I mentioned Jerry has been coming to the flats of Mexico and Ascension Bay for more than ten years. No doubt he loves everything about this place. But even if you like a place as a whole, you have a favorite venue. Jerry loves the tight quarters of Tarpon Lagoon.
You can’t get to Tarpon Lagoon by boat from Casa Blanca Lodge. Today Pato drove us in a truck for 45 minutes along Punta Pájaros Island until we reached a stashed boat. The boat was small but big enough for the three of us. Attached was a beater pole and motor. Off we went.
First thing that comes to mind as you leave the mosquito infested location of the stashed boat is, we can’t lose Pato. Pato navigated us through tunnels of mangrove swamp. We took a hundred deliberate turns. There’s no way Jerry and I could find our way back.
Once the twisting journey was done Pato called for Jerry to the bow and he began to pole us through what was now, open lagoon with mangrove ridden banks. We quickly saw a few rolling tarpon but they wouldn’t cooperate.
Next move and it was my turn. Then Jerry’s. Then mine again. We repeated the process and bottom line is we flat out couldn’t find any fish at all. It was about my fourth turn to the bow not long before lunch when I spotted a snook. He was tight to the mangroves and I made my cast. Only problem is I was about an inch too far and hooked the mangrove. That spooked the snook and I screwed up our first good shot of the day.
But that snook was the start of a potential snook fest. For the next half hour or so, every five minutes Jerry or I got a shot at a snook. One big problem however, none of them paid any attention to what we were feeding them.
Snook can be like brown trout on a sunny day. They often show themselves but regardless of any fly you throw, they simply won’t eat it. These fish weren’t hungry.
We had a great time in the Tarpon Lagoon. No doubt snook fest was the highlight but in desperation I started making blind casts after lunch and out from the mangroves came a 60lb tarpon. He had his lips inches from my fly but wouldn’t eat. But that’s some pretty exciting stuff!
Today was our first blank and it was after a struggle of a day on the flats yesterday. Remember when I said saltwater fly fishing can be tough? Well saltwater fly fishing can be tough. One of the other guests, Alfie, has been fighting hard to catch a permit this trip. Today he landed this respectable one that has Jerry and I thinking about returning to the permit flats tomorrow as well.
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