WOW, LONG TIME!

I have TONs of information to add to this dilapidated blog, but the good news is that my lovely wife is in the process of building me a brand new home for all of my fishing information. This new home will also have the ability to help you, the traveling angler make decisions on where to fish on the Riviera Maya and even to book some of the same trips that I have had the opportunity to take. Stay tuned!

Almost Time to Leave!

I know I have been promising a full list of gear and an itinerary, but have been too busy getting ready to do so--don't worry, I'll still do it, but here is a little taste. The following are the rod and reel combos I will be taking on the trip for all of my fishing needs:
Inshore:
7' Cabelas Salt Striker 2 pc medium-light spinning rod with a Salt Striker SS30 spinning reel sporting 14 lb. Crystal Fireline and 20 lb. monofilament backing.

7' Salt Striker 2 pc medium-heavy spinning rod with a Salt Striker SS30 spinning reel sporting 14 lb. Crystal Fireline and 20 lb. monofilament backing.

6'6" Salt Striker 1 pc medium-light trigger casting rod with a Bass Pro Shops Rick Clunn Signature baitcasting reel 7.1:1 ratio with 15 lb. Stren microfuse braid and 20 lb. monofilament backing.

7' Salt Striker 1 pc heavy trigger casting rod with an Abu Garcia C4 5300 round baitcaster 6.3:1 ratio with 20 lb. Crystal Fireline and 20 lb. monofilament backing.

As you can see, I like to use braid, then I use a 3-6' flourocarbon leader of about 5-10 lbs. greater tensil strenght of the braid attached with a double uni-knot and in certain circumstances an additional equal strength 4-8" AFW Surflon Micro Plus knottable steel leader.

As for offshore:

6'0" Offshore Angler Captain's Choice stand-up rod heavy action (50-80 lb.)with a 4/0 Captain's choice conventional 4.3:1 reel spooled with 100 lb. Power Pro braid and 80 lb. monofilament backing. I troll with this, but it is better suited for deep dropping heavy iron or cut bait for jacks and grouper.

6'6" Shimano Trevala Butterfly Jigging rod medium-heavy (50-100 lb.) with a Shimano Torium 16 conventional reel 6.3:1 with 65 lb Power Pro braid and 80 lb. monofiliament backing. This is the new set up for butterfly jigging this year. Can't wait to try it out and report.

6'6" Salt Striker casting stand-up rod, Medium Heavy (15-40 lb.) with a Pfleuger Contender 50 level wind reel spooled with 30 lb. Berkley Trilene Big Game monofiliament line. This is a great set up for trolling. Not too heavy and a lot of fun fighting the kinds of fish we typically catch trolling in the Fall.

6'6" Salt Striker boat spinning rod, Medium heavy (15-30 lb.) with a Salt Striker SS65 spinning reel spooled with 30 lb. Power Pro braid and 80 lb. monofiliament backing. This is good when jigging or bottom fishing for smaller snapper and grunts. Will try it this year with smaller butterfly jigs and to cast plugs from the boat if we can chum in some kings, cudas, or anything else that might come around.

7' Shakespeare Ugly Stick Catfish spinning rod. I found that this was a much cheaper and just as effective spinning rod for use on the boat. It is rated to 30 lbs. and costs much less that the Ugly Stick saltwater specific rods. I use it with a Salt Striker SS50 spinning rod with 20 lb. Crystal Fireline. Again, will use this as a light or shallower jigging rod and for casting plugs, etc. if anything comes into the slick.

Next up: Lures and stuff

Gearing up again

Starting to prepare for the pilgrimage to Akumal in November. I am excited to try some new techniques--namely, butterfly jigging while drifting. I have read up on it, now if I can muster enough money to buy some of the equipment needed...I have semi-reserved my date with Pesca Maya for flats fishing and plan to try to make two trips down to Ascencion Bay this year. Also, we went ahead and rented a car for the trip so we are "no strings attached" to go to Boca Paila a few times--very excited about that.
Anyway, watch for more information in the next few days about preparations and equipment procurement.

The Latest Question from Loco Gringo

Posted by CoachM:
My wife and I bought at place in a sub division of Chemuyil and have stayed at Akumal Beach Resort a few times. I am a really big fisherman and have taken a couple of small boat charters at the resort in January. We will be down there June 21st -28th. Any advice on Charters and where to fish from shore. I will be spin casting and don't have a clue on bait, lures, etc?

