Home Forums Fishing Saltwater Fly rod for Belize bonefish?

Headed to Belize in December for six days.
I need to get geared up for fishing primarily bones, but also snook and permit.

Any recommendations for a fly rod?

thanks,

Thomas & Thomas Apex rod, and a Hatch reel.

im not a fly rod guy. but im friends with several who have been to belize. all are anxious to return. id love to go there
even if meant using my spinner.

Go with a 4 piece fast action 8 wt in a loomis or a bit cheaper version TFO Axiom

You will have a blast


Pm me for fly patterns, gear. Much cheaper to take down than buy down there

Practice your casting . There will be strong winds. Know how to cast in strong winds from a boat!!! Biggest complaint from guides is clients cannot cast well enough!!

Get a really good pair of polarized sun glasses too. Smith makes a good pair.

Get a good large arbor reel. Orvis LA and Ross big Game good reels for the money won't break the bank

A seven or eight weight should suffice with a line capable of bucking some wind. I personally use Sage 7 and 8 wt 10 footers. One holds the fly and leaves a long leader/line loop trailing behind. A long rod lets one get that big loop airborn with no false casting. Maybe a weight forward line. The most significant issue in my book is plenty (like about 200 yds) of backing. Given that one is not into hour long fights, either palming or a drag should suffice. If one is not blessed with a saltwater reel, give it a good fresh water wash, dry, and lube the workings each evening.

Also if limited to a single outfit, take a spare line and some extra backing. Coral or mollusk covered mangrove shoots can cut one off if a bone makes a corner and one is still leaning on the the line as it encounters a stob. Those fish can be leader shy, so some clear as opposed to colored leaders will help too.

A guide or experienced partner for at least the first day out should boost ones success quite a bit. There are a few things that one needs to get educated on. Spotting fish and not striking with the rod are the two most difficult issues.

You should have a blast. Wish I could go along.

I like the like clear tip floating lines when fishing for bones and permit.


http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=clear+tip+fly+lines&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9536729976084293891&sa=X&ei=fPcATvTvLofniALEvZinCA&ved=0CCQQ8wIwAw#



Good advice from above too

Oh and learn to strip strike a fish. Do not lift rod tip to hook up

If you tell me where you are fishing, I can help you out a little more. I've fished in most parts of Belize.

Fishing in the north of Belize, around the Turneffe Islands, you will be targeting permit and bonefish, with a decent chance of seeing tarpon.

Fishing in the Ambergis area, you'll have a chance at bonefish, tarpon, permit, and snook, but you won't find them in the same place, so it will depend on how and where you're fishing. The quality of guides can very greatly here.

If you're fishing in Placencia area or Punta Gorda, you'll be going after permit pretty much alone and in the Belize River, you'll be targeting small tarpon and snook.

There can be a big difference in tackle between bonefish, permit, and snook.

The bonefish in and around the Turneffe Islands can be challenging to catch because they see a lot of fishermen. They can also be picky. I had to change flies numerous times to keep them interested. They move in decent sized schools and tend to be on the small side (that's the easy part) but the flats are full of rocks/coral heads, etc. Just keep the rod tip high and hope for the best.

They like small flies #6's and #8's. The typical patterns like tan, white, and pink Gotcha's, tan epoxy "moes", etc. work just fine, just go a little smaller. Use the longest flouro leader you can handle. I would go tapered flouro 8# and at least 12ft. As far as rods go, there are plenty to choose from in all price ranges. Your best bet is try out a few before you make a decision. Same with reels. If the shop doesn't allow you to cast the rods before you buy, find another fly shop. 9ft / 8wt should be fine with a floating bonefish taper fly line.

Mostly people fish bonefish and permit on the same trip. Snook are usually found along the mangroves in the rivers. Tarpon can show up in a lot of places.

