Plan Your Trip to Long Caye Outpost Lodge

Belize River Lodge was the first to practice catch and release for Permit, Bonefish & Tarpon and as of the summer of 2009, it is now law!  Belize law states that all Permit, Tarpon and Bonefish are Catch & Release only.  Even though not protected by law, BRL continues its goal to improve the fishing environment, so only one Snook per day at guide’s size discretion (and only if wanted by the guest) may be kept.  Some Snapper, Barracuda & Grouper may be kept for the table, again only if wanted by the guest.

A fishing license is required to sports fish in Belize.  Fishing licenses are per person – US$25.00 for the week or US$10.00 per day.  Belize River Lodge has fishing licenses on-site and your fishing license can be issued once you reach the Lodge.  Please have cash available to pay for your fishing license on arrival.

A valid passport is required to enter Belize and must be valid at least six months beyond the duration of your stay.  Visitors from the USA, UK and most of the Caribbean do not need Visas.  Most other countries do.  Any questions, please contact the Embassy of Belize in the USA at (202) 332-9636, Fax (202) 332-6888 and the website at http://www.embassy.org/embassies/bz.html

If you are planning on traveling with minors, remember that all children 18 years of age or younger entering Belize accompanied by only one parent or legal guardian must have a notarized letter of consent from the other parent stating the child/children have his/her permission to enter the country. Single parents need a notarized documentation of divorce decree or death certificate of spouse. Minors unaccompanied by either parent require a notarized letter of consent signed by both parents.  Please visit the Embassy of the United States web site for Belize to obtain more information.

There is a fee of US$55.50 for the Belize Departure Tax & Airport Security Fees that is usually included in your ticket or must be paid at the airport upon leaving Belize.  If not included in your ticket, this must be paid at the airport in US Dollars before departing Belize.

Guests fly to Belize International Airport, airport code is BZE. You are met by a member of the Lodge staff, who will shuttle you to the Lodge which is only a few miles away. Agents normally handle airline ticketing or you can get it online.  The following airlines fly to Belize and you can contact them online: Air Canada, Avianca, American Airlines, Copa Airlines, Delta, Southwest, Tropic Air, United and WestJet.

If you are arriving in your private aircraft, planes should clear through Phillip Goldson International Airport (airport code: BZE) with the Belize Civil Aviation Department and the Belize Airport Authority.  For more details, please check the following website: www.travelbelize.org/private_airplanes.html

Travel Insurance and protection is always nice to have as you never know what the future will hold or if plans need to be changed at the last minute.  Travel protection is available from most travel agents or is available online.  Many travel insurance sites are available, here are a few that we know about:

Travelex Insurance Services

Travel Guard Insurance

Note:  If you are booked during hurricane season (June to October), and you have paid for your trip, if a storm brews and your trip has to be postponed, no problem, you don’t lose any money, you have one year to reschedule your dates.

Most anglers like to carry on their rods, reels and fishing equipment.  Carry-on regulations are not set in stone and depend on the airport that you are traveling from.  The most up-to-date information on security procedures can be found on the web at https://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/prohibited-items.  While not specific, it is a good guideline; however, it does state the following:

Medications – any medicines prescribed by a doctor and taken daily should be packed in carry-on.

Fishing rods:  Fishing rods are permitted as carry-on and checked baggage.  However, please check with your air carrier that it fits within their size limitations for carry-on items.  Ultimately, it is the carrier’s decision as to whether or not it can be transported as carry-on baggage.

Tackle Equipment – Fishing equipment should be placed in your checked baggage.  Some tackle equipment can be considered sharp and dangerous.  Expensive reels or fragile tackle such as fly’s should be packed in your carry-on baggage.

Fly Fishing Recommendations

Spin Fishing Recommendations

Trip Checklist

Please click on the links above to get recommendations. Thank you.

BRL stocks Long Caye Outpost Lodge for each trip.  The cook takes what she needs to prepare all your meals while on the island.  We stock basic alcohol (2 cases of Belikin Beer & 1 bottle of One Barrell Rum) only.  Before arriving in Belize, please let us know of any food & alcoholic beverage requests, rod/reel rentals, lure, flies, cigars, etc, so that we can stock the island Outpost accordingly for your group.

