Placencia, Belize?

[Too Fly]

Anyone fish Placencia before? Reviews? I got an invite to go next month for dirt cheap. My wife gave the thumbs up since we're having our second child this winter and I'll probably never see the light of day come February.

Suggestions for premit, tarpon, etc. flies?

TIA,
Paul

[Quicksilver]

If you use the search feature here you should be able to get a lot of info. I think it is mostly a permit and bonefish destination. I'm jealous.

[houdini]

If I recall, a Class 5 hurricane went ashore in Belize this year.

[pschwart00]

Funny you mention Placencia. I'm actually in the process of booking a trip there for March. I've done significant research, received first hand recommendations and have a pretty good idea on the fishing. I have not been yet so can't directly comment.

But here is what I've learned:
Southern Belize - most anglers go there for the permit. However, good snook and jack fishing as well with bonefish to boot. Smaller resident tarpon are there as well as seasonal larger tarpon (I think later spring/summer). There is a mangrove/lagoon system to the west (yes, west as Placencia is a penisula). Ocean side flats extend out a few miles until barrier islands are reached.
From talking to the locals down there (putting this trip together on my own) they say everyone accepts US $s (travelers checks can be a little more iffy).

Hurricane Dean hit just north of the Belize border in Mexico - since Placencia is Southern Belize hurrican did not have enormous impact. Send me a PM if you want more....
Pete

[salamid]

Been a couple times. Not for a few years. Have fish the whole coast of belize.

Went after permit and bones. Forget about the bones there. Very limited and very overworked. If you want bones head north.

Didn't really try for tarpon (or see any either). Probably south along the coast you'd find some.

But the permit were amazing. Guide ran us from spot to spot as real monsters came up on the feed. Lots of shots. Merkins worked. closest I got was one breakoff and one hook pulled.

Learned this lesson much too late: don't move the fly when the fish are on top off it. Crabs do not try to run away from permit. These aren't bonefish and they will spook from a fly moving in front of their nose.

No real do it yourself fishing there. Get a guide/boat fish those permit and you won't ever stop thinking about doing more of it.

[BN2FSH]

What a coincidence. I am going to Placencia in 2 weeks for 2 weeks to fish, and I was just talking to my plumber who is going soon as well. Now your post. I love Placencia. Great fishing for a wide variety of fish. This area has some of the highest permit densities in the world. See my earlier post for more details. I really like Bruce and Benji but have heard good things about Wyatt Cabral. Anyway, 5 of us are going on Nov 1. We plan to fish for everything but we'd all like to get a larger tarpon. It may not be the best time for that but we can't leave Alaska in the summer. Feel free to email or pm me.

[wauwinet]

Casa at Last is a great place to stay in Seine Bight

[emil]

I went fishing in Placencia in March this year.

Caught some Ok snook in the lagoon, and had several shots at permit out on the flats.. ( some of them went after my flies but just didn't want them bad enough..)

I didn't spot a single bonefish.

My guide was Wyatt Cabral. I would recomend him a lot.. very nice guy. But I think he is with his wife in Sweden at this time of year.

For me, Placencia is a nice place. I was down there about 8 years ago too, and it's clear that the place is growing and changing ( even though it was crushed by a hurricane a few years ago..)

If you like to have people around you, Cozy corner is a very good place to stay.
We had the apartement there and had a good time.

[Flyboy@AK]

I am leaving for Placencia in a week. Fishing November 1-14. I am going with three others from Alaska who have been there 3 times, the last of which was this past April. Judging from their reports and photos, it is awesome. They had several 50-70 fish days, but were not targeting any specific species. Tarpon (baby), Jack Trevelly, Redfish, Snook, Bones, Baracuda, Permit, and more. We are staying at the westwind, and guide is Bruce Leslie.

I will report back when I return. This is my first warm saltwater trip, so I hold no expectations. But I fish 100+ days a year, mostly here in AK, and Chile. I am sure it is going to be great.

BTW, 2007 hurricanes Dean and Felix that hit Belize had no real effect in Plancencia. Dean went north through Ascension Bay, and Felix south through Guatamala.

[Flyboy@AK]

We had an awesome trip. It was challenging as according to the guide Bruce Leslie, he had never seen 10 days of weather so bad in a row. Really it was not bad by my standards, just real windy, and some days not much sun, but others we had 1/2 day or so of sun, but still real windy out of the north (odd wind for this area). I don't mind pounding the rough seas, and we got pretty soaked most days going out and back to the cayes. We left in the dark each morning at 5am, and sometimes didn't get back until dark either.

But we nailed fish, and lots of them. Caught 8 big tarpon, 4 boated. Largest about 70lbs, smallest about 45. Bonefishing was easy, and only did it for a few hours one day. Caught about 15, largest about 4lbs. But caught lots of cuda, Spanish Mackerel, Bonita, Jacks (including one real nice Jack Trevely), Snapper, Kings, Snook, Yellow Fin and Black Fin tunas, Grouper, needlefish and probably more species I left out. I did get to cast to 8 Permit (most multiple casts to them), and turned into a chocolate mess casting to them as I was so excited. Those suckers move so fast when feeding, that I would try to chase them on the forward cast and blow my loop apart! It was really not good conditions for Permit, as the winds and clouds put lots of flats out of possiblity, and bad sight fishing. It by all looks, appears to be a great Permit area. I had a 6' barracuda on for a while, until it straightened a commercial cuda fly rear hook out flat like a wire.

BUT oh my my, sight fishing for 50lb+ Tarpon was unreal... For flies, you need a fly to imitate the baitfish, a 2 inch olive/white clouser with polarflash worked pretty well. The guides like you to use Gummy Minnows, but we didn't have many, but they were effective while they lasted.

Guides were excellent, village really nice (I like non-touristy), people wonderful and food/drink excellent. I am hooked, already we have booked 10 days next year with Bruce, Benji and Arthur.

Really pretty awesome for a troutfisherman's first trip to the warm salt. I am hooked now man...

[hatidua]

Another vote for Wyatt Cabral for guided fishing in Placencia. He can be reached via his website at www.wyattsfishing.com He spends half the year in Sweden, the other half in Placencia. After fishing with what seems like half the guides in town, I only fish with Wyatt now.

[Too Fly]

Wow Flyboy, you guys did well. The guys I fished with were really bummed that Bruce and Benji were booked. They mentioned another guy who was really keyed in on the fishing opps. I'm not sure of his name though. We had George and a relatively new guy I'm told, Wayne. Both were really nice and worked their @sses off (5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). But it sounds like Bruce and Benji are THE guides to fish with. Still, it was a great week.

Paul