Ambergris Caye

[bgabel]

Anyone have any information on fishing on Ambergris Caye in Belize? I am planning a honeymoon that I can scuba dive and hopefully sneak a day of fishing in. Any information on lodging, guides, and the fishing would be greatly appreciated.

[Jack-W]

My wife and I did our honeymoon on Ambergris Cay. We stayed at Ramon's village which was rustic but good for a honeymoon. We fished one morning from a boat--basically we just went to the outer edge of the reef and trolled bucktails--we caught a good mix of reef fish with a couple of barracuda mixed in--our guide's name was Tino and he did a good enough job of putting us on fish. I know the bonefishing i supposed to be good around there too but we didn't try it. Enjoy:D

[Popes]

I was on Ambergris a few years ago and had a great time, despite some initial problems with lodging and some rough weather.

Was supposed to stay at Journey's End, but switched to Captain Morgan's. Journey's End misrepresented the progress of their post-hurricane repairs and simply should not have been booking guests. :mad:

Captain Morgan's was great - simple, but just what we were looking for at the time. Be sure to go to Capricorn's for dinner (in between Captain Morgan's and El Pescador)

Strong winds cancelled many of our diving and fishing trips, but I did finally get some bonefish with Hillyboo Lara (I believe he can be reached at either 603-0357 or 609-0649). His operation is called Freedom Tours.

Never got to the tarpon flats or to the reef fishing because of the winds. Though everyone swore the weather was unusual (February/March), next time I will go later in the season.

Have a great time.

- Bob

[BONITADNC]

I have been going to Ambergris for 4 years. If you are on honeymoon there is only one place to stay - "Victoria house". Check it out on the web. It's a little pricy, but well worth it. I was there two weeks ago - had dinner outside every night under candle light - very romantic. Food is the best on the island. They can hook you up with a guide for fishing. It will run you about $225 for a day. They can also organize snorkel/dive trips.

[Jim Royston]

If you are not staying at one of the lodges north of San Pedro, such as Journeys End and El Pescador, the best place to hire a guide is through Ruby's Hotel. It is owned by Nesto Gomez, one of the old time great tarpon guides, and Nesto Jr. is considered to be the best tarpon guide on A.C. There are several good bonefish guides available on a daily basis.

[AlderBrookFarm]

Nesto is an awesome guide! Book him if you can.

[thelionzden]

I fished El Pescador a long time ago and did very good on Tarpon. The weather was real good to us. The week before it was not fishable. We took one dive out in front of the lodge and there were more Tarpon in one school then I have ever seen. Just crusin around. Also caught alot of small bonefish. My partner got his first and only permit on the fly. Good week. Good luck if you go.

[ruber]

I went there last christmas and fished the whole time. I thought the place was too touristy, but it was beautiful none the less. You can wade the flats on the far end of town where the lagoon crosses the main road and enters the ocean. I caught some smaller barracuda there on #8 clousers. You can fish off some of the docks at night and catch small snapper and see some big cruising jacks--I was greeted by a pair of 8' bull sharks. I fished the long dock just down from Ramone's. Apparantly bonefish come in near a lot of the docks at sunrise, but I couldn't find them.
I too went out with Hillyboo, I thought he was overall a pretty bad guide, kind of a jerk. However, he can take you to some cool channels where you can catch fish on sinking lines. I caught a nice bonefish swinging a big clouser on a sink tip, where a small channel washed into into larger water. Small flies worked better on the flats. #6 and #8 epoxy minnows, char./wht clousers, and tan calftail/wht. clousers worked well. Try some poppers too, especially at night and in the deeper channels. In the deeper water I did best on a #4 chart/wht clouser, about 3.5" long. Best of luck, look out for the Rasta guys trying to sell you weed when your fishing the flats in the early morning.

[Iggy]

Fished w/George Bradley 2 years ago. Real pro. Brought mu own gear; he had the flies. 8# floating.

[gtopche]

generally, you need a guide since the wadeable flats are not easy to reach and most flats are not wadeable. The bones are small (mostly 1 - 3 lbs). There is a nice Tarpon fishery near the mainland (about 45 minutes by boat). The tarpon usually range from 10 - 40 lbs, but big ones are around in the summer through September. Thomas Paz is a very good guide. He can be reached through the Amigos Del Mar dive shop in San Pedro. If he is not available, try Ricardo Acosta (phone 026-2692). He is not as good a flyfishing guide, but he is one of the few guides who knows the lagoon (back in the mangroves). I have caught both baby tarpon and bones back there when I was a novice (10 years ago). It was an excellent place to fish. My friends have also fished with Jose Luis Perez (phone 026-2617) who was less pleasant than the other two and a little overrated, but knew what he was doing. I have heard that the best tarpon guide is Nester (don't know the last name). I think he fishes out of El Pescador.

The best thing about Ambergris is the food! Mata Chica, Capricorn, Rendezvous and Victoria House are all excellent (I was there last year). Capricorn is very romantic if you are sitting outside on a nice night. If you feel like going on a day trip, try cave tubing at Jaguar Paw, it is fun, but the water is cool. It is best if you have a wetsuit or if the temperature is hot that day. Enjoy your trip.

[ChuckD]

I had a terrible experience at Journey's End. Had booked 5 days of fishing and wanted to swap a day of fishing for diving and they said I would have to pay for both. Unbelievable. So b.s. that we stayed the last 2 nights at El Pescador. It saved the vacation. Better lodge, better guides, better food, better accomodations and worth the extra few bucks. One of the original owners died a few years ago(young guy-pretty tragic-not sure how it happened) but his sister still runs the place(she was also there with her brother when I was there). They are probably the best fishing-oriented outfit down there so that even if you don't stay there you might be able to get one of their guides for a day. When I went in February the fishing for small bonefish was excellent(my girlfriend caught many on the fly as a novice). Never saw a permit and it was slow for the medium tarpon but we caught plenty of baby tarpon back in the mangrove lagoons. The barracuda fishing just inside of the outer reef is incredible. At a low tide they stack up like cordwood.

And the diving is just plain awesome if you don't get hit with bad weather(can murk the water clarity up). Try to dive the marine sanctuary if possible where you will see an incredible variety of fish(nice ones!).

Let us know how it goes, good luck!

[AlderBrookFarm]

The brother was returning to the lodge in his boat at night and ran in to a barge that had anchored and had no lights. Don't remember if it was Nesto or Sinoe who found the boat and barge on their way to the lodge in the morning to pick up their clients for the day. Very sad. Wonderful people there.

[tpoliti]

Fished there 2 years ago. We stayed at Banana Beach, fantastic. We booked both flyfishing trips through the hotel. Went out on a full day flyfising trip with Manuel (I don't remember his last name) and a half day with Abbie Marin. We also did a full day offshore with Excalibur. We had a great time with all. If you need more info let me know.

Tony