LCOL Guest Questionnaire

Long Caye is stocked per trip for food and drinks.  Alcohol is basic stocking of 2 cases of Belikin Beer and 1 bottle of One Barrel Rum, purchased by guests, only if used.  When booking Long Caye Outpost Lodge, please note that along with basic stock of alcohol, we do NOT have flies, lures, any rods & reels, tying bench and materials.  All of this is available at the main Lodge, so please be prepared.  When staying on the island, please consider

___ Food (diets & special requests)
___ Drinks (sodas, tonic, soda water, beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages)
___ Rod & Reels
___ Flies & Lures
___ Leaders
___ Anything else of importance

Please let us know if you need any of the above items so that we can have Long Caye stocked for your arrival.

Bonefish (Albula vulpes): Average in Central Belize is 3 lbs.  Can land as small as 8” and as big as 7 lBs.   Bonefish live in inshore tropical waters and move onto shallow mudflats to feed with the incoming and outgoing tides. Adults and juveniles may school together, and they may be found singly, in pairs or schooled in bigger groups.

Length of average cast needed:  25 feet to 40 feet

Permit: 6 to 30 lbs average size with smaller and bigger landed.  Permit are usually found in shallow, tropical waters such as mudflats, sand flats, coral and channels. They are usually seen as individuals or in small schools.

Length of average cast needed:  25 feet to 50 feet

Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus):  Average size in Central Belize varies.  Resident fish range 5 lbs to the 80 lbs, with a few being over 100 lbs.  Migratory Tarpon size range about 80 lbs to over 175 lbs.  Tarpon are found in both saltwater and freshwater habitats and are able to survive in brackish water, waters of varying pH, and habitats with low oxygen content due to their swim bladders, which they use primarily to breathe. They are also able to rise to the surface and take gulps of air, which gives them a short burst of energy.

Length of average cast needed:  30 feet to 60 feet

Snook: Average size 8 to 15 lbs in Central Belize, with smaller and bigger being landed.  Snook live in shallow coastal waters estuaries, and lagoons and often move between saltwater to fresh water.  Snook feed on smaller fish.  The snook is considered an opportunistic predator and studies show a positive relationship between their size and the size of their prey, meaning that as the snook grows it feeds on larger and larger prey.

Length of average cast needed:  20 feet to 30 feet.

             Most flats and fishing areas can be home to multiple species, so plan to be prepared with a Bonefish rod, a snook/tarpon rod, permit rod and if they are around a large (75 + lbs) tarpon rod.

Please note that it is illegal to remove Maya artifacts, unprocessed coral, turtle shells and conch shells from the country of Belize.

The Belizean dollar is worth half of a U.S. dollar. Dollars are accepted everywhere, but change will be given in Belizean dollars. For your convenience, please bring small bills to cover small expenses, such as Airport Departure Tax, airport porter, bar bill and incidentals.

All meals at Long Caye Outpost Lodge are served family style for you and your friends/family and our daily menus are varied and very tasty.  Don’t let a dietary need keep you home, our cooks can handle most dietary restrictions.

The Outpost is 14 miles from the nearest supplies and is stocked before your arrival on the island.  We need to know of any dietary requirements (food allergies or special requests) BEFORE your arrival in Belize, so that your cook is aware and the island is fully stocked and prepared.  The cook can accommodate dietary needs as long as she is aware ahead of time.

The cook can handle an assortment of dietary restrictions and have a menu planned for your requirements.  Please let us know if you need a diet to take into account: Diabetes, High Cholesterol, Celiac Disease, Vegetarian &/or other _________.

If you do not eat on of the below foods, due to allergies, dietary needs to just plain dislike, please let us know ahead of time so that we can plan your menu accordingly.

