Tarpon Cay Lodge Report

[Rick J]

Five of us just got back from a week at Tarpon Cay Lodge - Don Rotsma, John Barenna, Leo G, my brother and I.

This is a place for baby tarpon With an occasional shot at 30# fish or so we were told - just before we left, Keith e-mailed us and said the big fish are in - bring 10 wts!!

The first two days were very windy and we fished the shallow flats and the mangroves and creeks for baby tarpon and did great - Leo on the second day was high rod with 7 for 10 and these were nice fish. The first photo is a fish on the larger size from the flats. The fish in the mangroves were smaller but still a kick.

The last three days the wind laid down and we got out into deeper water and saw schools of "big" tarpon number in the hundreds if not higher!!!! This water was too deep to pole effectively - we would anchor up and hope that the fish would come to us and they did on a fairly consistent basis. In three days, the 5 of us hooked 32 and landed 18 with many more grabs - three were right around 80#!!!

I was low man for size - my biggest fish landed was maybe a bit over 20# though I had much bigger fish on - one around 60# for 30 minutes before he came unbuttoned. In total I hooked 8 big fish and landed one and had probably 10 other grabs that did not stay hooked.

A word of warning - you need good knots - the first day was a tackle busting day - my brother was throwing bait casting gear with plastics and I was throwing flies. The first three fish we hooked (all over 60#'s) just blew us away - I had albright knots busting right and left and this was with 20# mason tippet and 80# shock tippet! I had three fish that first day - the first 2 broke me and the third came unbuttoned. My brother had 5 fish on and one landed. I am just as happy to have lost the big fish as the fight was brutal - 50+ minutes - so I got the best of the fish with the initial grab and jumps and could go back after another one!

The second day I got my brother on the deck with the fly rod (he is a superb fisherman but has not picked up a fly rod except maybe twice in the last 10 years.) He was still casting 50 feet and those big fish would follow that fly right to the boat and grab with just the tippet out at times! The grab is ferocious!!!! He hooked three that day - one at least 80# that just ripped him.

By the second day I had gone to hand furled leaders ala Leo and did not have another break off.

We would fish the moring leaving between 5:30 and 6 and fish until noon - go back to the hotel and have lunch and a nap and go back out around 3:30 or 4 until 7:30 - the evenings were tougher due to wind and we mostly fished the creeks.

The guides were first rate - always positioning the boats to provide the easiest casting!

A truly memorable trip - and one I will repeat!

[Darian]

Hey Rick,.... Great trip!!! Those fish are beautiful!!!. Guess I've gotta go after Tarpon, now.

How were the accommodations One thing I found in Baja is that there aren't many sources for repairs/replacements. Are there any down there What was the weather like

[Rick J]

Darian,
We booked through Keith with Marco who runs locations at TCL, Campeche and Isla Blanca - his staff and guides are first rate. In TCL we stayed at a hotel I think Marco and a partner run. It sits right on the water so we stepped out the door into our pangas. Accomodations were somewhat rustic but very nice - had AC and great fans to keep you cool. Good food - had breakfast, lunch and dinner served - for alcohol we ran a tab - everytng else was included.

The weatehr was hot but not too brutal -after all I had just left 112 degrees in Lake County - humitdity was high but having the break in the middle of the day helped alot!

The winds in the PM were pretty tough and made casting an effort but if you got into some of the rivers it wasn't bad. No misquitos which was nice!!

I brought 5 rods (2-8 wts; 2-9 wts and a 10wt - I would definitely bring back up equipment. The guides had flies and could tie knots quickly. John brought a fly tying kit but we were all sharing flies.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Anyone who wants to go next summer should be contacting Keith Kaneko very soon because the prime weeks are filling up fast now.

The best months are April though August and weeks are scheduled according to the tides and moon phase.

This is some of the best small/medium Tarpon fly fishing left in the world.

The water is shallow and 90% of the time it is gin clear.

You do need to have some fly fishing experience with larger 8-10 weight fly rods and casting is all from small outboard skiffs.



http://www.anglingonthefly.com/travel/index.shtm



This is my favorite type of fly fishing.

[Hairstacker]

GREAT report Rick! Awesome to be catching fish that not only let you see your albright knot but will actually break it.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Here is Leo's email report of this trip.

"Hey Bill
Yeah, I think so, although I've had some pretty good tarpon fishing at Isla Holbox for big fish. I was only able to fish half days as my feet and legs were giving out after about four hours. Still I managed to boat 7 baby tarpon on the first day and eight on the second. On the third day the weather was calm and we went out 45 minutes for the big guys. Stuck one and landed it in about 55 minutes. Marco said that it was about 35 kilos (70 lbs) The second fish was over 6 ft long and estimated at over 55 kilos (110-120 lbs) Jumped 4 times and ran me almost out of backing. I had to tighten my drag because we were anchored and could not back him down. He broke the leader at the tip where it joins on to the bite. On the fourth day stuck only one and landed it in about 35 minutes 25 kilos (50 lbs). Only had one shot even though they were rolling all over the place and swimming under the boat. On the last day I stuck 4 and landed 3. One about 30 kilos (60 lbs) another about 25 kilos (50 lbs) and one about 6-8 kilos (15lbs) The food was excellent as usual and the service outstanding. Beto said to say "Hi" to you and asked when you were coming down again. The leader system really worked out well and I think I got 4 more converts. You can post this on your board if you want as I don't know how to do it.
Leo"