I had been told so much about this area by a colleague at work and what to expect it was difficult for me not to be full of expectation once we had landed. We finally got to our final destination, Punta Allen having travelled for around 30 hrs, somehow that did not matter.

Paul Procter greeted us the next morning after just a few hrs sleep, he was our host for the week. The lucky swine had been down in Punta Allen for the previous two weeks, which must have been a real pain.

After an extremely hearty breakfast, cooked by our chef for the week Pepe, we were all allocated our guides, these changed day to day through the week. You shared the boat with your boat partner and two guides. A nice touch was that Casa Viejo Chac only employed guides who lived in Punta Allen, these guides then owned their boats through a cooperative of which Manuel who owns Casa Viejo was the Chairman.

The main benefit of travelling to Punta Allen for my first salty trip seemed to me, to be the variety and density of various species which included, Bonefish (Macabe), Permit (Palameta), Tarpon (Sabalo), Snook (Robalo) and Barracuda. This was maybe down to the guides, each and every one knew the vast area of Ascension Bay down to the last mangrove stem. These guides loved what they did, it was obvious.

I won’t bore you with the detail of each day, all I can say each evening was full of different stories from the funny to the more serious chat about the amounts and sizes of fish. I was amazed by not only the quantity of fish but the nature around you whilst you fished, from Eagles and Ospreys to Turtles and Iguana’s, (the occasional mangrove frog would also show up, for those of you who were on any of the trips) The Sian Kaan Bio sphere seems to have most of what you want from a trip abroad.

Something that was evident was in order to enjoy the quality of the fishing and the guides you needed to be able to make casts into the wind off both shoulder’s to 40-50 feet, sounds easy but when you have a Permit travelling fast from left to right and the wind is blowing, you only get one shot. It needs to be a good one!!

So, to summarise a 8#(Bonefish), a couple of 10#’s(Permit and Snook/Tarpon) and a 12 (Barracuda/Tarpon) on the boat would be sufficient for this destination. The organisation from Fly Odyssey was excellent, Manuel’s detail on the day to day organisation around Casa Viejo Chac was finely tuned, including his ability to spot and follow a Permit at 80 yards. This is a must for anyone who enjoys their fly fishing.

A smooth arrival at Gatwick airport was met with a cue to get in courtesy of the departure of a large P&O ferry cruise around the Med as 1500 eager tourists lined up to fly to their port of embarkation. Unbeknown to them they were holding up 4 very excited anglers heading towards Punta Allen in Mexico’s Ascension Bay for a week long saltwater fly fishing adventure. After a 40 minute wait we finally checked in and headed through to the departure area and did the obligatory bacon rolls and cups of tea. 9.15 and we were up and away but aimed straight towards a huge head wind that would ultimately lead to an hours extension to the flight. Touch down in Cancun airport saw us very quickly and efficiently collect our bags and clear the Mexican customs and immigration before rendezvousing with the mini bus driver brandishing a Fly Odyssey board outside of the terminal. Only a short hour or so later and we had arrived in Tulum, our mid way pit stop for a couple of ice cold cerveca and some quesadias in no time at all we were back on the road and heading to Casa Veijo Chac which was around 1 1/2-2 hours away. We arrived quicker than we thought although quite tired and weary from our travels we still found the energy for a couple of welcome beers before settling down for the night in the cool air conditioned bed rooms.

Casa Viejo Chac, Punta Allan

Sunday 21st

An early rise as far as our Mexican friends thought but our body clocks were telling us that it was the middle of the day, none the less we were fresh and full of anticipation for the first of 6 days exploring the fish filled waters of southern Mexico. We tackled up and tested our knots, re-tested and tested again just for good measure before settling down to a breakfast of fresh fruit, juice and scrambled eggs with refried beans. What started out as a beautiful and idyllic morning became by lunch a wet and by all means cold day (well at least by local standards, we would have been quite happy with temperatures in the 20’s back home!) we were soaking but our enthusiasm wash far from dampened. Paul Saville broke his duck with a well earn t bonefish while Bob Gun had his best ever day on the flats landing 3 fine bones and having shots at several others. My boat partner Peter Cooper managed to hook a bonefish but unfortunately got the line caught around his had during its first searing run and the 2 soon parted company. To add insult to injury for poor Peter after a perfect cast a a large tailing Permit the fish ate but no connection was made, but there was still 5 days to go and plenty of time to level to scores. A fantastic dinner of soup followed by a delicious fillet of snapper washed down with a few beers, this led us nicely on to the nominations for the days clangers. Peter was out right winner for misjudging the depth of water on the flat as he departed the skiff nearly submerging himself; the result was the he had to wear the bright pink bow tie, and wear it with pride he did! After proceedings the rest of the party joined us for the start of their week, the 5 anglers bolstered our group and sank a couple of beers before hitting the sack ready for the morning tackling up madness and banter.

