Cruise Ship Fishing the West Caribbean, Part 2

top-stormy waters off Belize by Jan Maizler

bottom-in the wind shadow off Cozumel by Jan Maizler

Flats Fishing the Western Caribbean Via Cruise Ship, Part 2


By


Jan S. Maizler

Belize City -

Belize City Background -
My third port of call with the Valor was Belize City, which is in the epicenter of a shallow water angler’s marine paradise. I had been to a fly-in land-based lodge on the prior Belize trip and include a reprised excerpt below:

“My prior research on the exciting destination of Belize urged me to choose the Belize River Lodge (http://www.belizeriverlodge.com/) because of its perfectly centralized positioning for the angling habitat, lush jungle surroundings, immediate presence of excellent staff, amenities (phone, fax, and wireless internet) and mahogany-finished lodgings that are imbued with Belizean angling history. I was sure that owners Mike, Marguerite and their daughter Misha, along with their 25 employees and six house guides, would provide a solid family atmosphere in the midst of such a stunning tropical fishing paradise.

When the fishing week came to an end, I asked myself - where did the time go? I felt that the Belize River Lodge exceeded all my expectations with rave results including delicious native cuisine, Swiss-clock efficiency and knowledgeable guides in well-appointed pangas. I especially enjoyed returning to the dock alongside the lodge at day’s end, knowing that a pre-dinner snack of tostadas, salsa and ice-cold Belikan beer awaited me only a few steps away.

The five-day results in the angling department were superb, especially considering a bit of downtime for rain showers and my friend Art’s photographic sessions. My results were six snook, one tarpon (with eight other fish jumped), ten bonefish, nine permit, thirty ladyfish, and more dog and cubera snapper than I can remember. This does not include the multiple cutoffs by whopper snook or surface plugs launched skyward by near misses from rough and tough jack.”

So, it came as no surprise that I chose Belize River Lodge again to provide me with a light tackle skiff adventure in the nearby rivers, flats, and bays on this trip as well. I knew from my prior stay that Mike had live-aboard and cruise ship programs in addition to his lodge, so I made the cruise ship reservation months in advance. It was determined that my guide would be waiting for me at the Raddison dock barely five minutes from the ship’s tender dock in Belize City.

Arrival Day in Belize City: Disappointment in Paradise -

Though I’d made arrangements with my press credentials to be on the first tender to Belize City, my first glance from the promenade deck above revealed the sea conditions to be fiercely rough. Those very same winds that whirled around me on the other two islands found in Belize a head-on solid wall of western shoreline to keep blasting. Despite this unfortunate situation, I boarded the tender, which, in turn, had difficulty coming alongside our ship due to the rough seas.

Once the tender got within a mile of shoreline, we entered a huge swath of dirty chocolate-colored water that could only mean the discharge of muddy river water. The very same advantageous diversity of Belize’s habitat, which include (unlike the prior island stops) rivers that run back to jungle mountains that now ironically provided another negative post storm effect. The harsh winds and dirty river runoff made this day’s flats fishing possibilities nil. This was definitely a day when the philosophical approach I took came to my aid.

Cozumel Island -

Island Background -

When I lived in Cozumel back in the sixties, things were very different than they are now. There were no “hip” cookie cutter venues like Senor Frogs in San Miguel and the town was more Mexican than American. My residence on this island preceded the hordes of flying bridge sport fishermen vessels that would invade the area in late spring to intercept what would be one of the most dense sailfish “pushes” from the western Caribbean Sea into the Florida straits.
Most of my fishing in Cozumel in those past days consisted of bottom fishing. Since there were some good numbers of bonito and blackfin tuna at the time, I’d practice “running and gunning” for game fish “bustups” in native fishing boats that spent all of their time underway going through the water rather than over it.

As for the flats fishing, the lagoons to the north were neither well explored nor popular at that time. Those northern shallows grew as potential and actually explored habitat when the flats fishing revolution exploded in popularity in the eighties. That was long after I left, but I certainly learned about those flats and the guides that fished them as the process provided for. While there were/are claims that these Cozumel flats are “vast”, I would have to disagree and simply contrast them with Ascension or Chetumal Bays over on the Quintana Roo mainland to make my point.

I also feel that the flats fish stock numbers are greater on the mainland because there is so much more shallow protected coastline for the bonefish, tarpon, and permit to move along safely. I doubt there is any cross seeding across Cozumel Channel from the island to the mainland and back, simply because of the blue water predatory dangers from the larger game fish like barracuda, sailfish, and sharks, etcetera.

On the present Cozumel flats fishing scene, there are primarily smaller bonefish schools, along with scattered small tarpon, snook, and barracuda. The typical transportation venue involves a truck drive from San Miguel (and back) all the way to pangas that are docked on the fringes of the northern lagoons.

The current operations that appeared most active were http://www.aquariusflatsfishing.com/, http://www.cozumelbonefishing.com/, and http://www.fishingcozumel.net/. I’d chosen Carlos Vega’s Aquarius Travel outfitter to coordinate a flats fishing trip to the north of island. As was my custom, I was in the planning mode via email as early as seven months before the cruise. I’ve included his contact data below -

Aquarius Travel Sport Fishing Representatives

Web-site: http://www.aquariusflatsfishing.com/

E-Mail: aquariusgrandslam@yahoo.com

Toll Free: 1-800- 371-2924

Direct Telephone: 954- 317-3743

Fax Number: 954- 623-8620

Cozumel, México

Carlos and I were on the verge of booking a trip when I found out from family members who would also be on the cruise that my presence would be “desired” at an on-island celebration. Out of respect for Carlos and his guides, I put the charter into suspension mode, which was antithetical to any decent planning in the world of angling travel- with all the costs and time invested on planes, boats, and trains, one should never wing it! Additionally, the realization that I was not the first traveling angler to be snared on the horns of family versus fishing at home or traveling did nothing to lessen my frustration. So Cozumel as a fishing port of call remained a troubling question mark throughout the process.

Arrival Day -

On the morning of arrival at Cozumel, some discussion with family made it clear that some scheduled celebrations were indeed planned at one restaurant and a café on the island. It was clear that declining these events as the “lone wolf” would lose me major points on this trip and more importantly, future getaways - pun intended!

Before breakfast, I took my usual walk on the outside promenade deck for a look at the marine conditions. The sapphire seas were still wavy and windy. Although I knew I wasn’t fishing, I told myself that this just maybe might have made the panga ride out to the flats and the fishing itself a bit iffy. I ignored the fact that I was consoling myself. Later that afternoon, I sipped a margarita amongst family members while we laughed at silly recollections. Some additional thought and perhaps a few more libations eased me into an acceptance that where I was right now was okay, too. I realized also that I could console myself that even though my return to an old island home would be fishless, that need not stop me from dreaming about action-filled Caribbean fishing either of the past or in the future!