Placencia / Belize :Anyone Been ?

[Scotto]

I have heard a little about the fantastic permit fishing down around Placencia in southern Belize in a few articles, but would like to hear from some one who has actually fished this region.Are there any tarpon and bones as well and what would be the best month to fish? I look forward to any replies.Regards Scotto

[ppatricelli]

I just got back from Turneffe Flats Lodge. I went down with ver muted expectations because in all the years I have only heard one positive report from an actual returning angler from Belize. Usually the weather blows them out or the fishing is bad or both. The one good report was of two tarpon landed in a week.
Basically what we experienced was more of the same. The wind was "unusually" strong, though I considered it about average for flats fishing, but that eliminated the permit fishing, according to the guides. The tarpon fishing was ver slow with 4 fish hooked and one landed among 6 fishermen fishing hard for 5 days. And that was blind casting into the known tarpon holes. All day long.
The bonefish were there in impressive numbers and good size, but with the exception of one flat, the fishing environment was the most difficult I have ever encountered for bonefish: basically all hard coral and rock bottom or heavy weeds that either way made almost any retreive impossible. A very good day was maybe 10 fish landed, but most were getting 1-3 ALL DAY and were very frustrated.
In retrospect we should have over-ridden the guides excuses for not fishing the mangroves with poppers earlier and been doing that all week cause that's where the action was if you were a good enough caster.
In the airport on the return we talked with dudes returning from Ambergris Cay and they also had very poor fishing.
All-in-all great lodge, good experience, poor fishing.
Now that's NOT Palcencia, but several in my party had been there and fished there. Overall, unless you've already been just about everywhere else and are in to "different" and "maybe", I would suggest looking just to the north at Ascencion Bay and the resorts there if you're really interested in Permit.
The guides at Turneffe Flats did say they thought the permit fishing was best in Feb-Mar.

[Scope1]

I have been to Belize 4 times and am planning to return this July. I have been to Turneffe Island Lodge twice and have found it an extraordinary place. The food was excellent and the fishing was very good. I have caught tarpon in July and Sept( blind casting at the crack of dawn in the lagoons before breakfast), caught permit and lots of bones but not yet all 3 on the same day!!! Been to Turneffe Flats lodge once ... this place is every bit as good as Turneffe Island - they share some of the same fishing areas, but the food is only average. Both places suffer from overfished flats with "pet schools" of bones that are very difficult to get to eat flies. ( raghead crabs in the smallest size you can find worked best). In 5 days I boated 1 tarpon and lost one, had only a few shots at permit, and caught lots of bones. Went to Blue Horizon Lodge once got a permit, tarpon and some bones again not all on the same day. Blue horizon suffered from poor management( I found myself sitting at the dock of the lodge watching rolling tarpon in the morning less than 50 yards from me and my guide no where to be found!!) This place did have a good number of permit and a few bones. I would never return there even for free. My vote gets Turneffe Island as first choice.

[Modera]

First, let me say that I'm a guide in Placencia (just so there's no confusion about where I'm coming from).

The fishing here is very different than the fishing up in the Ambergris Caye area. We have sand and coral bottom flats, so wading is an excellent option here.

It does get windy at times - but that's the tropics and saltwater fishing - where doesn't it get windy? Best time to fish here if casting into the wind is a problem are the summer months, particularly June, August and September.

As for permit - we do have them here in abundance. Once of our most popular trips for permit is an overnight camping trip south of here in the Punta Ycacos Lagoon area. You'll find them there (and up here), but whether you can catch them or not is another story. They are wily little critters - which is what makes them so much fun to catch.

I'm sorry one of the previous posters had a bad experience in Ambergris. I was born in Belize and have lived here all my life. I love to fish, and am lucky that I get to do it most everyday as a guide. I really do think we have great fishing and hope people on this forum will come down and try it some day.

Kevin Modera