xcalak vs ascension bay

[Squidly]

I have fished Ascension bay 4 times and liked it. Thinking about Xcalak. Any thoughts?

[chucknduck]

Hey Squidly, I'll be going down there in about two weeks, will post a report when I get back to civilazation. The area looks good, my previous experience is in Eleuthera , Abaco and Long Island so I'm not familiar with Mexico's fishing.
I have a couple days booked with Victor who was highly recommended.
My wife is the extensive research type and booked us at Casa Carolina. Now its time to tie some flies,... got any lead as to what goes on those Electric Dread shrimp:confused: thought I'd try some down there.

[Chuckster]

I spent a week at Costa de Cocos back in May and absolutely loved it. Many shots at permit and one of our crew landed a 28lber... big fish.

4 permit landed for our crew that week, but none landed by me. I hooked 3, and one was pushing 30lbs. Hooked a tarpon and had shots at a few. Loads of quality bonefish, and I landed a nice jack. Lots of big barracuda too if you're into that...

The lodge was top-notch and the food was excellent. The palapas were comfy (with the occasional scorpion) and the guides were great.

I recommend it.

FYI: Peterson Spawning Shrimp was the hot permit fly.

[seatrout001]

Xcalak is a wonderful place to fish.. or at least it was. This was all BEFORE hurricane Dean went just to the north of there and wiped the town of Muhal (wrong spelling) off the map. Xcalak suffered too.. not as bad but still I have no idea what the fishing grounds have done and what has changed. Victor is a great guide and he will find you fish if they are there.. But be prepared to see a town in ruins. With the build being slow due to the lack of infra structure (which is part of the carm).

Hope you still have a great time fishing.

Check out the following website about what all has happened in Xcalak

http://www.portillas.com/

[Cheju]

Am heading for Xcalak in February and wonder what size rods I should bring as well as what fly patterns for Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon. Any and all help will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Cheju

[chucknduck]

I'm taking a 7 and an 8wt for bonefish and a 10wt for small tarpon,permit and whatever else comes along,...some fllies are listed on xcalak flyfishing website but I'm still trying to make sure I don't miss any "local" favorite's :confused:..hope someone can help with that as countdown is a week and two days away:eek:

[widdoes]

Chuckn', Squidly, et al.-
My experience MX has been in Boca Paila, but I think you will find most of what I offer to hold true for Xcalak and the Chetumal Bay lagoon system.
Bonefish- more size 8 than size 4. Tan/Brown colors, some pinks and gold. Bead-chain eyes and "naked"- dumbells are unnecessary.
Permit- Loooong legs! I find most crab flies are tied with legs that are too short to actually flutter on the fall the way a crab's do. If you've ever seen a swimming crab dive for the bottom, it's like crazy-legs Hirsch. Stubby little legs just don't get it done. Raghead crab (sz 2) has been my best.
Poon- my limited experience (1 fish lost) with the poon is that if they're hungry, they eat, if they're not, they don't. Get on them first thing in the morning and if you haven't hooked up by 10:00, move on.
Snook- nothing Black! I have found Robalo to be the spokiest fish down there. If they know you are around, forget it. I have never caught a snook that was moving/cruising- holding fish offer better shots. Blue/green/white deciever-type flies in size 2-4 work. Sar-mul-mac is a proven pattern.
All of this is based on my experience in BP, and is not meant to challenge anybody elses knowledge. Just trying to help the cause!
Catch 'em up!
-WJ

[salamid]

I have fished both punta alan area and Xcalak. You are going to like Xcalak.

In Xcalak the guides really liked bright puffs and flies of that type for the bones. I mean hot pink or red crystal flash. Think pink, red, bold and bright. Think they had some chartreuse too. We had luck with the bones on lots of flies. Spawning shrimp worked well for me.

Permit there eat well compared to other places I have been and we got some good shots/hookups. More smaller fish around. Tan and brown merkins worked. You may get shots at schooling fish. Most of those we cast to a 9wt would work, a few you'd want a 10 wt.

I had and 8, 9, 10 with me, but, fish the 9 almost all the time because of the wind and the possiblity of finding a permit while looking for the bones. The bones liked small crab flies too. Fished a merkin the size of a penny, landed bones, broke off the permit.

Tarpon were very small and I wouldn't bother unless your trying to complete a slam.

[seatrout001]

The standard flies that you can find on most of the website regarding Xcalak are good. One fly I do miss, it’s the bonefish bitter, the epoxy kind in the colors brown and tan.

Found some on e-bay for a very good price http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120172654254&sspagename=ADME:X:RTQ:US:11