Today was a challenging day of permit fishing. It started with Wil Flack waking us up at 4 AM. It rained all night and it was drizzling as we made coffee. I was basically in a coma. 4 AM here is like 2 AM in Idaho and for the last ten days or so I’ve felt as though I was fighting a cold. Naturally, because I’m on a fishing trip in Belize, it kicked in overnight and I awoke with the full-on crud with a sore throat, congestion and an aching body.
It takes death to keep me off the water so I drank the coffee and grabbed my Winston and rain gear and followed Wil down to his dock by headlamp. Along with us was Taylor Brothers, a friend of Wil’s that is here to film Wil guide me into a permit to use to help promote his new lodge, Belize Permit Club, along with some Instagram live stuff for Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures.
Wil, a Canadian, first came to Belize in 1999. He fished out of San Pedro, Ambergris Cay and loved that trip so much he spent the next ten winters there enjoying the fishing. In 2011 Wil bought the Tres Pescados Fly Shop in Ambergris and hasn’t looked back since.
Wil fished extensively throughout Belize over the years and fell in love with the waters in the south and developed a true passion for chasing permit. In 2016 Wil began guiding and opened the Belize Permit Club.
I haven’t fished southern Belize in 25 years and this is my first time to Wil’s. Today was a tough first round by not only feeling lousy from the crud but also having to endure some of the worst weather I’ve ever experienced in the tropics. We suffered through cold (60°), 25-30 mph wind and rain – all which are a recipe for big waves. We caught zero permit and had a torturous and somewhat hair-raising boat ride from the outer flats back to the Sittee River where the Belize Permit Club is located.
We just finished a great dinner. I can hardly keep my eyes open and unfortunately sicker than when I woke up. All I can say is 4 AM tomorrow is likely to come way to fast. But it will come and I will fish for permit again!
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