It was exciting to wake up at 5 this morning and look out my room and see ocean.  And familiar ocean.  I’m at Turneffe Flats Lodge in Belize with Granny.  I visited here numerous times between 1989 and 2005.  The only reason it’s been so long since I was here at the legendary saltwater fly fishing waters is because I simply had the urge to explore the rest of the planet.

 

Our comfortable air-conditioned room overlooks the lodge flat.  And our neighbors are the Turneffe owners and longtime friends, Craig and Karen Hayes.  In 1989 Craig heard about a young fishing fanatic exploring Belize with nothing more than a backpack and a couple fly rods and generously invited me out.  That was one of the greatest trips of my life and the beginning of a tremendous passion for saltwater fly fishing.

 

Turneffe Atoll has changed a ton since my early days.  The lodge is bigger and fancier and has developed into one of the premier saltwater fly fishing lodges in the world.  These days Turneffe is completely protected under the Turneffe Atoll Trust which was started by Craig.  Commercial fisherman can’t use nets nor can they kill tarpon, bonefish or permit and there are park rangers patrolling the atoll at all times.

 

Not only are Granny and I down here to fish and have a good time but Craig asked that I fish with a few of his younger guides and offer any advice I can to improve their already excellent skills.  I fish with guides worldwide and there are subtle things that improve a client’s day that are often overlooked.  Today we fished with Alton.

 

You don’t speed to the flats on day 1.  We had a casual 7:30 AM breakfast then at 8:30 we had a group meeting which covered safety, the weeks schedule, then we went over fly fishing for bonefish, tarpon and permit.  Going over this was excellent.

 

At 9 we met Alton and after a short discussion about fishing plans we headed inside the atoll searching for tailing permit.  It was hot and calm and we could see for a mile.  There wasn’t a sign of a fish.  Eventually Alton took us to a flat where we could get out and wade for bonefish.

 

The flat was covered in bones just like it was 25 years ago.  I kicked back on the skiff and let Alton guide Granny to them.  The bones weren’t exactly tailing however you could see tips of tails and dorsals.  I’ve seen the behavior before and despite it looking easy to catch one, it’s not.  My theory is they are eating sea lice or perhaps even spawning.  They chased them for nearly two hours and never hooked up.

 

I watched Granny and Alton struggle with the bones for 20 minutes or so then instead of grabbing my bonefish rod I took my new Winston Salt Air 10-weight and a popper.  There were some rolling waves over coral heads off the flat and I prospected around these.  The reef dwellers weren’t eating either however yet I caught this little schoolmaster.

 

When the fishing isn’t good on the flats it’s never a bad idea to relax – have a beer – eat lunch.  In the ocean the tides are always changing and rather than burn a bunch of energy when conditions are tough, I wait an hour.  That’s what we did while we talked fishing and guiding with Alton.

 

In early afternoon you could witness water levels rising with the incoming tide.  Moving tide wakes up fish and we went searching for permit again.  Alton literally cut the engine and I saw one tailing.  I launched a good cast and the permit charged the fly.  Just like in trout fishing I got low to the deck so the finicky fish wouldn’t see me.  The permit tipped on my fly as if to pick it up off the bottom and I gently stripped.  Nothing.  He followed then tipped again.  I was sure he pinned my fly to bottom and I had him but there was nothing.  Then I did three quick strips trying to entice an aggressive eat.  Instead he went running.  Dang!

 

Catching the first permit we saw of the trip could have perhaps been bad luck.  Kind of like catching a fish at the put-in on a float trip back home in Idaho.  But I’d have taken it.  Granny jumped up front and cast to a smaller tail and it ended up being this unique little yellowfin mojarra.

 

There were some bonefish around this place also and Granny was determined to stick one after the tough walk on the flat earlier.  Alton felt the same and poled her along the feeding school.  She was fishing my permit crab and we got close enough for her to cast.  On the first strip she hooked up to a beautiful Belizean bonefish.  Bonefish love a crab fly!

 

 

 

There’s nothing like cooperative bonefish towards the end of a challenging day on the flats.  We hung a few more powerful bonefish before rapping things up around 3.  Day one at any remote fishing place is all about getting in the swing of things.  We did just that and tomorrow we should kick it into gear and perhaps get a permit to commit to the fly!

 

Christmas is around the corner.  DON’T FORGET my Online Store has gifts for the angler that has everything!  I have painted over 60 species of fish now available on my coffee mugs and frosted beer steins.  There’re also my new Solar Flex shirts in both men’s and women’s.  AND my growing collection of fish decals can be purchased on Amazon.

Be sure to keep track of my upcoming travels around the world!

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Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing