After the rain and wind we dealt with yesterday on day one here on the flats of Mexico I was surprised to awake too such a beautiful day. I got up around 5 AM and there were stars in every direction. The wind was light and we had a spectacular sunrise just before 7. It’s day 2 with my friend Jerry Arnold and we’re fishing with Pato, Jerry’s favorite guide here at Casa Blanca Fly Fishing Lodge.
We met Pato at 7:15 AM and as we loaded into his Dolphin skiff he suggested looking for permit. Permit are considered the most difficult flats fish to catch on a fly but ideal conditions for permit start with good sunlight so you can spot them. One never knows how long the sun will shine in November so I rigged up my Winston 9-weight and Pato graciously handed each of us one of his special “Pato Crabs”.
Conditions can be perfect but you might not find the frustrating permit. Jerry and I rotated the bow several times over a two hour period while Pato poled the flats. We saw virtually nothing. The closest situation we had to making a cast was when I spotted some nervous water (water shaking because fish are swimming below) about 200 feet from the bow. By the time Pato poled Jerry there the nervous water was gone.
Some trips I’ll stubbornly continue to look for permit regardless of them being scarce. But Jerry has a wiser approach. After our two slow hours Jerry turned to Pato and said, “Find us some bonefish”.
Bonefish are easy in comparison to permit and I loved the idea of a tug. I have a few good permit under my belt so need to keep going. We went on an adventure on a yellowy sand colored bottom flat. Pato informed us to be ready for bonefish, snook and tarpon. Jerry took the bow with his bonefish rod while I got out my 10-weight for snook and tarpon so it would be ready.
It pays to change the pace. In the next three hours right up until lunch time we found a heap of fish. Jerry and I had a blast and caught about a dozen bonefish. We also got shots at snook and each hooked up with one but lost them. Mine was decent size and came loose on and exciting gill rattling jump.
Opportunities to fly fish for snook aren’t as common as they used to be. Unfortunately for snook, they are scrumptious-delicious and the slick looking fish aren’t as common as they once were. The fact that we hooked a couple in a short time led Jerry and I to ask Pato to find us more after our octopus salad lunch.
While we didn’t exactly find a ton of snook after lunch we found a few. Each was nestled deep in the mangroves ready to ambush bait. The trick here is to entice them to come out and take your fly. A top snook fly pattern is a black and purple Puglisi about a size 2/0. Try to land it as close to the mangroves where you see the snook and do it with a hard splat. Snook don’t spook easy like most flats fish but are rather attracted to the noise.
I stuck the next snook we saw and it was a good one. Snook are like the peacock bass I was after in September – you hook one and you better hang on for dear life. They pull hard. I use 6 feet of 60lb SA flouro shock tippet. This attached to my Titan Taper and you can keep the snook out of the mangroves as long as you can physically hold on and not let your line slip. If the line slips they return to the mangroves and you’re done.
This bad-boy gave me the typical snook fight. He pulled so hard that with me not letting him take line he pulled the entire boat towards the mangroves. Pato had to burry his pole in the sand to hold us. The furry lasts about 30 seconds then the snook gives up. I hopped overboard because I could and posed for a few pics before the release.
Snook are a handsome fish. The black stripe down the side of gold and silver is striking. They have a peculiar head and mouth shape. They are truly eating machines. Unfortunately, this one set off the tennis elbow I’ve been struggling with for the last two months. I was in pain after the excitement was over.
We only landed one snook. Jerry had one eat his fly but didn’t connect. After a couple hours of trying we switched gears again and ended the day catching a few more bones then looking for permit again. Just like in the morning the permit weren’t around.
It was a great day. I’m lucky to be here. A special thanks to Jerry for bringing me down and its fortunate that Granny is doing well enough from her shoulder surgery that I could leave.
We just completed an amazing dinner and it’s time for bed. Now its ice on the elbow. Tomorrow we’ll be right back after it and we’ll see what we get into. Don’t forget to put a little “Currier” under the Christmas tree this year – My Webstore – Decals – and more!
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