If you're targeting permit, some people like to go a little heavier than an 8wt for a couple of reasons. Crab flies can be heavy and/or bulky and permit can often weigh over 20+ pounds. I've had good luck using a 9wt rod over-loaded with a 10wt line. I've used #4 Merkin crabs, #4 green crabs, and #4 tan crabs. I also use tapered 16# 9' flouro leaders. You'll want a heavy enough leader so you can strongly get the hook.

You could probably get by just fine for snook with either the 8wt or 9wt. I would prefer the 9wt, but I would not go out and buy another rod. Snook are very tough to catch on the fly because they can very greatly in size and because of their habitat. They can weigh anywhere from a few pounds to ten pounds, to 20 pounds, to 35 pounds and up. They live in and around the mangroves and they're ambush feeders. They grab the fly and run straight back into the mangroves where they can easily cut your line. You can't really stop this from happening with a fly rod or you'll break your leader, so you just have to hope for the best and try to keep the fish away from the thick stuff.

Although you didn't mention it, if tarpon are in the mix, then I would go with the 9wt and if bigger tarpon are in the mix then a 10wt or more might be needed. I think a 9wt can work fine for smaller fish, maybe up to 40lbs. Hard to say what flies. Probably toads, black death, cockroaches, etc. in 1/0 with a 9ft leader with a 60# flouro bite tip and a 20# class tippet would work just fine.

Have fun and take plenty of pics.

Having fished in Belize also, Tom gives you a lot of very good info above....and right on IMO.

The bones and permit around Ambergris and Turneffe are on the smaller size compared to other parts of the Yucatan and FLA. Although, Punta Gorda has some big permit. If you only take one rod, take a med-fast action 9ft 8wt. That's a great all-arounder. I like Scott rods personally, but there are many good rod makers....Sage, Winston, Loomis even Whorvis. Go cast some rods and get what you like.

My experience was very small bonefish flies, like the #6-8s and even smaller, I had some #10's in the colors Tom mentioned also Tan and gold epoxy Charlie's were very good to us. You'll need small beadchain eyes and no-eyes too. For permit in Belize, I use a #6 Merkin, with an olive and brown yarn body & olive legs. We caught 6 permit in two days on that fly and had several other eats that didn't work out. Small seemed to be the ticket with all of our flies. There is a Turneffe Crab fly that some of the guides like.

I have fished around Ambergris and Caye Caulker. When the wind laid down, I had a blast catching bones on the 6wt. It goes with me on all bone trips. The 8wt handled the permit fine, but a 9 or 10wt work just as well and maybe better for some. You'll want the 10wt if tarpon are on the menu. If possible, I'd try to have a bone, permit and tarpon rod all rigged up. You never know what you are going to see and sometimes don't have time to change flies. Don't overlook cudas if you see them. They can be a blast on a fly rod.

Floating SW lines are fine for everything. If you have a ghost tip, I like that on my permit rig, but a floating line is fine. Lastly, I always take backup rods b/c I will break 1 or 2 a trip.....I count on that happening.

Can you double-haul? If not, learn how to.

Tom and Hunt are right on. I took a 6, 8 and 10 wt rods. The 8 got most the work but I did get my permit on the 6 wt and had to start up the boat twice to chase him and was on the fish for a bit over an hour. I'm not sure I'd recommend that, by the way.
Bone fish Bitters were my go to for bones and also what I took my Permit on.
Best trip of my life!

Sounds like a great time! Pics please???

Thanx for the advice!

I ended up buying a G Loomis NRX, 9' 8 weight 4 piece, and have been practicing my casting and experimenting with different fly lines.
Started out with a Scientific Anglers Bonefish line. It worked okay, but never seemed to load the rod the way I like.
I then tried a Rio Bonefish line- difference is night and day! I've been able to throw 85' casts with little effort. Working mostly on accuracy now, and wind casting. This G Loomis rod is a real piece of work!

I also have tried a Teeny T200 line, for river fishing, which casts like a bullet. The Loomis will easily toss all 90 feet of line. Again, working more on accuracy at closer ranges.