Peter with a Bonefish and a dashing set of atire!

Peter sitting back in comfort

Monday 22nd

Another stunning start to the day needless to say we thought that the weather gods were smiling on us! Bright sunshine, low winds and high temperatures had hopes riding high but the wind direction had swung 180 degrees causing many of the clear shallow flats in the south of the bay to cloud up into a milky colour that made spotting fish very difficult even for the most accomplished of our guides. This didn’t deter the guys who managed to catch bonefish, jacks, barracuda and snapper but the highlights of the day belonged to Peter and Phil. Peter managed to brake his bonefish duck and bag a nice Barracuda while the well travelled Phil landed his first ever Snook which he was proud as punch about and took great pleasure in telling us that he had now managed to tick another salty box! A steak big enough to feed a a full French front row together with a whole array of trimmings came of out the kitchen courtesy of Pepe and his wife. Sad to say that many of us failed to finish the huge but very tasty meal. These Mexican boys really can put it away! Bob Gun was the evening worthy winner of the bow tie after being nominated for the crime of hooking his guide while casting, I think he will make sure not to replicate this feat again, especially not on this trip while his eagle eyed boat partner is taking notes! A few friendly games of pool and a couple more beers brought day 2 and day 1 to a close with even higher hopes for another day of improved weather ahead of us.

Tuesday 23rd

Yet another bright start to the day and the discussions around the breakfast table were fully fixed on the prospect of some great catches in the ever improving conditions. We set out with hopes flying high, a trip out for Bob Gunn and my self with the lodge owner Manuel and right hand man Choo Choo always heralds a day full of laughs regardless of how many fish we would catch. The cold water filling the bay was still very much in evidence as we stepped out of the boat for the first time that day. First stop during the day was to try and take advantage of the bright sun and low winds. Permit was the target, we headed for the area were Nick had been the day before and seen and shot at several of the prized species. Not 5 minutes after arriving tell tale black sycal tails started to wave above the surface as a group of fish cruised by. A great shot resulted in 3 of the group veering off for Bobs fly but unfortunately the boat intervened and the fish turned and sulked away only to result in a low lying bonefish snaffling the fly. A few more fish were spotted but we headed of to try and find some Tarpon and Snook. We motored to Cayo Calibre and immediately found both tight against the mangrove shelter. Cast were made but the fish didn’t oblige. A few Bonefish from a waded flat ended our day. Mixed results for the group with fish being caught but not to the extreme that we had wished for. It was clear that the still cold water was making the fishing tough! Phil received the bow tie for a superb pool stoke that resulted in the white ball not only leaving the table but clearing balcony and landing 30 feet below onto the Punta Allen roads!

Wednesday 24th

A beautiful start greeted us once again and we were very much hoping that the more steady wind direction and warmer conditions would have helped to turn the fishing up a notch or 2. Peter Cooper was having his second day 1 to 1 and we set out to try and slay some bonefish and slay them we did! After wading a fantastic flat to the south of the bay we came up blank and headed to another place, whilst on route Manuel noticed and very large area of fresh feeding marks in the sand. A short pole around and we came across a huge shoal of fish numbering into their thousands. A couple of cast later and Peter was bent into his first fish. Around another 20 followed that as well as a huge grin! We searched around and finally found a flat that had what we were looking, tailing feeding Bonefish! A few well placed casts and another fish was boated. Another 3 fish and the day was drawing to a close. Knocking on 25 bones and Peter was a new man. Both John and Bill had an eventful day, boating fish up to 5lb’s. More bones to the group and a sprinkling of Barracuda capped off the best day of the trip so far. We sank some beers that were well deserved and took a trip out for a margaritas or 2.

Phil with a Barracuda dressed to impress!