____ Milk _____ Eggs _____ Eggs cooked in breads _____ Milk cooked in breads _____ Butter _____ Cheese _____ Sugar, white _____ Mayonnaise _____ Mustard_____ Pickles_____ Relish _____ Pasta, white flour _____ White Rice (brown rice alternative) _____ Potatoes (sweet potato alternative) _____ White bread (wheat alternative) _____ Onions _____ Beef _____ Pork _____ Chicken _____ Fish _____ Shellfish (shrimp, lobster, conch)
_____ Other  ______________________
Available upon request:  Soy &/or Almond milk, bran cereal.
** Notes substitutions.

Continental breakfasts at LCOL: Your cooks will have coffee and meals prepared depending on what you and your guides decide for the fishing day.

Drinking water and Ice:  All drinking water and ice is purified bottled water and ice.  Ice melts quickly in Belize, please be conscious to securely close ice coolers.

Fresh Water: Fresh water is either collected from rain or boated out to the island.  Please be conscious of fresh water usage. The bathroom shower and sink have hot/cold fresh water.  Toilets are saltwater flushed.

Drinking water and Ice:  All drinking water and ice is purified bottled water and ice.  We purchase ahead of time and boat out to the island per trip.  Please be conscious to securely close ice coolers and minimize wasted water.

The Outpost Lodge will have 2 cases Belikin Beer (US$3.00 per bottle) and bottle of One Barrel Rum (US$15.00 per bottle) & guest sign a tab for drinks, which will be billed upon checkout.  We will not have anything other alcohol stocked, unless by request.  If anything else is needed (wine, more beer, spirits, specific mixers), please e-mail with any requests, which can be purchased by the bottle.  You may bring your own alcoholic beverages, if you like.  When entering Belize, after Immigration and before luggage retrieval, there is a “Duty Free”.  This is an easy place to pick up your liquor and tobacco.  If purchased at the duty free in Belize, visitors are allowed 4 liters of alcohol duty free each.  If additional beer or alcohol is needed while you are on Long Caye, an extra charge will be incurred for us to take extra requests out to the island.

 Note:  Long Caye Outpost will have an assortment of sodas (Coke, Sprite, Red Fanta, Orange Fanta, Tonic and Soda Water).  Six bottles of tonic and 6 bottles of soda water are stocked at Long Caye, if you need additional, no problem, please let us know before your arrival in Belize. Light Coke (diet) is provided upon request.

Belize River Lodge operates a private resort on Long Caye in Central Belize, catering to anglers & non-angling R&R & eco-tour guests. While an “Outpost”, BRL’s Long Caye has most of the amenities we are known for, along with the excellent service and tasty cuisine in beautiful idyllic scenery.

Long Caye Outpost Lodge (LCOL) sits on the front of Long Caye overlooking Belize’s Barrier Reef and offers spectacular views of the sparking blue-green waters of the Caribbean Sea. LCOL’s neighbor is Caye Chapel and is less than a 10 minute boat ride from Miami Beach and about 20 minutes from Caye Caulker. The Outpost Lodge provides the perfect get-away-from-it-all vacation.

BRL’s Long Caye Outpost Lodge has one guesthouse which can accommodate up to 6 anglers. The guesthouse has three double occupancy bedrooms, two twin beds in each room; and a shared bath (hot & cold water) for all, thereby catering to groups of up to 6 people. The main building has a full verandah overlooking the beach and sea. The rooms have ceiling fans and power is from a generator which will run while you are visiting.

At the Lodge, we are very well known for our Belizean hospitality and our delicious Belizean Creole cuisine and orr same wonderful BRL cooks will be preparing your meals at Long Caye Outpost Lodge, so a delicious variety of meals will be served daily. Please let us know of any dietary needs beforehand and we will be happy to accommodate you during your visit.

Whether, R&R’ing, touring or fishing, visiting BRL’s Long Caye Outpost Lodge is a great choice. As the only resort on the island, you can relax and enjoy the beachy Caribbean scenery. If touring, you are in the middle of the some of the best snorkeling and also, manatee watching. And staying at BRL’s Outpost Lodge on Long Caye still allows you to fish all of Central Belize, the areas that Belize River Lodge has fished for over 50 years.

