We will be in-between jobs in April/May, so the Cup family is taking a cruise for some much-needed R&R and connection. One stop will be in Cozumel, and I have booked a quick little flats fishing trip for my oldest boy and I. I didn't book through the cruise line, but found my own guide who seems reputable. Definitely, a knowledgeable fisherman when I spoke with him.

He says that time of year (early May) can be great for flats fishing, as the bonefish in the lagoons on the north end of the island don't migrate and are there all year. YouTube seems to confirm this. Hopefully, the wind isn't up, and the fish are hungry.

I will be 100% dependent upon his gear, not able to bring any of my own. He will have 8 and 9 WT rods for me to use (Scientific Angler's, I think- I can upgrade to a nicer rod for a small fee if I desire). My son will be tossing jigs and shrimp with a light spinning setup. We will be stalking by skiff and wading, sight fishing for bonefish mostly, but also snook, baby tarpon, and permit. I don't really care, as every one of those species is on my bucket list, and yet to be checked off.

My question for you- all-knowing OB - what advice would you guys give?

Has anyone ever been flats fishing in Cozumel? I will only have 4 hours, but they swear they can give me a shot with that amount of time.

For those who have caught bones on the fly (you lucky ducks), what advice can you give?
I'm an experienced fly fisherman, but not great at casting distances in the wind (mostly, I chase trout in tiny backcountry streams). Should I be practicing double hauling or a different technique? Or should I focus on just honing my accuracy? I know to keep the rod tip low and strip set (hopefully, I can remember to do that...) I'm going to try to hit some ponds and start conditioning myself to strip set between now and then.


I will reward the generous advice and pay homage to the OB with a full trip report and pictures- hopefully of big smiles and big bonefish! (obvious double-entendre intentionally avoided).

Which guide are you going with? I'm going in May and booked with Adolfo Vazquez but am not sure if that's the right one. Planning on bringing my own gear to make it less of a worry

I'm fly fishing Belize this summer. Do you own a lodge there or run trips? Couldn't tell from your post.

dr_boogs said:

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I'm fly fishing Belize this summer. Do you own a lodge there or run trips? Couldn't tell from your post.

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I used to manage a lodge on Ambergris Caye and hosted trips to Belize for several years prior to working there.

Thank you for the tips!

The guide said it is a 15-20 min max taxi ride from any cruise ship terminal to their marina. I looked it up online, and it looks like they launch out of one of the main spots near everything, not a remote one. But I don't truly know. Google said it could be as close as 10 mins?

I do have a decent backhand, and not just in tennis. I fish quite a bit from a kayak, and use the backhand a decent amount. I do think I have a tendency to leave my rod tip a little high on backhands, which probably robs me of some accuracy. I'm guessing that will be a much bigger deal on the flats, so I will work on my form there.

Thanks doc! I appreciate it sincerely.

I will work on my accuracy with the back hand, and see if I can get the double haul down (mine sucks).

Great tip on the pick up casts, I will really work on that!

I do have an 8WT I can practice with, which I think will make a big difference. I won't be able to really practice till march, because it's snowing like CRAZY here and we are trying to pack the house and move. But I'll get a few hula hoops out in the yard and get after it when we get to TX.

Live_Flyway_Action said:

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Which guide are you going with? I'm going in May and booked with Adolfo Vazquez but am not sure if that's the right one. Planning on bringing my own gear to make it less of a worry

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I'm going with Aquarius Fishing. They seemed to have some decent videos and recent positive reports. But I have no real idea if they are any good. I will soon...

I fish with Carlos and Enrique about 10 days a year.

They launch out of Abrigo not the far dock.

I love the salt but 87 is the man, Nothing to add Bud! Post pics and practice before the trip. If you need a loaner practice rod let me know.

You said your son will be casting spinning gear.
?v=1645118049


https://www.captharry.com/products/capt-harrys-1-4oz-weedless-flats-jigs


All the colors worked on bonefish. we had better luck with pink. They tipped them with shrimp or hermit crab.
Gulp shrimp and a jig head worked well on anything else…

Look me up when you get to TX and are settled. We can go fish some freshwater around Austin or chase reds on the flats on the middle coast.

bmfvet said:

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Practice casting into the wind as much as you can because the fish always find a way to come from there. A quick cast can be super helpful. Spotting the fish will help too, get that down and the extra second or two will make a huge difference. I like the low light glasses for seeing the grey ghosts, even in the middle of the day.