Thursday 25th march

Another stunning start to the day had discussions around the breakfast table running high with talk of bonefish, permit and tarpon. Another change of wind direction set the idea of a great day and warmer water firmly in our heads. It started difficult with the clouds coming in and out at regular intervals but that certainly didn’t put us off. The end of the day saw Bill landing Bones over the 5lb mark and the rest of the group having similar success with Peter having another fantastic day but even with his best efforts getting stuck on the unlucky number of 13 bones in the day. His partner for the day Bob had several bonefish and a Barracuda to add to the list for the week. Phil and Alan also had a great day targeting bonefish and Barracuda then headed back to the bar for a well needed drink having taken some of the best pictures of the tour especially Phil who found a very novel way to show off the bow tie he earn t the evening before with a rather toothy Barracuda, much to the agreement of the rest of the group! Another day of shots and missed opportunities only exaggerated by a few beers were quickly forgotten by the banter and hopes of a fantastic day in the morning. We headed to bed with half the groups trips fishing ending after tomorrow while Phil, John, Bill, Allan and Nick staying for one last day having arrived a day after the rest of the tour. Lets just see what the morning will bring. I was the unfortunate recipient of the pink bow tie courtesy of my fellow travellers; well for want of a better description “stitching me up” but I wore it with Pride for the evening while we shot a few games of pool before heading to bed for a good nights sleep.

Friday 26th March

What a start to the day, a breakfast of Tortillas, eggs, bacon and re-fried beans fuelled us for a perfect looking days weather. Flat calm, hot and sunny; a saltwater fly fisherman’s dreams made hopes sore as we left the dock through the mangrove lagoons in our large panga boats heavily laden with fishing tackle and anticipation! I had the last day of our trip with Bob and with the conditions we set out with Manuel and Choo Choo in search of Permit and we weren’t disappointed; for the first 3 hours of the day not 10 minutes went by with out seeing another shoal of fish tailing or pushing water in the perfect spotting conditions. Bob made plenty of great shots but unfortunately several occasions saw a crafty bonefish or Jack snaffle his offering before the Permit got chance. The afternoon came all too quickly so we headed to the skinnier flats to target bones but as so often happens after catching them in the morning whilst not targeting them, when we made the change to chase them they had other ideas and made them selves quite scarese. A farewell dinner of lobster and all the trimmings saw us bid farewell to the remaining 5 members of the group, a few beers and a game or two of pool closed out the last night. The conversation had been heavy of a great week of fishing, missed opportunities and new friendships made. This will inevitably be the first of many chapters in this groups fishing diaries!

Saturday 27th March

Up with the rest of the group we settled down to breakfast, said our goodbyes and wished the others the best of luck for their final day fishing as we finished packing our bags and headed back to Cancun for our afternoon flight to Gatwick and the cold weather, that we were sure lay ahead of us. A short flight of just 9 hours courtesy of a huge 90 MPH tailwind saw us land before schedule. A quick wait for our bags and we parted company and all made our separate ways back home no doubt to sleep and reset our bodies to UK time even more harsh due to the clocks “springing forward” for BST.
A great trip was had by all, lots of experience gained, laughs had, dreams made and for others future nightmares of what could have been; a reoccurring theme for most travelling anglers who where faced with that oh so common phrase of “what if!” but I guess this will always be the reason that keep us coming back for more because maybe….just maybe, next time will be “THAT TIME” when it all comes together!

A tailing Permit in near perfect conditions

Nick with a superb 165lb blue

Ten minutes after putting the baits out my brother was playing a magnificent blue of around 120lbs in weight. This was quickly followed by an awesome 165lb fish that fought all the way to the boat leaving Nick battered. 

Before long we had all caught a shark on a bait and it was time to try a little fly fishing. This is really new territory for a UK saltwater flyfisher.  I opted for a 12wt Sage saltwater flyrod, a Lamson Vanquish 12 reel and a Teeny 450 saltwater line. I spent a lot of time getting the reel rigged to stand maximum strain. As it turned out this was time well spent.   

12wt fly rod at full stretch

After half an hour or so I had a very delicate take - after a firm strip strike it soon became obvious I had hooked a decent fish.  The next half an hour was certainly action packed. Initially the shark certainly had no idea it was hooked - it was not until I really cranked the drag up on the reel that it had  any idea something was wrong.  Forty minutes later and at the sixth attempt Andrew was able to get the shark through the trap door and into the boat. It was quickly unhooked, photographed and measured then returned - swimming off strongly.  An quick calculation gave Andrew the weight - 93.5 lbs.

93lb blue on a fly!!

It then occured to me that this was probably the biggest fish ever caught on a flyrod in the uk.

Many thanks to Andrew for all his help - you can contact him at www.whitewatercharters.co.uk.

Laxfoss Pool on the River Grimsa

The Icelandic rivers (especially on the south and west coasts) had received no significant rain for 6 weeks. Hardly ideal, leaving the Grimsa well below summer low water level. In spite of this, there were plenty of fish in the pools. Even with bright conditions and water temperatures in excess of 17°C my group caught salmon steadily over the 4 days. Low water did limit the amount of fishing available to some degree.