The following are amenities found in your rooms.
Generated power – 110 volts
High Powered Ceiling Fans in rooms
Hot Water in all bathrooms
Shampoo, Conditioner, Lotion & Soap provided
Hammocks & seating on the beach overlooking the Caribbean Sea
Daily Maid Service

Long Caye Outpost Lodge gets power from one of two generators.  Generators run while guests are ashore.  The power output of the generators is the same as the USA (110 volts, 60 cycles).  Most outlets are three prong, a few outlets are two prong, so you may want to bring a two-into-three prong electrical plug converters.  If you have a lot of camera equipment, etc, you may want to bring a small power strip to handle your electronics in one area of the Outpost guest house.

BRL has a small tackle shop with an assortment of fishing supplies – flies, lures, backing, lines, leaders and tippet.  Mike’s Closet has a good selection of flies and lures for sale (based on the BRL recommended lists).

All flies, leaders, lures and tackle are available for sale from the main Lodge.  If you know ahead of time that you will need tackle/flies/leaders, we can have it ready for your arrival.   If you are not sure before your arrive in Belize, you will visit the main Lodge on your arrival for check-in at which time you can purchase any tackle/flies/leaders.  If tackle/flies/leaders, etc is needed while you are on Long Caye, an extra charge will be incurred for us to take tackle out to the island.   All purchases will be billed upon check-out.

Fly and spin equipment is available for rent from the main Lodge.   You will visit the main Lodge on your arrival for check-in.  If you need to rent any equipment, please let us know and we can get it for you while you check-in.  If equipment is needed while you are on Long Caye, an extra charge will be incurred for us to take rental equipment out to the island.  All rentals will be billed upon check-out.

BRL’s Rental Equipment:  BRL has rental equipment, subject to availability. Fly fishing equipment is top quality, mainly Sage rods, 8 wt’s, 10 wt’s & 12 wt’s, & Teton or Sage saltwater reels.  All reels have Rio lines.  We also have a few 8 wt, 9 wt & 12 wt Winston rods in our rental equipment. 

Spin fishing equipment is also top quality, mainly Ugly Sticks with Shimano or Penn reels.

Fly Tying Bench:  Only available at main Lodge, if you would like a tying vice available at Long Caye Outpost Lodge, please let us know and a basic vice will be available, not tying materials.

While at Long Caye and fishing you can see a variety of shore birds; iguanas & lizards and maybe even a saltwater crocodile.  While at LCOL, snorkeling Belize’s Barrier Reef is easy, just let your guide know.

Natural Wildlife Pests:  Due to the tropical climate of Belize, it is very likely that you may encounter natural wildlife which can also be pesky.  Even though the Outpost is on an island, we still have possibility of seeing lizards, geckos, iguana, frogs and spiders are common and are harmless.  They all help to eliminate unwanted pests.  If you encounter a scorpion, crocodile or a snake, don’t panic!  Usually they are more afraid of you and are trying to get away.  Let us know if you need help removing them from wherever you are.

Mosquitos:  We try to protect the environment and we minimize the use of sprays and insecticides, as they also harm birds and butterflies.  Mosquitos and No-seeums (sandfly’s) can be pesky, especially around sun-up and sun-down, and when the winds are low,  are the worst you will encounter.  Mosquito repellant is a good deterrent and light weight long pants with socks and light weight long sleeve shirts also help to keep them from biting you.

Wading:  Some wading is available from both the main Lodge and the Outpost Lodge.  If you would like to wade, please let us know ahead of time, so that we can schedule you with a guide who wades.  There is no wading while fishing Snook and Tarpon.  If fishing for Bonefish & Permit, about 20% of our flats are wadable.  Please note, that the wadable flats are usually the first to blow out in windy conditions.

 GPS’s:  GPS’s on a fishing boat always ensures that the fishing is never as good as when it is just the anglers and the guide on board.   Please leave your GPS at home.

