Ambergris Guide Recs....(down to 4)

[pschwart00]

OK, following along with earlier posts...

I've nailed down my Honeymoon dates to Ambergris in June '10. From my digging should be prime tarpon time and I'm going down around the new moon :)

From on-line digging & older posts I've narrowed down the guide list as follows:

Abbie Marin
Nestor Murriay (Nesto)
Omar Arceo
George Randel

Any advice or recs would be appreciated, as some of the posts I dug up were kinda' old. I have phone #s for Nesto & Omar (haven't actually tried them yet though) so if anyone has numbers for the other guys I would appreciate that too!

Also, I plan on spending one day with the woman doing some rod bending reef fishing (a quantity vs. qualitity type of outting) so if anyone has experience doing this with one the guys above please let me know.

Thanks in advance!!

[the wife]

We used Abbie Marin last winter. The wind was crazy and pushing the tides, but he did work hard at getting my husband bones. Didn't catch other species that I recall. And me, I just kept casting into the middle of the school and screwing things up. And the guy was a very interesting character. Lots of Mayan history stuff along with the fishing trip. Sorry, nothing to report on the others. But if you want some Belizean culture and Mayan history to go along with the fish....

[D.Dossy]

Definitely take the 7 day trip.

We went in Sept and the waters were chilly. April would probably be a nice time to go.

The trip was definitely a highlight of our travels

[gseries69]

I used Omar Arceo two years ago and can't say enough good things about him. He is a permit specialist on the island and knows the water well. He loves his waters and his fish and takes very good care of them.

Nesto is probably the best known guide down there but again Omar was excellent and fun to fish with.

Beware, not all guides down there are flyfishing guides. Most do not have equipment and you should bring your own flies. PM me for more details.

You will be down there during prime permit season. The tarpon are there year round but begining in July you will start to get the migratory and bigger tarpon coming in. The bonefish are all over the place but are for the most part on the small size. If you can find a mud, which you usually can, you and your wife will have no trouble catching them. The bigger bones were tough and super spooky. There may be some jacks around as well, don't pass them up , they are a blast. Stay away from Cuda, they smell awful.

It is a beautiful area and you will have a great time.

[pschwart00]

G - sent you a PM

[john2]

I'm a little late to this thread, but I've fished with 3 of the 4 you've listed, and the 4th I know. I've fished AC at least 2x year since '01.
I'm not sure though about your nesto/nestor reference. Probably the premier tarpon guide on the island is Nesto Gomez. For Nesto it's tarpon and that's the species period, tarpon and tarpon only. His father was great tarpon guide too. His family owns Ruby's Hotel. Nesto is incredibly intense in the boat, so don't expect much, if any conversation.There is a Nestor too, but I don't know him.
Abby is an absolutely premier bonefish guide. The other poster is right, in that you'll get your ear talked off about Mayan history.
Omar is an odd duck. I was unimpressed, but it was a bad weather day. Some folks like him, others don't. To be fair it's been 6 or so years since he's fished me. Maybe he's toned it down a bit. I do know that I often judge a giude by his equipment, even though I have my own. Omar took some stuff out, and when he stripped line, the caked salt just flew. Not good.
I usually fish with 2 other guides you didn't mention. If want names/contact info, or general town stuff . JOHNjust ask. Best of luck. SP/AC is a wonderful place