My Response:
June is an AWESOME time to go fishing on the Mayan Riviera. Mahi Mahi are running, they taste great, they are prolific reproducers and are fast-growning and short-lived so you can actually harvest a few without feeling guilty and they are pretty as all get out. I would second the earlier suggestion for flats fishing. I would go ahead and pay the money for a guide from Boca Paila Fishing Camp or Pesca Maya (my favorite). Be up-front with them. Let them know that you own a place in Chemuyil, that you want to learn about some places you can wade to. I think that will be pretty straight with you. You may have a little more luck as far as finding places to wade if you go with Boca Paila Fishing Camp and it is a little closer to you. As for off-shore, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions you have gotten so far. As Iguana Mama stated, Carlos from Cueva del Pescador is very popular. I have heard nothing but good things about him. Personally, I always go out with Francisco who you can book through Akumal Dive Center. As for what kind of fishing you will do, just tell them what you want to do when you book. If you definitly want to catch something, go bottom fish, but for me, in June, I would troll, troll, troll and get into the mahi, marlin, sailfish or even some tuna. June is too good a month to spend soaking baits on the bottom. That said, maybe you could do 2 hours of trolling and an hour of bottom fishing. They will do whatever you ask, just be clear about what you want. All of those guys are cool. Who wouldn't be? They get to go fishing everyday! Anyway, if you want more details, you can visit my less-than-stellar blog (you see I.G., I stopped saying "crappy" just for you) www dot ****fishing dot blogspot dot com (I have to spell out the address or it gets filtered).You should find some good information. I could talk for a hours about lures, tackle, etc, but check out the blog first, if you have more questions, I'm happy to help, just PM me. Good luck, Jim

And then a follow up:
Shoot, I need to spell it out again: www dot mayan riviera fishing dot blogspot dot com. I also forgot to mention that Captain Ricks out of Pueto Adventuras is substantially more expensive, but you also go out on actually sport fishing boats, more comfortable and probably a little more palatable for those who are a little nervous about going out on the ocean. One thing I have noticed though is that the larger sport fishing boats willl fish exactly the same water as the small pangas. Anyway, I have heard nothing but good things about Captain Rick but I have not had any experience with him myself. Personally, I like the "panga" experience. Just another step closer to the whole "Old Man and the Sea" experience. I actually got to catch a 4 1/2 ft lemon shark on a hand line last year. Pretty cool experience.

Shore Fishing, Rules, Lures, and Misc.

Got a PM from another Gringo from Loco Gringo.com. Here is his message and my answers. I hope they can be helpful for you all:

Jim,
i checked out your blog, nice job! not crappy, informative! i just have some questions. am i correct in thinking that i don't need a license to shore fish? i'll be at the crt from july 9th to the 18th. i understand that up the beach (towards cancun) i could fish, away from the resort. i understand that crt is the only open hotel on that beach for quite aways. my plan( an i'm not sure if it's correct) would be to bring down a medium rod with some fresh water smithwicks and rapala jerk baits of different depths along with some 12 to 20 pound line and some heavy leader. i have no idea if this would be sucessful but what the hey. got any ideas? also i would be interested in going out for one of those 3 hour tours with francisco.(not gilligan?) whats a ball park price for that? is it per person or for the boat. i am strictly a catch and release guy normally so if that helps the price thats cool, but a fresh mahi mahi or grouper dinner might sway me. any other info would be great. thanks for your time and effort.
--Zydecorich

I replied:
Hi Zydecorich,
First, let me address the license issue. This came up a little while ago in a thread on LocoGringo. Here is a link to it, I think you will find if very helpful: http://forums.locogringo.com/forums/tm.asp?m=511611&mpage=1&key=fishing%2Clicense&#511611
For me, the clearest part of this thread came from a poster called stimulator. He explains, "A Fishing License: is required for any individual, regardless of age, who wishes to fish in fresh or salt water in Mexico. This rule applies to all people fishing out of boats or fishing underwater while skin diving. A Fishing License is not needed when fishing from land."
That said, I cannot vouch for the veracity of this or any other statements in the Locogringo forums, but it sounds pretty good and it has been my experience that it is most likely accurate. Even though earlier in the thread it talks about your guide charging you for a license, I haven't had that happen either. They either don't worry about it, or they add it in to the price. Pesca Maya fishing lodge (the service I use for flats fishing down in Ascencion Bay) even states on their website that they need to charge you for a license, but I have yet to be charged for one.