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Awesome pics! I'm salivating, and realizing just how hard it is going to be to spot those little buggers.

I will be investing in a pair of sunglasses before the trip. I've never spent money on glasses before, and don't want to blow a ton now. But, I also don't want to waste this possibly once-in-a-lifetime trip because of a pair of cheap glasses. Who makes the low-light glasses you are referring to? (sorry if that is an ignorant question)

Do any of y'all have rec's on good mid-tier glasses, and recommended lenses for salt flats?

Ayto Siks said:

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What tripped me up when I first tried for bonefish and permit was the heavier flies. After you get a solid double haul down, it doesn't matter much. But early on, the weight messed me up. So maybe practice with some heavy/clunky patterns.

Also, even though it's tempting to say "fly til I die," sometimes you've gotta spin to win.

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Thanks for the tips! I'll practice with some heavier streamers for sure.

We will have both fly and spin rods on the boat. If I hook a bunch of bones on the fly, I'll claim the spinning gear was just there for my son. If I can't hack it with the fly after a while (I only have a couple hours to fish), I'll be grabbing a spinning rod with zero shame and saying that was my backup plan all along. ha ha!

dr_boogs said:

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Look me up when you get to TX and are settled. We can go fish some freshwater around Austin or chase reds on the flats on the middle coast.

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Don't have to ask me twice. I will take you up on this for sure! Thanks so much! Snagging a red on a fly is another bucket list item for me. I had a chance to spend a day on a flats boat in FL chasing reds, but the weather was horrible and the flats were flooded with muddy freshwater. Needless to say, I got to pole around for 6 hours and practice casting about 10,000 times with only spotting one rat-red spooked by the boat when the guide fell in the water after his pole slipped. And I loved every minute of it!

"Do any of y'all have rec's on good mid-tier glasses, and recommended lenses for salt flats?"

If you shop around you can find Costas for about a $100. We sold Sun Cloud at the pro shop in Belize and they are OK. Best lenses for seeing fish on the flats are Copper , Amber or yellow, worst is Grey. I like green mirrored lenses for bright days.

87Flyfisher said:

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"Do any of y'all have rec's on good mid-tier glasses, and recommended lenses for salt flats?"

If you shop around you can find Costas for about a $100. We sold Sun Cloud at the pro shop in Belize and they are OK. Best lenses for seeing fish on the flats are Copper , Amber or yellow, worst is Grey. I like green mirrored lenses for bright days.

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Thank you so very much! I'll find a pair of Costas, and I really appreciate the guidance on the lens colors.

Costa has the silver sunrise lense which is what I have, I know smith makes some too that I think are a little better (a keys guide I use has them and compared them side by side). You can find some on sale probably in the $150 range. I generally take another pair of darker glasses for bright days but I switch back to the low lights even then because I can see better. If you're in the Austin area and want to try some, let me know, might be able to loan them to you for the trip depending on the dates.

As far as spotting them, I find it easiest when they're swimming towards or away. To me they have a greenish hue to them. Careful, once you've hooked one, you're going to want to do it a lot more

Just thought of a couple more things.

I have more success wearing light blue shirts - specifically for snook. Probably because it matches the sky and those boogers can see everything.

Another clothing thing (for me). Avoid flip flops while on the bow. The fly line likes getting between your heel and the flip flop at the worst time.

While scanning for fish, bonefish look like the blue-green-clear vintage coke bottles. Permit look like greater than/less than signs. I always see their black tails first... >>>

The bonefishing I've done in Cozumel was really easy. The fish school up in small estuaries and cloud up the water while feeding. Just look for the dirty water and cast into it. Bonefish every time.

dr_boogs said:

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Look me up when you get to TX and are settled. We can go fish some freshwater around Austin or chase reds on the flats on the middle coast.

