PPS Destinations Report 

Xcalak, Mexico

Date:        May, 2008

 Reported by Dr. Brian Griffith, DDS,  New Jersey,  USA

Let me start off by saying that I have never been a huge fan of bonefish.  When PPS did their trip to the Bahamas and Venezuela, I was not highly motivated to attend and spent my fishing budget on dorado in Argentina.  However, when Mark Cowan of Pescador Solitario, gave his trip to south-eastern Mexico a 5-star rating, I decided to give it a try.  The results were mixed but it is a trip I would still definitely recommend.

After flying into Cancun on May 11, our group met at the airport and rented a large SUV for the 4 ½ (250 miles) trip to Xcalak, which is as far south and east in Mexico as you can go.  We were only several miles from the Belize border and the reef in front of the hotel was the northern extension of the one that sits off Ambergris Cay, 8 miles to the south.  Xcalak (pronounced ish-ka-lak) is a tiny town of 150 fishermen, lobster divers, and expatriates.  It is poor but not destitute and represents a more accurate version of the “real” Mexico than you can see in Cancun or Cabo San Lucas.

Our accommodations for the week, the Hotel Tierra Maya was run by an American couple and was lovely.  The rooms were large, clean, and all faced the ocean.  The grounds were spotless and the restaurant was an open-air palapa with excellent food.  Xcalak only got electricity two years ago but generator/battery systems kept everything working all day long.

The fishing day starts early and, after a huge breakfast, we were in the boats at 6:15am.  The native guides were excellent fish spotters and although their skills with English varied, all were able to communicate effectively.  The majority of fishing is done in Chetumal Bay and the run from the hotel’s dock to the bay took about 15-20 minutes.  Since we rode inside the reef the seas were fairly calm and the ride in the flats boats was not too bad. Once in the bay, the water was quite well protected from the prevailing south-easterly winds and it was quite smooth in the boats.

My primary goal in traveling to Chetumal Bay was to fish for permit.  Mark has always been a straight shooter when describing what to expect from the fishing and he had told me May was generally the calmest month as far as wind was concerned and that you could expect 5-10 decent shots at permit per day.  He was half right.  Every day we looked for them, we did see 10 or more permit but the wind made things difficult to say the least.  It blew 15-25 mph 24/7 for the entire week, making accurate casts a matter of luck as opposed to intent.  Despite the conditions, I spent the majority of the week stalking permit and probably averaged 5 or 6 good casts to them per day.  They simply would not eat and my quest for a permit fell short.  For the most part the permit were found on hard bottom flats and these same flats held few bonefish which congregated on the muddy marl flats.  When I had finally had enough of being given the fin by permit, I turned to bonefish with good results.

Using gotchas, squimps, and crazy charlies, we were able to wade-fish for groups of bonefish up to 200!  The fish were larger than the ones I had caught in Christmas Island and averaged about 4 pounds.  Chetumal Bay has very low tide differentials (6-12 inches) and the wind plays a much larger role in the water levels of the bay than in many other spots.  Because of the non-stop southeast winds, the water levels in the bay were quite high and many of the bonefish were in amongst the mangroves.  This was frustrating in that we saw some 10+ pound bonefish but were unable to cast to them.  Still, it was entertaining to hook a bonefish in scattered mangroves and running around trying to keep them from wrapping you up and breaking off.  On my worst day of fishing for bonefish, I caught 6 and on my best I caught more than 30.  The wading for these bonefish was quite difficult.  Occasionally the marl was only a few inches deep but often it was up to you shins and after a few hours of that, the thrill of bonefishing began to wear off.

 For me, the best part of the week turned out to be the barracuda fishing.  After being shunned by permit and bored by bonefish, the barracudas were a great change of pace.  As with all the fishing here, it was sight-casting and the barracuda got big.  It took until the fourth day before I tried it and once I did I found myself looking more for them than the other species.  They were interesting in that they were either in the mood to eat or not and the fly choice was not very important.  If they were not feeding then repeated good casts in front of their noses were useless.  If they were hunting, then even a bad cast was hit with unbelievable speed.  I caught a number of small (less than 24 inches) barracuda and their runs and jumping were a delight.  The larger fish were strong and fast.  The largest one I caught, the last fish of the trip, was 5 feet long and weighed 55-60 pounds.  It nearly took all my backing (250 yards) in its initial run and took 25-30 minutes to land.  It was a real thrill.

There were several lagoons that held baby tarpon to 20 pounds and although I did not fish for them, one of my fishing companions did and had some success.  In the winter, large snook are available and jacks are always a possibility.  For the people who were not tired enough there are turtlegrass flats right in front of the hotel for evening fishing.  Personally, I preferred relaxing with a cold Dos Equis on the beach.  There is good snorkeling and diving available for the non fisherman.

 While flats fishing will never be my favorite type of fishing, it was entertaining and trying for a permit was a bit addicting.  It is a fairly easy place to get to and the cost for 6 days of guided fishing, hotel, and all meals was only $2100.  A decent bargain for good fishing.  As always, anyone wishing to contact me about this destination can reach me at traydog@enter.net.  Mark Cowan can be reached at cowan@taosnet.com.

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