Now, onto a guide. Out of Akumal, the going rate is about $150 US, non-negotiable for the boat, not per person. You can fit 4-5 people in the boat but 2-3 is a little more comfortable. A tip is customary and appreciated. As for catch and release--just make sure you make that clear before you catch your first fish. Any billfish (sailfish or marlin) are a mandatory catch and release. Expect your guide to want to keep anything else unless you specify ahead of time. Fish that we would usually not eat in the US (like barracuda) are considered to be excellent table fare in that area. Ciguatera poisoning does not seem to be an issue with the fish in and around the reefs of the Mayan Riviera. Also, you can always send fish home with your guide. The catch can sometimes act as secondary income for the guide as he can sell it to a market or simply use it to feed the family. If you do book with Francisco, tell him I sent you and tell him hello for me. He is a great guy and he knows a TON about fishing around there. Also, let him know what you want to do, if you just want to troll for pelagics or barracuda or if you want as close to a sure thing as there gets in fishing and bottom fish an off-shore reef for grunts, triggerfish, snapper, etc. (a great option if you want some fresh fish for dinner) An hour of this is typically enough to get all the fish you could want, then you could spend the rest of the time trolling. Now, since you will be there in July, there might still be a good number of mahi around so maybe you just spend the whole time trolling. Obviously, that would be up to you. Another consideration is asking to go out earlier. If there is anything negotiable, it is the time you leave. You can sometimes get some extra time by asking to go out earlier. Generally they just need to get back in time to be able to go back out again and have time for a full trip in the afternoon, so if you head out really early, there is a good chance you will still come back at the same time. That could mean that instead of taking your three hours from 8:00 to 11:00, you might go out at 6:00 and STILL get back at 11:00. No guarantee on that, but its a possibility. If they do do that for you, remember to take care of him come tip time.

Now, on to lures and such. I have personally not had a lot of success with plugs thrown from shore. The first problem is the wind and being able to cast out far enough. That is not to say that you won't have better luck. I am not sure how the beach will be where you will be. Where I stay, there is a lot of rock--very, very snaggy rock. The first year I spent much of my time snorkeling out to retrieve lost lures (for the record, I have yet to lose a lure nearshore that I haven't been able to swim out and find). A good bet for all inshore or nearshore species is the tried and true leadhead jig with a curly tail grub. I uses a 7' medium light spinning rod with 12lb fireline crystal with a 15 lb florocarbon leader and did well for lookdowns, grunts, snapper and even a bonefish (the highlight) and those were all from shore in the light surf just outside of the condo. Down the coast at Boca Paila, I used a little heavier gear and a bigger bucktail jig with a curly tail grub and caught a nice 20 lb ish Jack Crevalle (one of the funnest fish I have ever caught). One problem with plugs is that it seems that most of the fish nearshore tend to feed on mullusks and other prey that live on the bottom as opposed to other, smaller fish. Obviously that does not describe EVERY fish around there. I know one popular tactic that several of the guides I have used in Mexico have suggested is using a good sized popper or surface stick bait--like a skitter walk or a zara spook (walk the dog, you know) to target barracuda in the surf or just past the breakers (a nice option that is snag proof). If all else fails, make sure to bring some bobbers or casting bubbles and fish with bait. Pick up some shrimp or cut some chunk bait and let it soak. Myself, I'm not as excited about bait fishing, but to each their own. I should mention that in Ascencion Bay, the weapon of choice to target permit is fresh cut chunk of hermit crab on a size 4 to 1/0 octopus hook or 1/4 oz jighead. The bottom line is, plugs seem to be a little more effective offshore, trolling or casting from a boat as opposed to fishing from shore, but that could just be because of where I fish and could be totally different where you will be. I would just bring a nice mix of lures--but don't go overboard. The first year I went I brought the kitchen sink. WAY too much stuff and ended up using very little of it effectively.

Well, I have gone on and on. Hopefully I have answered your questions, but feel free to PM me if you have others. I am going to post our exchange on my blog. Thanks for giving me something to do for the last hour of work!
--Jim

More Specifics-Trolling, Flats Fishing and Boca Paila Bridge

Here is an email exchange between me and a gentleman named Don:

Don wrote: Going to Akumal 2/24- 3/1. Is this a decent time to fish for bones and permit? Staying at Playa Caribe and while there in Sept , one of the condo owners said he and another guy went and used crab pcs on a jig and caught like 25 and missed a helluva lot more before they caught on as to when to strike. Said they had a ball. I'm not too proficient with the fly so probably will use spin tackle also. Bought some Berkley Gulp crabs and shrimp to take down. Have amassed quite a few Crazy Charlies and other bonefish flies to give away there. Also got some 30,40 and 50lb test line in lg amts to give out as well and a lg bag of trolling lures and 200 or so 6/0 circle hooks. (most all off E-bay). Have fished around the Boca Paila bridge with minimal luck but it's something to do. Another guy I talked to uses lg Rapalas in the smaller bays for> a "little of everything." Any hints (other than secret places) would be appreciated. And how far from the bridge is Pesca Maya camp? Went all the way down once but don't recall seeing the place. Thanks for your time. Don

I responded: Hey Don,
Don't really have any "secret" places in that I only go down once a year, so any places I have found are freely shared. Let's see, where to start:

Bones and Permit:
The beauty of Ascencion Bay and Boca Paila lagoons are that there are ALWAYS bonefish and permit. Tarpon and snook are the ones that are a little more seasonal, but you will always find bonefish and permit. A method that we used with quite a lot of success was using a jig with a 3-4 inch grub (the gulp shrimp would also work really well for this [I would strongly suggest getting the smallest ones, 2 inch I believe, in that they tend to run a little bigger than a equal sized grub]0 then tie a 12-18 inch dropper line from the jig and tie on a crazy charlie or some other shrimp or crab pattern fly. I was amazed that the fish seemed to grap the dropper fly about 75% of the time. Could have just been the day or some other factor, but it really seemed to work. Also, if you are fishing in a little deeper water, we would also use a clear casting bubble with about a 2' leader with a #4 octopus or 1/0 circle hook with a hunk of fresh hermit crab. This worked very, very well for permit, but, of course, you have to find some first.

Boca Paila Bridge:
On my last day there last year, we went down to fish around the bridge. We fished all day. I saw so many freakin' fish. Tons of bonefish. Some great big barracudas, more bonefish, a permit, more bonefish, did I mention bonefish? Anyway, the operative word here is "saw" not "caught." I don't know what I was doing wrong, but I could not get anything to bite. I tried just about everything (other than live bait which probably would have worked). One problem could have been the moon phase, we were at full or close to it the whole time we were there, or it could have been the kite boarders who were out stirring things up and scaring away the fish--although they were very nice and courteous. I still had fun, just checking the place out thoroughly and learing a bit more about the structure, depths, current, etc. As we were headed out, however, I hooked into a decent sized Jack Crevalle that literally took me 45 minutes to get using my 10lb tackle. It was awesome and easily made the whole day of waiting well worth it. I was using a 3/8 oz. white SPRO bucktail jig with a 3 inch white curly tail grub. Probably the most fun I have ever had catching a fish. I was fishing out on the beach and caught the jack right at the mouth of the inlet/outlet. You can often see big (4'+) barracuda lurking around the bridge, but it is difficult to get a lure to them. I also noticed a few places right before you get to the bridge where you could access the Boco Paila lagoons on foot and then wade. Check out Google Earth and look at some satellite images, you will see a few places where the road gets really close to the lagoon and there are some trails that would take you there. You could park down by the bridge, then backtrack (that is on my list of things to do this year when we go down).

Pesca Maya
Is about 20-30 minutes from the bridge depending on the road conditions. Since there tends to be less traffic on that side of the bride, the road is usually in pretty good shape. It is on the left side of the road (heading south). They don't have really big signs, so you need to be on the lookout anytime after about 15 minutes past the bridge. They are very helpful there and will make you feel very "at home."

Rapalas and Trolling
For the flats, an f11 Magnum Rapala in sardine, blue mackerel, or mullet is a good choice and a little less likley to get hung up than the same sized CD Magnum as it floats, but the CDs will also work. I would also suggest you bring down a couple of skitter walks or Heddon Zara spooks or super spooks for topwater--especially for tarpon or barracuda. If you go out of Akumal or any other place trolling blue water, go bigger. I had very good success with an F18 Magnum in blue mackerel. One trick that worked pretty well for me was to take my main line down to a three way swivel, then a 4' leader off the bottom to a big honkin' XRap Magnum 30 and a 5' leader off the top to an f18 Magnum. The Xrap takes the whole rig down around 20' (it is supposed to take it to 30, but I don't think it goes that deep--at least not when trolled in tandem like this) then the smaller and more suble f18 is just out there a few feet about the other. We did well for kingfish and barracuda, but could also have gotten wahoo, spanish mackerel, etc. We got bites and hookups on both the x rap and the f18, and had much more success than just trolling them one at a time. It's kind of a pain to set up--but for me that is half the fun.
Hopefully I answered your questions and gave you something useful. Feel free to ask me more specifics, I love to talk about fishing. Also, if you don't mind, I would like to put your email and my response on my crappy blog: www.mayanrivierafishing.blogspot.com. Feel free to check it out and share it with others.
Regards,
Jim RiddleOrem, UT

Stirring the Fish Pot

Some well-meaning guy asked a question on LocoGringo.com about fly fishing on the Riviera Maya. As per usual, he was greeted with the slurry of NO FISHING! FISHING IS ILLEGAL! comments as well as some very educated explanations of the actual rules (no fishing within 250 meters of swimmers or in designated no fishing zones--like Xcacel and Xcacelito). Any, I referred him to PescaMaya.com for information about types of flies and equiptment to bring. Hope he finds some help and I hope that others don't get turned off on LocoGringo.com which is such a good resourse for all things Mayan Riviera.