Fishing Report
June 25 – July 02, 2023 #22
Welcome to the Caribbean!
We have had a good week, but a rather erratic one weather-wise. On the gossip portal of the bay, word on the street is that the Mayan Gods have created their own version of the much discussed reality TV hit, which started in the late 90’s in the Netherlands, “Big Brother” where apparently the weekly challenges, posed by the show’s format, are based on making life difficult for mortal fishermen from all over the area, testing their perseverance and coping skills, something our guests certainly approved of.
We have been visited by old and new friends of ESB, such as Donna and Bill Wichers, a charming couple who have shown to appreciate every moment of their fishing day, Brandon Smith and his son Connor who, hand in hand with his father, came to discover the goodness that ESB has to offer and expand his already vast fishing experience at the age of 18, Tom Blailock, a great friend of the ESB family and eagerly awaited on his annual visit, completed the group with Kevin Vincent and Steve Burrows, excellent people and even better anglers who take their appreciation for the experience we have to offer on each of their visits to another level.
Fishing
Monday woke up with a moderate rain that didn’t last more than an hour but left the first hours of the morning with an important load of humidity and light winds that gave way to some periods of sunshine. Connor did not miss the opportunity to land his first tarpon and began his count of how many new species he would manage to add to his personal logbook. Almost all of them managed to see and take a few shots at the not at all empathetic permit that completely disregarded the flies presented by our anglers.
Tuesday was a very special day for Bill not only because he caught the biggest permit of his life, but the way the fishing situation unfolded seemed to have been scripted by Billy Wilder. As they circled the bay in search of prey to tempt with their flies and under a layer of clouds that dyed the surface of the shallow waters a drab gray color, totally devoid of shadows and providing excellent cover for the movement of their prey, a shy ray of sunlight glinted off the surface, A shy ray of sunlight managed to sneak through the cloud cover and as it grew in intensity it illuminated an area of white sands revealing the faint figure of a solitary permit, which our super experienced guide spotted instantly and indicated to Bill the direction and distance of his target. With a quick and precise cast, our angler, places his crab imitation just feet away from the fish that, mesmerized by the perfect movement Bill was giving to that hook covered with rubber legs, resins and a few feathers with each of its short and soft stripes, shortened its distance as that single ray of sunlight lit it up like a Broadway spotlight. Bill’s timing to get the tip of his sharp hook into the deceived permit’s lip at the same time it attacked him was perfect while the clarity provided by that isolated ray of sunlight against the backdrop of the bay allowed Bill to watch and be the protagonist of the scene that seemed to unfold in slow motion to be forever etched in his memories. It was also a great day for Tom who scored the first of his permits this week and apparently that seemed to be enough for Amimitl (Mayan god of fishing) because in another battle with one of these emblematic specimens of the bay, he negotiated the victory under circumstances that can only be explained by some divine intervention.
At the halfway point of the fishing week and with clouds that came and went responding to the whims of winds that varied in their intensity, Connor managed to sign the first victory of his life with an “ojona”, giving us more than justified reasons to celebrate at dinner with the traditional shot of tequila, Steve joined the festivities after having also inaugurated his Permit marker for this week.
In general, Thursday and Friday showed a constant cold indifference of schools or solo permit that systematically disregarded their flies, except for Donna who chose Thursday to add one more permit to the week’s score. Without letting the attitude of the species chosen by almost everyone as the objective of their trip frustrates them or make their spirits decline, our anglers showed their power of adaptation and did not let the opportunities given to them by tarpon, bonefish, barracudas and snookspass them by throughout both days.
Saturday promised to be different from the previous days, with almost no clouds and a clear decrease in the speed of the constant easterly winds, and it did not disappoint. At the start of the day’s fishing Kevin and Steve dueled against two beautiful permit and both took the win to raise the stakes even higher and continue the road to the Grand Slam, a goal they both achieved! Tom, who had already tried throughout the week to go mano a mano with the giant silver torpedoes at the mouth of the bay and managed to initiate several fights but was unable to achieve the final victory, went in search of his coveted trophy and this time he did! After an arduous fight in which that silver titan of more than three digits threatened on several occasions to drag them to Cuba with its fast and long runs, finally the skillful hands of our guide managed to subdue the splendid specimen that was still willing to give battle and after some quick photos it continued its migratory path.
It is practically my obligation to tell you that Connor counted thirteen different species caught this week, a fact that first of all shows what an excellent fisherman this 18 year old is becoming and at the same time reveals the exceptional state of health of the Espiritu Santo Bay.
Outside the strictly fishing related, but which undoubtedly adds important points to the experience of any trip, this week was remarkable the amount of wildlife that was seen in the bay, deer, crocodiles, manatees, dolphins and turtles interrupted almost daily the concentration of our guests.
Weather
Although the beginning of the week was not the best, as far as fishing conditions are concerned, analyzing its evolution, today I can tell you that it went from less to more, ending with an almost dreamlike Saturday for fishing.
The winds, which were always from the east and southeast, varied their speed between 19 and 8 mph throughout the week.
Monday’s thick clouds dissipated as the days went by and the tides were a little more predictable during the last few days of the week.
Flies
While I could not point out a favorite pattern for permit in the last few weeks, it has been proven that the now immortal ESB spawning shrimp, Casa Blanca, Esb Yellow Eyes Raghead Crab and Tequila twister work and should definitely have a place in your box for your next visit.
Tarpon and Snook don’t miss the opportunity to attack a well presented streamer in front of them, in a wide range of colors and sizes. If you tie your own flies, get creative and look for the limits of both species, who’s to say you might discover the Clouser Minnow of the 21st century.
The flats ghosts never cease to amaze with the variety of patterns they don’t hesitate to attack, maybe you should start telling them which flies don’t work with this species. As a first recommendation of flies that do not work, I would say that the Chernobyl Ant does not work, but on second thought, maybe with an intermediate line and a short leader it will have the same result as with the Golden Dorados and some Patagonian browns that mysteriously do not hesitate to attack them.
We are going through our last week of the first part of the 2023 season, personally I am very satisfied with the result and absolutely amazed with the professionalism and excellent predisposition of our guides and staff. In a few days Chiara and Dane will arrive, we will make the final and detailed evaluation of this first part of the season and no doubt we will come to the same conclusion.
See you next week with the last report of this first part of the season and do not hesitate to contact our friends at The Fly Shop® so they can tell you first-hand what life is like in Espiritu Santo Bay, the Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve (which means “Where the sky begins”, in the Mayan language).
Taak ulak k’iin and Ka xi’ik teech utsil!!!!
(See you later and good luck! in Mayan language)
Martin Ferreyra Gonzalez and the entire ESBL family
