Fishing Report #22
June 22 – 29, 2025
We’ve wrapped up another week here at ESB as we conclude the first half of our season. It’s been a long run starting back in January running back-to-back weeks full of returning guests. The lodge takes a siesta from entertaining fishermen and redirects focus to a monstrous checklist of upgrades and maintenance schedules. In four weeks’ time ESB will open back up and carry through to November. I caught up with some familiar faces at the airstrip on Sunday as Chiara and I flew in coming off a scouting trip in the Bahamas. The Caribbean has had a bout of blustery winds and rain but when the sun slips through the cloud’s things open and we understand why this is one of the most diverse, sought out flats fishery in this corner of the world.
FISHING:
Wind and rain were the common denominators for the week and obviously this translates to some tougher fishing. East, southeast winds kept us southside for permit around the entrance to Red Lagoon down towards Tabasquenos working west. Schools of smaller permit mixed with bonefish stacked in River one and we also had some permit action around Casitas. Nando and Nino worked guests around schools in river 3, they knew they were there, but visibility made for flighty, difficult shots. Guest Tom Westbrook picked up two permit along with Chris Jones on Wednesday.
Thursday guest Bob Wilczynski had a banner day and put together a grand slam with a few extra tarpon, umpteen bones, cuda, and a snapper for good measure. Hell of day running the buffet line of what ESB has to offer in the Nat Geo department. End of the week proved tough with rain squalls passing through and making visibility impossible to chase permit.
The group hit resident tarpon in their normal haunts, throughout the rivers on low tides, a piece of Flamingo and the guides favorite protected spot behind Punta Herrero. We’re seeing plenty of snook mixed with tarpon in the mangroves. River 2 held more snook, sunken boat lagoon had a healthy mix of both.
The stars of the bay right now are the big migratory tarpon. We’re in full swing with big fish everywhere off the island’s north point. With SE winds we can capitalize on a small somewhat protected area at the mouth and the fish are consistently moving through. Those fish come in off that trough, track north and coast along the shoreline roughly 200 yards outside the Boca of Ensenada.
Heavy full sinks are the line of choice. It gets down quick and keeps our flies moving through fish. One or two rolling fish translate to a slew of fish in the lower column and odds of an explosive hook up go up exponentially. All the boats shared space in the cut on Tuesday and every boat had at least a hook up on migratory fish. They’re tough critters and even tougher to land which lends to more fish lost than landed. In the long run I feel it’s better for the preservation of these big fish, so we just let it be and cast again. Chris Jones and Joe Bonner both landed fish in the 100 pound mark. Steve Burrows came tight with a big fish later in the week that came unglued.
Bonefish are everywhere and are always a safe bet to chase. Solid action is to be had for anyone that wants a tug. They’re loaded in all the normal zones, tighten up in big schools in the rivers and can pretty much be found along the entire southern shoreline. Anywhere there’s protection we see fish. When mother nature doesn’t give us the conditions for our other species you can have a lovely day picking these fish off. Do yourself a favor and get a Scott Sector 7 weight and you’ll be delighted working through schools of fish with a lighter rod.
WEATHER/TIDES:
Weather for the week was mostly laden with heavier cloud cover and passing rain squalls that intensified later in the week. We had lighter winds to kick off the week and this also intensified at 15 mph and up as we closed out our 6 days of fishing. East and southeast winds (average direction for June) stayed consistent.
Flies:
The few permit were landed on #2 white crabs w/yellow eyes and ESB spawning shrimp.
Tarpon and snook were landed on usual smattering of EP’s, and similar style baitfish. We hover around that 2/0 size and rotate our four main colors: black/purple, red/black, chartreuse, and everglade (natural/neutral)
Resident tarpon flies work well for migratory fish just bumping up a size. Big 3/0 Clousers, sardine flies in the 3-4” range worked well. These fish aren’t picky and if the fly stays in the zone you’ll get an eat.
Bonefish munch anything shrimplike sizes #2 down to #8. Pick your poison and more times than not it’ll work. Minor adjustments are made when we change our depth. Heavier dumbbell eyes for deeper water and bead chain for skinny.
The lodge staff led by Chef Luis charged up another comfortable week with everything running smoothly and setting us up with our normal delicious cuisine.
As I conclude this report, we have workers pouring into the lodge and we’ll power through an impressive list of upgrades. Materials have been gathered in the last couple months ready to bring in stages as we work and weather permitting. We’re very excited and ask you to stay tuned with all that’s happening here at ESB. Along with changes at the lodge we are going to take a step back from a ten-year run of weekly reports that have been highly anticipated at the beginning of each week. We’ll throw in an annual overview and we will be trickling through social media feeds our weekly highlights. You can always call our friends over at The Fly Shop to catch up on the recent intel and they’ll happily bring you up to speed regarding ESB or any other destination that you might be interested in. Pay attention to our sister operation El Saltamontes in Patagonia, Chile. We’re looking forward to another busy season that kicks off in December and runs through the heart of Patagonia summer which translates to end of March.
There’s a lot going on in our neck of the woods and it’s an exciting time for us. One thing that doesn’t change is the uniqueness and beauty Espiritu Santo offers to all saltwater enthusiasts. Whether you’re a seasoned lodge guru looking forward to your annual trip or slip through the cracks with a rare opening, we’ll be here operating full steam ahead. We’re not going anywhere and look forward to seeing everyone on Sundays at our jungle airstrip.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer thus far and tangling with all the wonderful outdoor activities one can possibly endure. Get out as much as you can, embrace mother nature and all her glory. Emphasize conservation locally and globally for us to enjoy for generations to come.
Saludos desde el Caribe Mexicano,
Dane, Chiara, Lucia, Negri, Canela and the entire ESB crew!
800-669-3474 | 530-222-3555 | travel@theflyshop.com | ESB Lodge