I have two large arbor reels, with spare spools. I would dearly love to have another G Loomis, in 9 or 10 weight, but these are really expensive sticks!! Might try a TFO in those weights, as a backup and for maybe tarpon.

If you have a good source for recommended fly patterns, please PM me. Thanks.

I've casted the NRX and really liked it myself. I've fished Sage for a long time, but I could happily switch over to the NRX.

If you're planning to target permit and it sounds like you will be, you might want to consider trying a 9wt line on your rod. Overlining by a weight can make it a lot easier to cast heavy permit flies. Since you have spare spools, you could keep one ready with the heavier line.

I used only a couple of patterns for permit and I could have easily just brought one. I used a #4 Antron Merkin Crab the most and also used a #4 Antron Green Crab. I used a 16# tapered flouro leader 9', with about 3' of heavy butt added to that.

As for bonefish, I used very small flies. All were #6 and #8. I think I bought most of them at Cabelas. I used everything from small Gotchas, to MOES, to just about anything else as long as they were small. I used an 8# tapered flouro leader 9', with a 3' heavy butt added to that.

Tom--- digging the Squidbillies!! Have you ever fished Chetumal Bay? N of the Belizian border?

I haven't fished Chetumal Bay. I've fished Punta Allen further north, the Turneffe Atoll and Placencia in Belize. I think you would either need to access Chetumal from Ambergris or from Xacalk in Mexico.

Its just tricky enough to get to that it should make for some really nice fishing.

I've had really good luck in Belize. The permit are thick on Turneffe and the outer rocky islands off of Placencia are pretty good too. The Placencia route is cheaper, but the overall experience of Turneffe Flats was really nice (5 permit in a week, one was 40lbs)...expensive, but really nice.

I've fished Ambergris 10yrs ago or so. It was good.....2 days of fishing 5 permit caught. But they weren't big guys. One went 12lbs or so, the rest little guys. Bones were small too. I haven't fished Turneffe nor Placencia. I know Turneffe has better fishing than around Ambergris. A 40lb permit is a BEAST! Fly caught i assume? Punta Gorda is on the radar if I go back to Belize.

I've had very good luck in Ascension Bay. Love the permit fishing there. There are some big permit there. Ascension is maybe my favorite place. Good diversity of fish, and big catchable permit.

I haven't fished Chetumal Bay yet, but we finalized plans and bought tickets today. A bit of a bitch to get there....but those are the places I like. we are going Jan 14-21. It's time to start tying crabs. if you have any secret flies you want to share, I'm all ears.....grin.

I also enjoy Ascension bay. I think it is one of those places that I would have no trouble recommending. Its pretty easy to get to and there is a good variety of fish year round. Its not easy to find a spot where you can catch bonefish, permit, tarpon, and snook...pretty much year round. Belize has better pure permit fishing and South Andros has better pure bonefishing.

Tough to say where to find the best tarpon fishing. I fished Holbox Island right on the top of the Yucatan a few years ago and saw more huge tarpon than I've seen in a lifetime, but you had to fish them with 600gr shooting heads which wasn't all that much fun. I hooked one big tarpon and caught a few small ones. I'd go back, but I'm not sure I'd call this a sure thing.

Btw, if you haven't been there, Holbox makes for a great family/fishing vacation spot. The beaches are beautiful and the town is clean and a lot of fun. A lot of European expats live there, it has dirt roads but it has sort of an upscale Spanish feel. In the spring the whale sharks come in to spawn. You can snorkel with them. We saw a young one while we were fishing. It passed right under our panga....very cool. You can get a pretty cheap (but very nice) cabana for under $100/night on the beach.

I think I would have to pick the middle Keys and/or Flamingo for best tarpon fishing. When the fish are running in May, you have a pretty good chance of catching a tarpon. I caught a 110# tarpon in May on a 10wt. I had a hell of a time landing it, took me over an hour. One fantastic hour I'll never forget. That was my biggest one ever.

Caught bonefish just about anytime water conditions any time of day.I did it and enjoyed it.