Fishing Report #25
August 11 – 18, 2024
Welcome to the Caribbean
In a small Mayan village, located at the foot of a large mountain, lived two brothers named Ixkik and Ajpu. They were known for their dedication and skill in growing corn, the sacred plant that fed their entire community. For years, they worked tirelessly, tending the fields, respecting the cycles of the moon and sun, and offering ceremonies to the Gods to ensure good harvests.
However, after many years of hard work, the brothers began to notice that their strength was waning. Despite their dedication, both felt increasingly exhausted. It was then that the village elder, a wise man named K’uk’ulkan, advised them to take some time to rest, away from the farmland. “The body and spirit need to renew their energies, just as the land needs to rest before it is sown again,” he told them.
Although reluctant at first, Ixkik and Ajpu understood the wisdom in the elder’s words. They decided to move away from their land and traveled to the Mountain of the Winds, a sacred place known for its calmness and the purity of its air. There, the brothers built a small hut where they would spend their time in rest, meditation and communion with nature.
During several cycles of the moon, Ixkik and Ajpu let the gentle mountain breeze purify their spirits. Each day, they climbed to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise, letting the sun fill them with new energy. They gathered wild fruits and drank from the crystal clear springs that flowed down the slopes. They spent time reflecting on their lives, listening to the song of the birds and the rustle of the trees, allowing their hearts to be filled with peace.
One night, during a meditation, the brothers had a vision together. In their dreams, the Corn Gods, Yum Kaax and Ixchel, appeared to them and spoke to them: “The rest you have taken has renewed not only your bodies, but also your souls. Now you are ready to return to your land, but this time with greater wisdom. Remember that everything in life needs balance, and that work must be followed by rest, just as night follows day.”
With their hearts filled with gratitude and renewed strength, Ixkik and Ajpu decided to return home. Upon arriving at the village, they were greeted with joy by their neighbors, who had noticed the brothers’ absence and had missed them deeply.
The brothers resumed cultivating their fields, but this time with a new attitude. They alternated days of intense work with days of rest and reflection. Each planting season was followed by ceremonies and celebrations in which they thanked the Gods for the energy they had received. Thanks to this balance, harvests were once again abundant and the people prospered as never before.
The story of Ixkik and Ajpu became an example for everyone in the community, reminding them that, to be truly productive and happy, it is essential to find a balance between work and rest. Thus, the brothers lived many more years, always remembering the importance of taking time to recharge, and facing each new challenge with the best attitude and a renewed spirit.
Just like the brothers Ixkik and Ajpu, the great ESB family took a well-deserved break to return with renewed energy and continue providing the best experience we can create for our guests. Chet, Glen, Troy, Bill,John, Clark, Marc, and Todd were the first to visit us in this second part of our season and receive the ESB experience.
Fishing
The start of our first day of fishing, after long weeks of not plying the waters of Espiritu Santo Bay, was everything you could ask for: light winds, bright sunshine and the bay’s inhabitants showing up everywhere. So it was that Clark and Troy were the first to put up “permits” on the scoreboard for the week; Todd and Chet feasted on fish catching snook, tarpon, bonefish and a long etcetera. While Bill, who was having his first experience in saltwater fishing, followed the recommendations of his buddies and our guide, having his first experiences with strong bonefish that showed him that this type of fishing is a one-way street. For his part, Glenn started with a strong bet and went in search of his Super Grand Slam. Fate seemed to be on his side with some bonefish, snook and tarpon in his catch book; he just lacked the much desired permit. Our guide spotted a school, they prepared the strategy, Glenn made a precise and smooth cast, the fly fulfilled its purpose and managed to fool the elusive wahoo. Perfect dive, and the duel between the two began: run to the right, run to the left, Glenn applying all his experience to anticipate his opponent’s movements, and in the distance, a dark shadow began to follow his opponent. At first it appeared to be another curious permit who was just investigating what all the fuss was about, but without warning, that dark shadow showed part of its dark back with its distinctive dorsal fin at the very moment it rushed over the desperate permit, and that was how a large specimen of shark ended Glenn’s illusions.
Tuesday began with some threatening, but scattered clouds that left us with some moderate showers over the lodge, but not in the bay. The gray skies became more generalized as the hours went by, denying the precious shadows to our guides and giving that impenetrable silver tone to the shallow waters of the bay. With these conditions, the permit had an advantage and finding them early enough to capitalize on the casts became a difficult task, but the snook and bonefish took on the challenge of delivering a dose of adrenaline to our enthusiastic anglers, and they more than met it.
Our third day of fishing greeted us with idyllic weather: almost no wind, calm seas, bright sunshine and high expectations for the day, which did not disappoint at all. Clark started off with a Grand Slam, Troy followed it up with a Super Grand Slam, Bill continued to add new species to the list of catches of his life, such as snook.
Thursday was another dream day, with higher temperatures than the previous day, and that was felt by all of us. But it wasn’t enough for John and Todd to add new permit to their scoreboards, and the menu of catches that day was completed with tarpon, snook, bonefish and barracuda, another great day in the bay.
Friday was another idyllic day, almost no winds, bright sunshine and calm seas. The snook, bonefish and tarpon were the stars of the day, giving a show of jumps and acrobatics to our guests, while the permits were seen in large numbers, but seemed to be immune to the lures presented to them.
Before we knew it, the start of the last day of fishing found us all wanting more. Despite the accumulated fatigue from five truly intense days of fishing and the high temperatures, everyone gave it their all, and it paid off. Glenn ended his week with a well-deserved Super Grand Slam; Mark scored another permit for the week; Bill closed out his first week in saltwater by catching most of the bay’s species and backpacking tons of experience that will no doubt form the basis of his future successful fishing trips. Chet and Troy went in search of migratory tarpon, they found them and their lines were responsible for denying them the victory, but they were not discouraged and, even with that handicap, they kept trying, managing to fool several of them, but without landing any of them, leaving them a lot of anecdotes and stories that were the main course of the dinner.
As you can see, we had an excellent first week of our second part of the 2024 season, with the desire and intention that all our weeks will be like this. We look forward to welcoming our next eight guests.
Weather
A week of very light winds, some clouds and bright sunshine were the general framework of each day. The light winds remained between 5 and 11 mph, always coming from the east. Tides were absolutely predictable and marked.
Flies
Permit, the variety of flies that accepted willingly this week included the classic shrimp and crab imitations.
Tarpon and Snook, black and purple, white and red or white and chartreuse EP streamers were favored by these two species.
Bonefish, the bay ghosts remain susceptible to shrimp and small baitfish imitations on #6 and #8 hooks.
See you next week with a new report 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 ESB Family
800-669-3474 | 530-222-3555 | travel@theflyshop.com | ESB Lodge