Stengir Pool on the River Grimsa

 All the lodges that I have seen in the past in Iceland have had great food; however, Jon who looked after us at Grimsa lodge was phenomenal. His attention to detail and level of service was outstanding. He was a tremendous host to all the rods and with the help of his staff made these four days very enjoyable. Well done Jon!!

On Thursday we travelled south, leaving one of our group to continue his holiday in Reykjavik, to the beautiful Laxá in Kjos. En-route our prayers were answered and the heavens opened. The river Kjos was below summer levels when we arrived but rising. Our guide Siggi was very optimistic and was keen to get fishing as the Kjos fishes really well in these circumstances. A traditional salmon angler would have been surprised by the unusual tactics suggested by Siggi. The salmon and sea trout here are often caught there using weighted nymphs and small lightly dressed streamer patterns.

A cracking Sea-Trout from the Meadows

      Kjos has a delightful ambience. The famous meadows stretch of the lower river offers superb sea trout fishing. Above and below this you will find some spectacular salmon pools. Our rods enjoyed great fishing in all fishing sessions under the knowledgeable supervision of Siggi, who was key to our rods enjoyment. This really underlines the massive importance of having a guide who knows the river like the back of his hand in all its moods.

Lax in Kjos produced 20 fish for 2 rods in two days this included a couple of sea trout over 4lbs, a fantastic finale to a great trip.

Sportfish will be returning to this spectacular country again next year, if you would like further information on this trip I would be delighted to discuss the details with you.

Tom Festing AAPGAI

tom.festing@sportfish.co.uk

tel 0118 930 3860 

Matt Hayes' Magnificent 14Kg Salmon from the Gaula

So all in all we have had a great week here at Winsnes Fly Fishing Lodge. We have been really well looked after in every respect by Matt, his charming wife Anna Marit and her mother Annbjorg.

The final score was twelve salmon with a number hooked, played and lost. All the guests have had a great time and had contact with a fish. We will certainly be back next year – if you are interested in joining the group please let me know. You can contact me on +441189 303860 or email me allan@sportfish.co.uk

I have to say the river was an absolute stunner.

It flows through beautiful countryside and is tailor made for dry fly fishing. When we arrived a big Danica mayfly hatch was in progress and there were some absolute monsters on the prowl. Like big wild trout anywhere these fish were far from easy to tempt. I caught a lovely brownie – see Matt’s fabulous release shot below – and some smaller samples. Matt rose a real monster that fell off early in the fight.

Allan releasing a beautiful Brown trout underwater

If you would like to join us on the trip this September please drop me an email allan@sportfish.co.uk  and I will let you have details as they are finalised.  Matt will guide the trip.

I have noticed that the fish on the Gaula seem to take better if the water is steady rather than fluctuating wildly in height.

We have had to adjust to fishing mainly at night to get the best results however. As it never gets dark this is no great hardship and it is much more pleasant to fish away from the heat of the day.

Two fish caught so far today. Ken had a nice grilse in Bridge pool and Dominic a super 8kilo fish from Stadion pool.

Dominic with a lovely 8kg salmon

Catch and release is now very much part of the scene here on the Gaula. The majority of the anglers on the river are fly fishermen and this can only help augment future stocks. The Sportfish group are certainly playing their part returning all fish caught so far. Joe very graciously waited until the light was good for photography before catching his 9 kilo fish!

Matt is a superb photographer – check out the release shot below.

A Fantastic 9kg Gaula Salmon about to be released

Philip Moran - Baja

My husband Phil and myself have fished there for the last 2 years (first year with Ross) and are going back again this year. A wide variety of fish was caught but our best day was when we caught 17 rooster fish in 1 day between us. Phil had 9 and I had 8 and it was a truly magical day. The record before that was 5 caught in a day so I think the Brits showed the Yanks how to do it that day!!

Dorado - Donna Moran

Dorado - Philip Moran

Jack Gravalle

Rooster Fish

We had a variety of Dorado, Yellow Fin Tuna, Skip Jacks, Bonita, and you just don’t know what you are going to catch from one day to the next. I had a lovely 12 lb Skippy on my 9 wt rod which was fun to say the least.

Phils last catch of the week was a lovely Jack Crevalle weighing 10lb and fought like hell.

Dates were 28th Sept - Fri 3rd Oct 2008
Tackle used was Sage XI2 and Sage TCR’s 9 - 12 wt with Sage and Mako reels