Fishing Report
June 19 – 26, 2022

ESB guests with Tarpon

Welcome to the Caribbean!

We have experienced a beautiful week at ESB Lodge; good weather accompanied us all week, very light winds and high temperatures gave us a sample of what the tropical summer has in store for us.

Although we had some clouds during the fishing days, precipitation did not accompany and the visibility in the bay was good to great.

We were visited by our friends Roberto Alba, Luciano Alba, Alfredo Carballude, Jim Jackson, Jeff Hewitt, Doug Leyendecker and Richard Smalling – all past guests of ESB.

Man with ESB Permit

All of them are experienced fishermen who did not hesitate to take advantage of the excellent weather conditions.

Roberto and Luciano, father and son, although they focused their efforts on permit in the bay, and had many opportunities, they did not miss the opportunity to land many bonefish, tarpon and barracudas.

Alfredo was the king of the Bonefish this week, losing count of his catches and although he had many opportunities for permit, he did not bring one to hand.

ESB Guide with bonefish

Jeff, with the assistance of Fernando, landed two beautiful permit and many jacks.

Jim, landed five permit for the week, with our guides Marcos Neri and Fernando, it was an excellent week for him!

Doug managed to get two permit with the help of Marcos Neri and enjoy the fauna of the bay, observing manatees and dolphins. Nothing better than using fishing as an excuse to let yourself be immersed in these pristine environments full of life.

Richard measured his strength with a beautiful 6-foot, 130-pound tarpon that unfortunately did not want to pose for a photo, but far from lowering his arms, he managed to land three permit, two with Alex’s careful instructions and one more with Fernando.

Man with ESB Permit

We closed the week with a total of 12 permit to hand with 7 anglers, which brings our season numbers to 325 permits with 151 guests!

Flies:
This week we did not have great variations with respect to previous weeks in terms of the flies chosen by the fish.

Bonefish continue to eat shrimp and small crab patterns on #2 through #8 hooks.

Man with ESB Permit

Permit, continue to choose the usual – flexo in small and medium sizes, Casa Blanca with and without yellow eyes (really the discussions about the little or much effectiveness of yellow eyes is far from over), shrimp and this week what really got me my attention was that we saw a permit attack a Popper on the surface. We consulted with the guides and they told me that it’s not uncommon, gentlemen, I think the game has a new variant that should be thoroughly investigated, it can be very fun.

Man with ESB Permit

The tarpon and snook I suspect are buying shares of the EP company.

Barracudas are happily attacking not only bright poppers but almost entirely flash laced streamers.

Weather
This week our weather was very good with totally or partially sunny days with very few clouds, no heavy rains and high temperatures. Winds were between 8 and 14 mph, always from the east, giving quick access to the entire bay with short run times.

The tides were quite stable, with a rise or fall usually at noon, helping to define the fishing strategies of each day.

Man with ESB Permit

This was our last week for the first half of the season. We will be busy working on projects around the lodge and servicing our skiffs for the second half of our season starting August 7th.

Man with ESB Permit

On a personal note, I would like to highlight and thank the excellent work of all our staff members. They are hardworking people that keep their sense of humor even in the most challenging of times, all in an effort to best serve our friends and guests. Well done ESB Team!

Excellent and well-deserved vacations for Freddy, Pancho, Luis, Emanuel, Alex, Marcos, Victor, Pepe, Fernando, Isabel and Carlo.

I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks with more tales (tails) of adventures at ESB!

Man with ESB Permit

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 Maya 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 ESB Lodge Family.

ESB Group Shot