TURNEFFE FLATS LODGE CLIENT TRIP REPORT
Recently, Yellow Dog client Devan S. and his wife Sarah returned from a fantastic week at Turneffe Flats in Belize. It was Devan’s first saltwater flats trip, and – fishing with guide Mark Hyde – the trip did not disappoint!"This was my first saltwater fishing experience and it was absolutely awesome. Bonefish are truly amazing and their willingness to eat a fly makes them so much fun to target. Permit? …. well that's another thing altogether. It's tough and that's what makes is so much fun to do. It’s sight fishing at its finest, and these fish are super-aware of what’s going on. That means that you definitely have to do your part when you get the shots. If I could offer anyone some advice on booking a trip like this, I would highly encourage you to utilize a specialty booking agency like Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures.
That's who I booked with and it made things super easy and stress free. They know what they're talking about and they are truly a class-act outfit. They pay attention to all the details and make the entire experience special and worry-free. Throughout the entire booking process, I worked with a number of different people on their team, which proved to be super beneficial, as they all had different experiences and skills to share. (They were even happy to take calls on weekends and evenings!) I worried quite a bit about bringing the right flies, but in the end I honestly caught 99% of my bones on a #8 Gotcha pattern that I tied myself (something that made it even more awesome).
I only changed it to try something else for the heck of it. The permit that I did end up feeding and hooking ate a Rag Head crab pattern. Make sure to have a variety of differently weighted flies for fishing at different depths (Lead eyes, bead chain and plastic eyes or none at all). If you're like me, you likely don't have more than one or two saltwater rods. I brought two rod and reel set-ups with me, including an 8 wt. and a 10 wt. with floating saltwater lines. That was good for targeting bones and permit but there are so many other species that I just couldn't pass on that I ended up throwing to all kinds of fish.
Ideally you would have three or four different rod set-ups - rigged and ready at all times. The last thing you want to have happen is to miss a shot at a permit because your 10 wt. was instead set up for tarpon at the time. It happens! Another thing that I would recommend is to trust your guide 100% of the time. The guide will almost always see things that you don’t and knows the water and the area better than you ever will. It was so crazy the first day of two, and very hard for my eyes to pick out fish on the flats and in the shallow water.
During this time, the guide tells you the direction and distance to cast and you simply trust him. He will tell you when and how fast to strip and when the fish eats. Every fish is special even the little guys can take you well into your backing. My wife joined me on this trip and took advantage of the Atoll Adventure snorkeling program offered through the lodge. She had an amazing time as well. Cheers and tight lines." - Devan
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