Just south of the Tropic of Cancer, at approximately 23.5 degrees north latitude, (named nearly 2000 years ago because the sun was in the direction of the Cancer constellation during the June equinox) is the northern tip of the Mexican Yucatan.
The peninsula itself is bordered on the west and north by the Gulf of Mexico and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. On its southern boundary are found Belize and Guatemala. Back in the 70’s and 80’s, it’s man-made tourist attraction of Cancun added to the discovery of fabulous flats fishing to the south, putting it on the radar of fly fishers from all over the world, but especially the US, with the relatively short, easy trip to get there. The Mexican Yucatan covers 44,000 square miles with over 500 miles of coastline – along this vast shoreline are thousands of square miles of shallow bays and flats. It is home of the famous Chicxulub Crater located in the northeastern part of the peninsula marking the impact location of the 6 mile wide meteor that caused it a short 65 million years ago. It is held by some to have contributed, in part, to the demise of Earth’s dinosaurs.
It is the ancient land of the Mayan peoples with many ruins with the towering pyramids dotting the jungles and coastline. Some are still entwined in the jungle undergrowth and some ruins remain as tiny small structures still standing strong against the elements and vandalism. They stand as evidence of the strong thriving civilization of a thousand and more years ago and as a reminder to the Mayan peoples of today, of their heritage.
It is also home to tens of thousands of bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook, snapper and barracuda. The fishing is holding up very well. Some say, in part, due to the rules set down by the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, severely restricting commercial and sport fishing within it’s boundaries. Thousands of sportfishers visit the Mexican Yucatan every year, but there is still remote and secluded fishing to be found where you, your fishing partner and your guide are the only people in sight on a flats miles in length and the next fish you see might be a bonefish, tarpon, permit or a snook. You can’t ask for much more than that.