The WEATHER in August this year was typical of the historical weather patterns for this area: some good rains from July carried over into early August and then for the next three weeks generally dry with some scattered rain squalls and cloudy periods but mostly sunny in the daytime. Winds were also typical: generally calm in the mornings then light most of the day rarely reaching 15 mph; or just about perfect for fly fishing.
Daytime temperatures were in the high 80s to 90 along the coast so good sun protection such as long sleeve shirts, sun hats and SPF 50 sunscreen were very helpful.
BIG TARPON in the 80-100 pound class that are resident here all through the year were seen by most anglers, many of these fish were cast to and a few were hooked, jumped and lost during the month. Just one silver king measuring out at 85 pounds was landed by Ken while fishing with guide Jeovani in one of the deeper channels, of course, Ken and Jeo hooked a 110 lb’er the day before, so went back to try again when they landed the 85 lb fish. This fish was caught using spinning gear with a blue and white YO-ZURI which was pretty well destroyed by the end of the fight. The fish was of course released in good condition.
SMALL TARPON as usual were regularly seen and fished for in areas that included mainland mangrove creeks, the Sibun River and several flats and small channels near coastal mangrove cayes. The catch rate was a bit better than the usual 1 for 6 or 7 jumped. Both fly and spin anglers, some for the first time in salt water, were thrilled by these exciting young acrobats.
SNOOK, which are sometimes referred to as “elusive” were found in good numbers in pretty much the same areas as the small tarpon. One angler landed 10 snook ranging from 3-12 pounds. A few more snook were landed by other anglers. Not being able to see snook under the mangrove overhangs was the biggest problem for some anglers, second was getting hung up in the mangrove branches. Maybe they were trying to add a little chlorophyll to the flies and plugs.
BONEFISH were not targeted very often, but those that were caught, lived up to their reputation for their speed and strength. One guest from fishing single for just one day caught six bones and a nice snook but could not land any of 4 tarpon jumped so missed getting the grand slam.
LADYFISH were most impressive, especially for those who had never caught one. Guide Jose found Ladyfish three days in a row and one day one of his guests landed up to 20 of these feisty fish. As usual when feeding, they devoured anything they could see.
BARRACUDAS AND JACKS filled out the variety experience for this month’s anglers. An 18 pound Cuda was caught in the SibunRiver, many others were caught by the reef and in the cuts through the mangroves.
