa Rica and Panama. These other stops are another story.

Although I had ample opprtunities to contact the usual operators of fishing trips for Belize City, I did not. I was snooked out by prior trips to Key Island Estate (www.keyislandestate.com) where I lost count of what I caught and released. My permit fever was eased the prior June by my second trip to Tropical Beach Resort (www.bayislandtropicalbeachresort.com) where I was successful. Now I was way up from Honduras in Belize and looking for something new. Since I was taking this as a partial family experience, I thought I'd better mix up shore excursions with fishing opportunities.

So, I chose a snorkelling trip to Goff's Cay on the reef dropoff and packed two rods. After jumping into this incredible water for a good dive, I saw what was underneath the 3 -engined 25 footer than ran us out there: loads of fish from top to bottom. After the other snorkellers were in the water and under the guidance of other boats, I persuaded my Captain, "Pike" to take me slightly further out and away from the people.

I had two ultralight spinners loaded with 4 and 6 pound line, so I kept my casts to the ascending reef wall from 5 to 20 feet deep. I was loaded up on 30 pound fluorocarbon and small white bucktails. My first cast yielded an immediate hookup with a "flag" yellowtail snapper..then another, and another. "Pike looked longingly at the fish, but said the fish could not be kept, and had to be released..to his regret! More casts slightly offshore were nailed by some of the biggest houndfish I have ever seen: one was almost 4 feet long. When these fish got cautious, big blue runners moved in, and it was one after the other again. Periodically, cero mackeral would crowd the act, and cut me off.

The one deep drop I made with the lure in 50 feet of water was nailed within three seconds and cut off in three seconds more..Pike was sure that was a 'cuda. It turned out to be a riotous 4 hours of fishing.

I was glad I made an angling choice that was offbeat and unusual. I could have done the usual things..maybe gone off for permit on fly and pray for a catch so I could drink cognac from a silver cup to join the annointed few. I am grateful to follow a different drumbeat, one that avoids the runaway elitism that has almost totally polluted flats and inshore fishing. Simply, I was happy to be under the bright tropical sun, catching and releasing fish, in fellowship with new friends!

Jan

What a Difference some sun makes!

Last few days in Miami absolutely warm and humid. All the inshore fish activating in South Biscayne Bay. I got in on an early tarpon bite and released two fish over one hundred pounds each before 8 a.m. p.m. If they' re slow to take a fly, you'll still be able to look yourself in the mirror if you toss a small shrimp at a rolling fish.
Jan

Spring Beckons for OverUnder Charters and Rum Cay

I received some exciting news from Trey Rhyne, president of OverUnderCharters that their vessel bagged a huge 148 pound wahoo off the Cat Island/ Rum Cay area. The information that I have from Trey is that OverUnder Charters (www.overundercharters.com) offers wonderful flights on their own planes from Ft. Lauderdale to Cat Island or Rum Cay where their very own charter vessel takes you to the deep blue sea or guides you to the flats for some very unpressured fishing. Their contact and lodgings person on Rum Cay is Michelle of Sumner Point Marina.

If the weather holds and gets warmer giving us a good hot spring, there's no telling the delightful yellowfins, dolphin, and bones OverUnder has to offer. I thought this last front of March 18th would slow it, but who knows? I think the idea of an outfitter with their own planes and Mothership plying the eastern Bahamas- flats, reefs, and the deep- is exciting. I hope to experience this some day. I received a report of a hot morning bite a few days ago yielding 5 big wahoo.

Jan

So near, yet so far with Captain Leon out of Dove Creek Lodge

Just got back from fishing the upper reaches of Florida Bay with Captain Leon Davis (www.reelranger.com) out of the newly-constructed Dove Creek Lodge (www.dovecreeklodge.com) in Key Largo. Capt. Leon expertly got us out of the North wind onto muddy warming Florida Bay bottom. The snook and the redfish were there in good numbers as he poled us around in his new 19 foot Ranger Cayman.

The waters simply were too cool for the fish to be aggressive, though I managed a couple of half-hearted strikes from chilly snook. We saw loads of fish yesterday afternoon: all they needed was a little heat. This was a day where quality- not quantity- set the tone: good fellowship with Captain Leon, beautiful lodgings, all in the natural splendor of the Everglades backcountry. Stay tuned for the entire story and details of this experience...

