WEATHER during this period was very typical of March and April; generally very pleasant, little rainfall, clear skies with lots of good sunshine, and a fair share of calm days mixed in with some Northers and south-easterlies and the prevailing easterlies. The large spectacular May Flower trees are currently in full bloom along the river banks and millions of their bright pink flowers carpet the lawns at the lodge and float down the river. The flaming red-orange Flamboyant or Royal Poinciana are just starting to emerge and are expected to be in full bloom through the month of May.
The baby TARPON gave many guests tight lines and lots of fun in the last few weeks, however, we will focus on the bigger Tarpon. The big TARPON have been here, though sometimes scattered in several areas and require a bit of hunting to find them. As usual the birds have been a big help as they enjoy the feast of bait left over from the feeding tarpon and big Jacks. These big fish will remain in this area through May, June and July, as they usually do year after year. There are still some choice spaces available in June and July for those who could not come earlier.
Best angler?s tarpon catch in April was Mick K.?s three big fish in three days – 120, 85 and 75 pounds. There also were quite a few break-offs and lost flies. Many other individual big tarpon catches are still being racked up by both repeating and first time anglers to Belize River Lodge. Charlie E. landed an 80 pounder on this, his 30th trip to the lodge, while Bonnie E. boated two out of the five tarpon she jumped in the 10-25 pound class. She also boated four nice SNOOK. Snook around the mangroves are being caught on Deceivers and when those are rejected well placed poppers have sometimes caught their attention.
BONEFISH have kept a few of our newest saltwater converts happy over the last few months. Though on the smaller side 2 to 5 lbs, they provided quite a bit of action which made for many fun trips for those just learning about Saltwater fishing. While fishing for Bones, smaller Tarpon, these saltwater novices have picked up experience and are looking forward to their next trip where they will take time required to target Permit.
PERMIT have also been providing very exciting action and while not all Permit are hooked and landed, a few of those that have been, are combined with Bones, Tarpon and Snook and several GRAND SLAMS and SUPER GRAND SLAMS have been caught this season already.
The usual variety of other species caught included Cubera, Mangrove, Gray, Mutton and Dog Snappers, Barracuda, Tripple Tail, Crevale and Horseye Jacks, Shark, Grouper, Jewfish, and even a couple of Batfish. To keep things really interesting, for the first time ever, a twenty four inch Spotted Eagle Ray jumped into a running fishing skiff. It was photographed and released. A few days later another one jumped and almost came aboard. We have seen rays jumping many times but this was a first. You never know what to expect on any given day with the variety available in our fishing areas.
CRISTINA and BLUE YONDER have also been doing their share of supplying great mothership fishing and catching experiences of all of the above game fish. Shorter runs to fishing spots, early, late and long days of fishing with that midday break combined with sumptuous meals, comfortable accommodations, excellent service by the crew, beautiful sunrises and sunsets all continue to contribute to outstanding fishing vacations. ?Best fishing trip I ever had? and similar comments have been the expressions recently shared by guests both on the motherships and at the lodge.
BELIZE RIVER LODGE is easier than ever to get to from the USA: American Airlines from Dallas and Miami, Continental Airlines from Houston and Newark, USAir from Charlotte, Delta from Atlanta and TACA from Houston and Los Angeles. Hopefully, you will find the time to enjoy a fishing trip soon.
Email: info@belizeriverlodge.com
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