loomis
11-22-2004, 07:06 PM
Hello everyone,
Sorry this is so overdue but might be of some use. (#$119)
I fished Ascension Bay this past April/May for a month and had a wonderful experience in the Sian Kaan Biosphere. Ended up fishing everyday except the two travel days allowed for getting there and returning back to the airport.
Caught lots of fish throughout the entire trip. Depending what kind of fishing I was doing (wading the beach or fishing the flats) determined what kind of fish I was catching. If I fished the beach I would catch many varieties of jacks, ladyfish, a variety of reef fish, some bones and also had shots at permit but they did not take. Fishing from the beach was more of a challenge to see the fish versus seeing the fish on the flats. On the beach you can just blind cast all day (it will wear you out) and catch fish but to me can be less exciting than hunting the fish like on the flats. You have to know what to look for and be ready at all times to see the fish and make the cast for a successful hookup. A really great way to fish in a paradise setting. I saw no other fisherman the whole time I fished the beach!!
On the flats I saw and caught lots of bones. Some very nice one's for the Ascension Bay area. Throughout the trip I caught and released many fish in the 6,7,8 and one in the 9 pound range!! I have always heard the fish are more numerous but smaller on average in the Carribean (which can be true). But since the banning of the netting several years ago I have noticed a big change in the size of bones that I catch on average now. Yes, 6-7 years ago I caught smaller bones, now I catch and see bigger bones on a regular basis. I'm sure you will catch the small 1-3 pound bones out of the big schools that cruise the area if that's what your targeting. But, if your target are the single and double bone's that cruise on their own you will see that they are quite a bit larger than the singles/doubles that I used to see and catch years ago. It's a great site to see this fishery getting even better.
I also did see many permit, mostly all not interested in the fly. I'm sure there are some of you out there that know this story all to well. That's permit fishing to a tee. I did manage to catch one on my last day, which made all the other permit that spit in my face and ignored the fly that much more rewarding. It seems to me, they are either hungry and show interest in your flies or not hungry and flip you off as they go by.? It's permit fishing! The one I caught was a pair swimming by which I led with a good cast. I could tell immediately when the fly entered the water that 1 of the permit saw it and showed interest right away in which I gave the fly a twitch and watched the fish pounce on it. It makes me wonder after seeing so many what made this one want to take the fly. Sure all my cast weren't great but there sure were enough good casts where I know the fish saw the fly but simply ignored it!! This is frustrating but I know it's part of the program.
I was there mid April to mid May and the weather was just about perfect the whole time until it was time for my wife to arrive. She brought the bad weather with her and it lasted for almost a full week. VERY, VERY, windy and rainy that 5 days or so. We still went out and fished in that mess and I could not beleive my wife was attempting to cast in those conditions. Not only casting but catching a few in the process.
I love this area and will be back again next April. I missed my annual trip down in November so I'm really looking forward to getting back to Ascension Bay. If your looking for a great flats fishing destination this is it!!! If anyone has any questions or thinking about goind down that way and have never been, feel free to shoot me an e-mail and I'll be happy to help you out.
Apologize for taken so long to post this but hopefully someone will get something out of it.
Have a good day,
Tim
profota@colorado.net
Sorry this is so overdue but might be of some use. (#$119)
I fished Ascension Bay this past April/May for a month and had a wonderful experience in the Sian Kaan Biosphere. Ended up fishing everyday except the two travel days allowed for getting there and returning back to the airport.
Caught lots of fish throughout the entire trip. Depending what kind of fishing I was doing (wading the beach or fishing the flats) determined what kind of fish I was catching. If I fished the beach I would catch many varieties of jacks, ladyfish, a variety of reef fish, some bones and also had shots at permit but they did not take. Fishing from the beach was more of a challenge to see the fish versus seeing the fish on the flats. On the beach you can just blind cast all day (it will wear you out) and catch fish but to me can be less exciting than hunting the fish like on the flats. You have to know what to look for and be ready at all times to see the fish and make the cast for a successful hookup. A really great way to fish in a paradise setting. I saw no other fisherman the whole time I fished the beach!!
On the flats I saw and caught lots of bones. Some very nice one's for the Ascension Bay area. Throughout the trip I caught and released many fish in the 6,7,8 and one in the 9 pound range!! I have always heard the fish are more numerous but smaller on average in the Carribean (which can be true). But since the banning of the netting several years ago I have noticed a big change in the size of bones that I catch on average now. Yes, 6-7 years ago I caught smaller bones, now I catch and see bigger bones on a regular basis. I'm sure you will catch the small 1-3 pound bones out of the big schools that cruise the area if that's what your targeting. But, if your target are the single and double bone's that cruise on their own you will see that they are quite a bit larger than the singles/doubles that I used to see and catch years ago. It's a great site to see this fishery getting even better.
I also did see many permit, mostly all not interested in the fly. I'm sure there are some of you out there that know this story all to well. That's permit fishing to a tee. I did manage to catch one on my last day, which made all the other permit that spit in my face and ignored the fly that much more rewarding. It seems to me, they are either hungry and show interest in your flies or not hungry and flip you off as they go by.? It's permit fishing! The one I caught was a pair swimming by which I led with a good cast. I could tell immediately when the fly entered the water that 1 of the permit saw it and showed interest right away in which I gave the fly a twitch and watched the fish pounce on it. It makes me wonder after seeing so many what made this one want to take the fly. Sure all my cast weren't great but there sure were enough good casts where I know the fish saw the fly but simply ignored it!! This is frustrating but I know it's part of the program.
I was there mid April to mid May and the weather was just about perfect the whole time until it was time for my wife to arrive. She brought the bad weather with her and it lasted for almost a full week. VERY, VERY, windy and rainy that 5 days or so. We still went out and fished in that mess and I could not beleive my wife was attempting to cast in those conditions. Not only casting but catching a few in the process.
I love this area and will be back again next April. I missed my annual trip down in November so I'm really looking forward to getting back to Ascension Bay. If your looking for a great flats fishing destination this is it!!! If anyone has any questions or thinking about goind down that way and have never been, feel free to shoot me an e-mail and I'll be happy to help you out.
Apologize for taken so long to post this but hopefully someone will get something out of it.
Have a good day,
Tim
profota@colorado.net