In May, I went to the Yucatan (Rio Lagartos) for a week of tarpon fishing. Booked trip with fly water travel, at Tarpon Cay Lodge. the town is about a 3 hr drive northwest of Cancun.
The schedule while there, was for a lite breakfast at 4:30.... and then on the boats at 5. Two dudes, and guide. we would fish until about 10, then back to lodge for lunch, then siesta, until back in the boats by 3 or 3:30. We then fished until sunset'ish', back to lodge, and dinner.
I am not the best fly caster, and my first day was the most challenging. my partner(s) on the boat were very helpful. the guides were more about getting you to the right water, to fish showing on the surface, etc., but not commenting on your fly casting ability. they were very helpful with the 'strip, strip, stop, etc' instruction, and the importance of correct hook setting. by the 2nd day, i was casting much better, and screwing up less. Even 'short' casts can return positive results, as not all the fish are showing on the surface
Generally we saw more fish in the mornings, and had many casting opportunities. after a week, i still dont know if they finally 'bit' when we showed the right fly, or if something else changed their mind. The 'take/tug/grab' of the tarpon is something else, and then most anything can happen as you lose the line, strip too much, raise the rod (BIG NO NO), fish flies out of the water, etc. Generally most fish were lost at/after the grab.
The pic fish was my biggest. I think the guide said maybe 9-10 kilos? I probably had 2 more like that, on for moments... . the majority of the fish were +24", and were plenty fun. one eve i did get into 'baby' tarpon, but it was still encouraging to get the good casts in, and generating grabs. Generally we were getting multiple grabs each session, and landing a few. Some days there were lots of casting at fish showing, and a few days there were less to find. We seemed to be fishing more for fish showing on the surface vs blind casting. and there were times when i could not see the fish that the guide was directing the cast towards. It can get exciting to have fish on the surface, and a pod coming your way - and then after a bit - they are gone.
There is some kind of 'bio' reserve in this area, and it is popular with birdwatching - which i think was just getting started in May. There are also pink flamingos, which was a first for me. apparently there were higher numbers of the flamingos a few kilometers to the south of where we were fishing, but we could see them on the flats and flying most days. they have a very unique look to their flight - their necks and legs are LONG ! One would need a decent telephoto for flamingo pics - we motored by some on flats but they dont get too close.
To close, it was a good trip - i will probably do it again. The lodge is nice, clean, maintained, etc. food is very good. they had fresh fruit, granola, coffee each morning to get you started - at the early hour it was just right.
The guides seem to know what they are doing - I am no saltwater authority - but you can sense if folks know what they are doing. guides did a good job poling the boats, and keeping them in the proper orientation to wind and fish - which has to be extremely hard work. I let the guides do all my tippet tying and fly attachment tying. this lodge has a sage sponsorship or affiliation, and i took them up on using sage rod/reel - which saved me on packing traveling with my stuff. it worked great. my only regret - is that i now wish i had taken one of my rods, just to compare to a new rod.
oh, i did catch one bird... i think it was a tern... released, and seemed to be unharmed.
go
The schedule while there, was for a lite breakfast at 4:30.... and then on the boats at 5. Two dudes, and guide. we would fish until about 10, then back to lodge for lunch, then siesta, until back in the boats by 3 or 3:30. We then fished until sunset'ish', back to lodge, and dinner.
I am not the best fly caster, and my first day was the most challenging. my partner(s) on the boat were very helpful. the guides were more about getting you to the right water, to fish showing on the surface, etc., but not commenting on your fly casting ability. they were very helpful with the 'strip, strip, stop, etc' instruction, and the importance of correct hook setting. by the 2nd day, i was casting much better, and screwing up less. Even 'short' casts can return positive results, as not all the fish are showing on the surface
Generally we saw more fish in the mornings, and had many casting opportunities. after a week, i still dont know if they finally 'bit' when we showed the right fly, or if something else changed their mind. The 'take/tug/grab' of the tarpon is something else, and then most anything can happen as you lose the line, strip too much, raise the rod (BIG NO NO), fish flies out of the water, etc. Generally most fish were lost at/after the grab.
The pic fish was my biggest. I think the guide said maybe 9-10 kilos? I probably had 2 more like that, on for moments... . the majority of the fish were +24", and were plenty fun. one eve i did get into 'baby' tarpon, but it was still encouraging to get the good casts in, and generating grabs. Generally we were getting multiple grabs each session, and landing a few. Some days there were lots of casting at fish showing, and a few days there were less to find. We seemed to be fishing more for fish showing on the surface vs blind casting. and there were times when i could not see the fish that the guide was directing the cast towards. It can get exciting to have fish on the surface, and a pod coming your way - and then after a bit - they are gone.
There is some kind of 'bio' reserve in this area, and it is popular with birdwatching - which i think was just getting started in May. There are also pink flamingos, which was a first for me. apparently there were higher numbers of the flamingos a few kilometers to the south of where we were fishing, but we could see them on the flats and flying most days. they have a very unique look to their flight - their necks and legs are LONG ! One would need a decent telephoto for flamingo pics - we motored by some on flats but they dont get too close.
To close, it was a good trip - i will probably do it again. The lodge is nice, clean, maintained, etc. food is very good. they had fresh fruit, granola, coffee each morning to get you started - at the early hour it was just right.
The guides seem to know what they are doing - I am no saltwater authority - but you can sense if folks know what they are doing. guides did a good job poling the boats, and keeping them in the proper orientation to wind and fish - which has to be extremely hard work. I let the guides do all my tippet tying and fly attachment tying. this lodge has a sage sponsorship or affiliation, and i took them up on using sage rod/reel - which saved me on packing traveling with my stuff. it worked great. my only regret - is that i now wish i had taken one of my rods, just to compare to a new rod.
oh, i did catch one bird... i think it was a tern... released, and seemed to be unharmed.
go
we didnt use poppers, but it seemed most well placed shots up the rivers, got a response. usually only one or two, and then no more, and had to back out to find the next place. i was thinking i might have done better with a 7' rod in there.