Jan
www.flatsfishingonline.com

Sportsman's Cove Lodge Wins Out Over the Bonefish

Today was another successful bonefish morning, with three fish caught on jigs and plug tackle. Although finding the fish on colder water was a triumph, my summer's plans to visit Sportsman's Cove Lodge on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska keeps tugging at me with a pleasant tenacity. The planning involved the exciting possibilities of catching all the salmon species, doormat halibut, cod, as well as sighting whales, seals, and all the flora and fauna Alaska has to offer. All this in an exquisitely-appointed lodge (www.alaskasbestlodge.com/) I am convinced that Ketchikan is the best base-of-operations, perfect with everything to please visitors. I really can't wait to get there and file reports on the excitement to my readers.

Jan
www.flatsfishingonline.com

A Season of Fronts

Looks like Mid-March will continue to pepper South Florida with cooler weather and NW winds, not the best of weather for inshore tarpon dreamers. A big change are the tarpon movemnets east of Fisher Island: no more schools of hundreds of tarpon like 20 years ago. Tarpon and bonefish may vary their favorite haunts over the years....wouldn't it be great to know why?

Jan

Of Snapper and Permit with Captain Jon Cooper

Late last summer, I enlisted Captain Jon Cooper, to get me hooked up with two species in South Biscayne Bay I had to do stories on: the wily grey snapper-the brick-colored temptor of Florida docks- and the wilier permit, the silver and gold true ghost of the flats.

I was in great hands choosing Captain Jon www.captaincooper.com/ . Not only was he totally skilled both inshore and offshore, he had the vessels to go with it: a gleaming Maverick for the flats and a brand new Triton Bay Boat for deeper fishing. Since it was a calm sunny day, we chose his smaller vessel.

In only fifiteen minutes from leaving the dock at Crandon, Jon had me hooked up with a mangrove snapper along some rocky rip-rap. The challenge here was to get a really large snapper, a hard task at best. The outgoing spring tide had them really striking and we probably caught thirty before landing a fat two pounder under a dock in Stiltsville. We took about an hour for a photo shoot, and by the time we were done, the tide was flying in.

Jon looked at me, and we both thought, "permit." He fired up his Maverick, and we headed South to fish the cuts ans rockpiles of Islandia. As we ran from place to place, we were amazed, yet saddened that there were flats boats everywhere, even on this weekday. A sad irony of the flats boat explosion in Florida is pressure and decline of the habitat on which it depends. We fished a few spots, and saw a few permit in deeper water just off the flats. Two hours later, Jon said "let's run North."

We stopped just a few flats south of Stiltsville. As he poled westward, we saw a pop on the surface a hundred yards away. Jon poled towards it, and halfway in told me it was a huge permit slowly finning near some seaweed in three feet of water. When we got within fifty feet, I clearly saw the fish, and cast my crab about ten feet in front of it. The fish saw the crab instantly, and swam foward. I'm sure my crab dove for the bottom, as the fish's massive tail went into the air: we both gasped at the size of the black sickle. The fish swept back and forth in a tight arc in pursuit of the terrified crab. Jon held the skiff absolutely still. I tried to slowly pull the crab off the bottom for about one or two inches, but the pressure on my rod tip made in clear the crab was successfully "grassed up." Moments later, the permit dropped its tail and and cruised off to the North. We both saw a fish between 40 or 50 pounds. As I got my bait in for another cast, the permit must have sensed us as it went into warp speed to the protection of a nearby greenish channel.

Jon and I both were experiencing the bemused though frustrated reverence anglers get when they encounter a trophy permit. We ended the day with a permit thirst that could only be quenched with hookups and releases on future adventures in Biscayne Bay.


Jan
www.flatsfishingonline.com

Alaska Beckons!

I am attempting plans to be fishing and reporting to you from Alaska this summer. Every true angler must visit Alaska in their lifetime. The exquisite configuration of sun, sky, mist, water. nightly lights, and vast abundant flocks of birds and fields of fish will feed your soul. I have always felt this state to be Florida's inverted polar sister: Northwest versus Southeast, mountains versus flats, cool versus heat, salmons versus bonefish...the two states simply go together! But all fishermen in America need to travel at least once to the misty majesties of Alaska. My past travels took me through Anchorage, Juneau, Sewell, Sitka, Whittier, Skagway, Ketchikan and others. These places filled me with unforgettable images of glaciers, bears, chipmunks, birds,whales, icebergs, seals and so much more.

In Ketchikan, as my ship, the Carnival Spirit, approached this marvelous city, salmon jumped constantly in these waters and never stopped..I Never saw such vast numbers of a gamefish.I really felt I was in angler's heaven!!!! More soon.

Jan
www.flatsfishingonline.com

New Destinations on the Horizon

In the coming months as the fronts fade, warmth widens, and the tropicals beome topical, I'm looking forward to visiting the shallows of Flamingo, Grand Bahama Island, and the Cat Island area. Silver tails will be supplemented by spotted sides, linesides-stay tuned!

Jan