Here we go again. We are having horrid weather here in Belize and it looks to be here for a couple more days. Despite a lot of bad weather luck in recent trips, I can’t complain too much about it this time. Belize is known to have unreliable weather for fishing December through February. My friend Tim Brune and I simply had to get out of Idaho and my friend Wil Flack had space for us at his lodge.
Once again we are fishing with my friend Wil Flack, owner and founder of the Belize Permit Club (BPC). BPC is located in Southern Belize – Hopkins to be exact. Wil’s lodge is about three miles up river from the ocean. It’s a gorgeous setting nestled in the jungle. Last night we had howler monkeys zip through camp swinging on the trees and the birds sing constantly including this magnificent toucan. My toucan photo looked horrible with the gray and rain but Wil’s lady, Lindsey, took this photo last week.
Wil, Tim and I hit the flats early like you do every day here at BPC. It wasn’t rain that hindered us today but rather cold and 25 mph wind. It was a rough crossing from the river mouth to the flats. The waves were huge and we took on some serious splashing. Lucky for us, we were decked out in full Simms gear like a cold October day back home.
I’m not kidding when I say cold either. Tim took the bow first and as Wil poled us along looking for permit, I was actually cold. And this was with a solar shirt under a fleece which was under my storm proof rain jacket with full bib suit. It was flat out hard to believe I was in Belize.
Just like yesterday, Wil worked his butt off poling against gale wind. Tim and I rotated fishing turns from the bow of the boat while the other watched. At one point the wind blew so hard we decided to wade a flat while Wil walked his boat behind us. We saw a few permit tailing but presenting the fly to them was a challenge with the wind.
Its not normal that we would pack it in early permit fishing however by 2 PM we feared the wind was actually getting stronger. We didn’t want to push our luck as far as hitting giant waves driving home so we packed it up. The good news however, Wil is training a new guide and from 3-5 PM we fished the river for snook and jacks. I lost a nice snook and caught a few jacks including this little horse-eye jack.
It was a long day from 5 AM till now (7 PM) and we are beat. Wil’s chefs, Nancy and Prudence, just fed us huge burgers and fries and I’m about to fall asleep. I hate to shorten a blog but I think I’ve summed it up enough. Permit fishing aint for sissies and now it’s time for bed. The weather doesn’t look great for tomorrow but we aren’t quitters. Stay tuned!
A special thanks for this trip to my friend Wil Flack and the Belize Permit Club.
Mother nature can be a beaaaaaatchhh but that’s what makes the great days greater
Aint that the truth Mark!