Isla del Sabalo - The Yucatan's Final Tarpon Frontier

Isla del Sabalo The Yucatan’s final tarpon frontier

by Dylan Rose

T

A typical river tarpon. Photo: Dylan Rose

he pre-dawn light was dreary and gray. A humid fog stuck to our lungs and coated our skin. We sipped our coffee and eyeballed the interminable cloud layer that would certainly make seeing fish impossible. Our prospects were bleak.

When Isla del Sabalo owner and lodge host, Marco Ruz, joined us on the beach, he had a sly glint in his eye. Our fishing outlook, he informed us, was perfect for an amazing day of chasing his beloved tarpon. For tarpon fishing at Isla del Sablao, it’s more important to have a glassy, calm surface, he said, than to be able to see through the water column.

The air was eerily still as we set out in the panga. It wasn’t yet dawn. The water was steely gray and created a perfectly mirrored surface that was so reflective we could have used it for a shave. We began scanning for fish in the deafening silence; the only thing I could hear was my own breath. After 30 minutes, our guide’s voice shattered the silence. As he pointed to the horizon he hollered, “Sabalo ahi! There amigos!”

About a quarter mile away, I caught the flash of water splashing in the air. Something had broken the surface; somePAGE 20

thing large. We puttered over to the scene of the action and as Sam, our guide, killed the engine, the deathly silence and stillness set in once again. After an endless hour, we wondered if our eyes had betrayed us; perhaps we had made the whole thing up.

Finally, my fishing partner, Rob, broke the spell, “There they are!”

Rob scrambled for his rod, buried in the gunnel of the boat. The large school of silver kings frolicked towards us like puppies set loose in a fresh green meadow and time stopped.

Rob’s fly line went sailing towards the fish and he barely had time to make the first strip before a hungry tarpon engulfed his fly. The fish jumped into the air as though an explosive had been dropped in the water.

For the next six hours, we witnessed awe-inspiring tarpon action. Waves of aggressive fish moved passed us every ten minutes and as soon as one fish was lost another was hooked.

On one occasion six different fish ate the fly on a single retrieve. Like punch-drunk teens, we giggled and untangled our blending fly lines from multiple double hook-ups.

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YUCATAN’S ISLA DEL SABALO By the end of the melee, we had hooked around forty tarpon. Our equipment was damaged, our bodies were broken, and our hands were mush. Eventually, we had had enough and told Sam, “No mas señor. Take us home for a siesta! ”

The Island of Tarpon & Marco Ruz Isla del Sabalo or, the “Island of Tarpon,” is located approximately 60 miles north of Campeche on the western coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. The lodge resides in the small and rustic commercial fishing village of Isla Arena which is home to approximately 750 residents. Life in Isla Arena is a throwback to old Mexico. With nearly zero tourism, the locals struggle to make a living, fishing for sea cucumber, octopus, sea urchin, and snapper. The lodge is the closest jumping off point for some of the world’s most prolific and remote stretches (Isla Arena to Campeche) of juvenile tarpon water found anywhere.

While suitable for tarpon-addicted fly anglers, Isla del

Sabalo is not a place to bring the family or non-fishing guests.

The lodge functions as a small, no-frills camp with a maximum of six guests. The atmosphere is laid back and casual.

The pangas are launched from the beach and appetizers are enjoyed in plastic chairs. The important aspects to keep anglers comfortable are accounted for and rooms feature air conditioning, private bathrooms and warm water.

Marco Ruz owns Isla del Sabalo as well as Tarpon Cay Lodge. We are proud to have worked closely with Marco for over a decade. Few owner/operators in the industry show as much dedication, passion and enthusiasm for fisheries as Marco. A Cancun native, he knew that the areas well north of Campeche, near Isla Arena, were relatively untapped and rarely fished. His explorations over the years had proved that prolific populations of juvenile tarpon could be found in the area and that fisheries were just out of reach of the guides hailing out of Campeche.

Marco eventually found a lodge to partner with and has been developing the operation and fishery for the last six years.

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YUCATAN’S ISLA DEL SABALO

The Name of the Game

depending on conditions, about seventy percent of the time is spent casting at rolling fish or sub-surface “pushes” while the Certainly, the name of the game is tarpon, tarpon, and more other time may be spent blind casting. At times the guides will tarpon. The resident fish live here year-round and the fishing get a “fishy” feeling in a certain location and ask you to blind season starts in May and extends through September. These cast, but for the most part, they understand that many anglers months offer warm waters, lots of encounters with fish and are eager to target fish they can see so they work to accommolow winds. Each morning anglers set out from the beach in date sight fishing the best they can. front of camp in 18-foot panga-style skiffs where they explore Eight weight and nine weight rods are the standard tools twelve major (and numerous smaller) estuaries south of the of the trade with high-quality saltwater reels and 50-pound lodge. The area is massive, which, at times, can make finding shock tippets minimum. Whether you fish difficult. At other times, locating schools is inevitable. are fishing the rivers and mangrove edg Ideal tidal conditions exist during high es or out on the exterior flats, guides pretide in the very early morning. As the fer tropical, weight-forward floating lines water begins to drain, 8 to 25-pound (non-shooting head style). Flies tend towards fish exit the mangroves through the river the smaller size, ranging from size 2–2/0. Baitsystems, allowing anglers to target them while they Tequila Popper fish patterns, shrimp imitations, and poppers are are hungry and moving out to the flats to feed. The all standard fare.