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We have met (you saved my Chesapeake from a bad tplo experience). I am in bcs, and fish matty area, if you ever go that direction.

87Flyfisher said:

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5) get some kind of finger guards or athletic tape. Bonefish will give you a line burn quick.

Feel free to message me with any questions.

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If you don't get line burns you're not really fishing.

This is a week-old burn.

https://instagr.am/p/BlrFh-7H3NO

Thanks for reaching out. I mostly fish POC and Seadrift. Have never fished East or most of west Matagorda. My fishing partner and boat owner is on the shelf for 3 months recovering from elbow surgery. If you've got a flats skiff, like to chase reds on the fly, and need a capable second who can pole and cast a passable loop let me know. Glad to cover gas and food/drinks.

I fished with Aquarius in August of last year. Sounds like you're a more experienced fly caster than I, if you're day is half of what mine was you won't have trouble catching fish.

Boat had one guide and a deck hand. We poled into a lagoon and took a few casts at some schools from the boat almost immediately. I was equal parts fired up at the early action and frustrated at not connecting and the guide said "ehh, this only okay, we keep going".

We made it deeper into the lagoon into some mangrove flats that were shin deep, hopped out of the boat and spent the rest of the morning on foot.

I was with a friend who had never fly fished before, the guide saw me take a couple casts, saw I was competent enough, split off with my buddy and pointed me toward some tails. The next 90 minutes were nirvana. I'd screw up a cast at one school and not have time to get frustrated as I'd turn my head a few degrees and spot another school. I'm not great at double hauling so don't have great casting distance but the opportunities were enough for me to hook up and land on my own, rinse and repeat until the fish disappeared after about 90 minutes.





It's a ten minute cab ride from the cruise terminals to puerto de abrigo where they launch then about a 30 minute boat ride to the lagoon we fished on the north side of Cozumel.

The clarity was great but the bottom in the lagoons was not white Caribbean sand so wear high wading socks or footwear that will keep shell out.

Heck yeah! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear!!! Thanks so much for sharing this, and congrats on the awesome bones!!!!

Dream come true for me would be to have my boy hook into one right off the bat, then I can focus on trying to get one on a fly rod while the guide helps him keep realing them in.

Do you mind me asking a few questions-
- How long was the boat ride from the dock to the flats? Just trying to get a realistic picture in my head of how much fishing time we might actually get on our 4 hour trip.
- Did you use Aquarius' gear, and if so how was it? In good shape? Clearly good enough to pull in fish!

There are three lakes. Las Ruinas is the farthest and takes about 45 minutes. It's a wading only place but you can cast to smaller bones around a small Mayan ruin. Really cool.

The other two lakes are about a 30 minute boat ride.

Bring wading boots and a rain jacket. The way out around the point can be hairy when the waves stack up on the reef by the shipwrecked ferry and you'll want to cover up.

Also, keep an eye out for alligators. Enrique will do his best as he has been attacked before, but you need to keep an eye out as well when landing a fish while wading in the closer lakes.

Newoldarmy said:

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There are three lakes. Las Ruinas is the farthest and takes about 45 minutes. It's a wading only place but you can cast to smaller bones around a small Mayan ruin. Really cool.

The other two lakes are about a 30 minute boat ride.

Bring wading boots and a rain jacket. The way out around the point can be hairy when the waves stack up on the reef by the shipwrecked ferry and you'll want to cover up.

Also, keep an eye out for alligators. Enrique will do his best as he has been attacked before, but you need to keep an eye out as well when landing a fish while wading in the closer lakes.

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This is super helpful, thanks so much!!! We will for sure have wading shoes. Great tip on the jackets for coming around the point.

So, I'm guessing if my boat is scheduled to dock at 10 and depart at 4, I might only end up with 90 minutes or maybe 2 hours to actually fish. If we are super lucky and getting off is easier, maybe we squeeze an extra few minutes in (but I'm not pushing it for getting back on!).

Might only get a shot or two... but I'll take it!!!!

Outstanding! That's the dream: sight fishing, with flies, in shallow water, on foot. Nothing else comes close.