Salt Water:   Saltwater is very corrosive. Rinse your rods & reels daily with fresh water.  While at the Outpost,  your guide and BRL Staff will rinse your rods & reels down in the rod/reel fresh water rinse trough at the end of the day.  After your trip, make sure to rinse & clean all equipment & clothing thoroughly before storing.

Long Caye Outpost Lodge Phone Service:   Phone is NOT provided in the Long Caye package.  Long Caye has cel service and the staff have cel phones in case of emergencies.  If you will be using your US cel phone in Belize, you will need to call while in the USA (country of origin) and have your service provider open it up for International calling and Belize in general.  There are many coconut trees on the island, but if you walk around you will get a cel signal.   The upstairs bedroom and the pier has good service.  Belize rental cel phone available, please contact us for more information and rates.

Note:  The BRL office is in contact with the staff at Long Caye almost daily.  If any emergencies at home or messages from home, family can call the main Lodge at 011-501-225-2002 and we can get a message to you while you are at Long Caye.

Long Caye Outpost Lodge Internet Service:  Internet is NOT provided in the Long Caye package.  Internet is now available by wireless router, via Smart 3G.  We have the routers for rent for US$5.00 per day, and you can let us know how much time you would like us to have on it.  Time on MiFi’s is sold by the GB, please contact for GB pricing.  If you let us know, we will charge up the Smart router, and it can be paid when checking out.

Please note:  Mifi router can only provide service to one or two devices at a time, if any more are connected, the MiFi’s slow down to a crawl so give no service.

BRL does not include a service charge or gratuities on your bill.  Gratuities are appreciated by our staff who work hard to make your stay enjoyable and memorable.  Please tip your guide on your last day of activity and the staff on your departure day.  Tipping is a personal thing based on service.  Please plan on tipping in cash for both guides and lodge staff.  If help is needed, please ask the Lodge manager for guidelines

We do not always get in touch with you after a trip, this is not because we do not care about your thoughts on what could have made your trip better, it is because we are giving the guest at the Lodge the same personalized attention that you received.  Please contact us with feedback so that we can continue to make the Lodge better and we always appreciate hearing when you just enjoyed your trip.

We also appreciate any pictures that you would like to share with us, so that we can post on the BRL Facebook page, BRL website or use in one of upcoming brochures;  or if you would like to post and tag us.

Photos:  BRL’s promotional material, brochures, magazine ads, website, dvd, flyers etc are all from guest photos. If you have pictures (whether fish, flora, fauna or anything that you find interesting during your visit) from your trip that you would like to share, & don’t mind us using your photos, please let us know. We can download the photos to our computer before you leave the Lodge.

Music at Long Caye Outpost Lodge:  The guest house has a cd/ipod player if you would like to enjoy music in the evenings or during dinner.  If you don’t see if, just check with the LCOL staff.  If using an ipod/mp3 player, please bring a basic “male to male” auxiliary cable to connect device to deck player.

Cigars at Long Caye Outpost Lodge:  Cuban cigars need to be pre-ordered before your arrival and departure to the island.  Basic cigars are available at the Lodge and can be purchased during check-in.  All cigars ordered will be billed upon check-out.

 Taxidermy – Fiberglass mounts only:  BRL has a good working relationship with Gray’s Taxidermy.  Gray’s specializes in realistic fiberglass mounts in all species of fish.  If you have landed your trophy, please get exact measurement full length (tip to tail point) and girth and Gray’s will make your beautiful wall piece.  BRL can take your order and Gray’s will confirm once you get home.  For more information and pricing, please check with BRL’s office.

Suggested Reference Books: 
* Practical Fishing Knots II by Mark Sosin & Lefty Kreh
* Fly Fishing in Saltwater by Lefty Kreh
* Fishing the Flats by Sosin & Kreh
* Fly Fishing for Bonefish by Dick Brown
* Saltwater Fly Fishing by Jeff Currier
* Fly Fishing Belize by Jim Klug (www.klugphotos.com):  From Vic Barothy’s time to present day, this is a beautiful book with photos of all over Belize from the 1960’s till today.