The fish can move quickly and sometimes a prime fishing window usually occurs between 7 am and 10 cast of 70 or 80 feet is required to give yourself a shot. Good am. After lunch, as the tides begin to flood, the fish move back casters with a stout double-haul, good accuracy and skills to up the rivers for the safety of the mangroves. This creates a deal with the wind will be rewarded with more hookups. It’s second prime fishing window each day. For this reason, Marco been said that, the baby tarpon fisheries of the Yucatan are a only operates Isla del Sabalo during weeks that feature these “caster’s game.” If you enjoy casting, consider yourself a profitidal conditions. Essentially, if you are booked at the lodge on cient distance caster or are up for a casting challenge than this one of the five prime weeks you are guaranteed to be fishing is your sport. the best tides.

The guides are skilled boatman with keen eyes for finding The usual game involves ambushing fish moving up and tarpon and sensitive to the needs of fly anglers; however, their down the river systems as they either set out from the manEnglish skills are minimal. The better your Spanish, the better groves to feed (outgoing tide) or head back to the mangroves you’ll be able to communicate. Most guides are proficient with to rest (incoming tide). At other times, the guides will pole direction and distance; however, communicating this in the quietly along the mangrove edges, waiting for fish to roll and heat of the moment can be a challenge for them. Anglers that show themselves. When conditions are very calm and the are more self-sufficient on the bow of the boat with some tarwind is dead, some shots at larger migratory fish can also be pon experience will excel. available from one-to-two miles offshore. These fish can range from 20 to 50 pounds. In order to find the fish, you must be The Cradle able to see them roll from extreme distances. For this reason, The vast ecosystem surrounding Isla Arena and extending south the outside game can be a boom or bust proposition. Howevto Campeche remains among the most fertile and untouched er, if you do find the fish, hold onto your hat. tarpon habitat found in the world. The entire coastline is a All of the fishing is from the boat with a single guide blur of creeks, rivers, mangrove foests and islands that serve to and fishing partners will trade time on the bow. On average,

“It’s been said that, the baby-tarpon fisheries of the Yucatan are a “caster’s game.” If you enjoy casting, consider yourself a proficient distance caster or are up for a casting challenge than this is your sport.”

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Top: Sunrise and flies. Middle: The author and Rob Ramsay with a deep-water double. Bottom: A bright juvenile tarpon and a cozy room 1-800 -552-2729 PAGE 23 at Isla del Sabalo. Photos: Dylan Rose

YUCATAN’S ISLA DEL SABALO

“After our incredible experience at Isla del Sabalo, Rob summed it up beautifully: “Hands down,” he said, “the best tarpon catching I’ve ever seen or ever heard of.” create a massive estuary, ideally suited to grow baby tarpon.

Every square inch of the mangrove forest is teeming with life, from crustaceans to shrimp to baitfish. A veritable cornucopia of life fills these waters and powers a biosphere perfect for rearing tarpon.

This remote, yet comfortable and isolated tarpon camp is where serious anglers enjoy casual surroundings, down-home Mexican meals, an off-the-beaten-path adventure and access to some of the best juvenile tarpon water found anywhere. Isla del

Sabalo is a uniquely small operation that places only three boats on the water at one time with little fishing pressure from outside operations. Whether you have given baby tarpon a try and are simply looking for something new, or if you’re a relative newbie looking to improve your knowledge and skill, Isla del Sabalo offers a tarpon universe ripe for exploration and adventure.

After our incredible experience at Isla del Sabalo, Rob summed it up beautifully: “Hands down,” he said, “the best tarpon catching I’ve ever seen or ever heard of.”

Notes

Travel: Anglers fly into Merida, Mexico. Guests usually spend their first night in Merida. A lodge representative transfers guests by van approximately two and a half hours to the lodge in Isla Arena.

Season: May through September Capacity: Six anglers Essential Tackle: 8 to 9-weight rods with a weight-forward, floating tropical lines.

Top Flies: Megalopsicle, Enrico Puglisi Tarpon Streamer, Tarpon Cay Lodge Special, Morrish Tequila Popper Rate: $3,775 per person for a 7 night/6 day package

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Top: A simple table setting overlooking the sea. Bottom:1-800 Typical juvenile tarpon. Photos: Isla del Sabalo and Dylan Rose -552-2729

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