Tarpon Nirvana

TARpon Nirvana

by Dylan Rose

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The fertile mangrove edges at Tarpon Cay Lodge can yield some breathtaking encounters.

Photo: Dylan Rose

Tarpon Nirvana

T

he full dynamic expression of chasing fish with flies can be As the winter winds subside and the building ridges of high pressure witnessed on a single day targeting juvenile tarpon. From the begin to flood the northern Yucatan with sunshine in May, the baby explosive top water annihilation of a gurgler skimming along tarpon activate and venture out of the mangroves and onto the fertile the surface, to the deliberate pulsing throb of a Sardina pattern flats surrounding Tarpon Cay. Roving packs of 5-15 lb. tarpon ply the being engulfed in deep water, these prehistoric oxygen breathing fish can shallow waters gorging on sardines and shrimp throughout the spring send an angler’s adrenaline into overdrive and set their drag systems ablaze. and summer.

Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula offers visiting anglers the most prolific Anglers outfitted with fast action 8 and 9 weight rods keep a sharp juvenile tarpon waters found anywhere on the planet. Whipper-snappers eye out for nervous water and rolling fish. From the casting decks of cusin the 2-5 lb. range begin their predatory life in the fertile mangrove tomized 18ft pangas, anglers armed with floating lines and 2/0 baitfish or eco-systems, rivers, lagoons and cenotes that inundate the coastshrimp patterns stand ready to speedily presal waters surrounding the peninsula. As the juvenile ent a fly to rolling fish. Baby tarpon from as fish mature so does their insatiable apfew as two or three individuals to as many as petite and those 5 lb babies quickly will one-hundred seem to blanket the flats at times. turn into 50 lb predators. As they grow As small bands of brilliant pink flamingos glide into a creature worthy of the Latin name low across the flats against a perfect Mexican sky, Megalops Atlanticus one fact remains, their the scene could best be described as Tarpon Nirvana. inexhaustible willingness to silently slide up to a fly pattern and At times the game can become more about the Tequila Popper crush it with all of their might. Two amazing operations on the challenge of jumping as many tarpon as possible as opposed to northern portion of the Yucatan have developed unique programs to speactually landing them. Their brutally hard mouths repel even the sharpest cifically target these remarkable fish with a fly. hooks with amazing proficiency. Surface flies stripped quickly will gurgle and pop their way across open water and at times it seems these baby Tarpon Cay Lodge brawlers will crawl over each other to eat your top water offering. NeutralThe rich azure blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the charming villy buoyant fly patterns tied with spun deer hair or bits of foam smoothly lage of San Felipe set the scene for an excursion to Tarpon Cay Lodge. glide over short bunches of dark colored turtle grass and a well positioned Each morning a small band of women awake at 4am to sweep the streets cast to feeding fish almost always draws attention. The black golden hue with handmade brooms, making San Felipe the cleanest Mexican townof their backs perfectly matches the color of the bottom making it nearly ship you’ll ever see and one of the best kept secrets in all of Mexico. impossible to see them through the water. Luckily for us, happy tarpon The diverse tarpon fishery takes advantage of two major biosphere preswim along gulping breaths of air and slashing at bait. serves, the Parque Natural San Felipe stretching 20 miles to the west and Throughout the summer the scene replays itself under ideal condiRio Lagartos stretching some 30 miles to the east. This incredibly rich tions when the mercury rises and calm winds settle in. As fall approaches, eco-system offers the most well-rounded, interesting and productive baby opportunities for larger migratory fish arise. Long runs from the lodge tarpon fishery found anywhere in the world. with fingers crossed for calm weather may yield fish to 100 lbs or even

“This incredibly rich eco-system offers the most well-rounded, interesting and productive baby tarpon fishery found anywhere in the world.”

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Tarpon Nirvana larger. During this time of year Tarpon Cay Lodge may be the only deswould deem that the tarpon would be tough to find. It was hard to deny tination in the world where one can experience the joy of tarpon fishing the sinking feeling in my gut that the outlook was not good. Luckily for with encounters at every stage of their life cycle. With tarpon available us, however, it would only be a couple of hours before I’d find out just from 8 inch babies to 150 lb behemoths, their whole life cycle is on dishow wrong my intuition was. play during the late summer and fall.

The guides peered down at their hand-held GPS units and instructed Few things make traveling anglers happier than the split shift fishus to sit tight as our morning fishing location was dialed in. We were posiing program at Tarpon Cay Lodge. Each morning the fishing day begins tioned about 2 miles off shore and the distant green jungle of the shoreline around 6am and extends to about 11am. After the morning session, anwas barely visible through the sodden mist. Broken bits of eel grass dotted glers have an opportunity to crack open a cold cerveza during the heat of the surface and peering down through the black water I could see the botthe day while relaxing back at the lodge. For lunch, guests enjoy a fabutom about 10 feet below. My instincts continued to tell me that this was lous home-cooked Mexican meal and afterwards indeed going to be just-one-of-those-days and most will doze off for an afternoon siesta in the that we would be licking our wounds at dinner, cool bliss of their air conditioned rooms. There is fishless with a cold cerveza in hand and dreaming time to mend tackle or tie flies ahead of the evening of what could have been. fishing session which kicks in to high gear by 3pm.

As the morning drizzle began to subside, the Anglers will fish through the evening sunset and water flattened into a silky smooth surface. Our typically arrive back at the lodge around 7pm for cocktails guide Sam slipped the small panga along the deep flat. I Tarpon Cay Lodge Special and dinner. was certain my eyes were deceiving me as far off on the The casual atmosphere, skilled guides and insanely productive fishhorizon we began seeing large tarpon launching themselves clear out of ing are all hallmarks of this small but polished operation. When I close the water. It was almost easier to see the massive white splash against the my eyes and think of Tarpon Cay Lodge I see a 20 lb tarpon piercing the grey sky as they hit the surface than the fish themselves. Nervous laughter calm of dusk by erupting on a popper and launching itself five feet in spread across the deck of the boat as we poled ever closer to what looked the air — all while silhouetted against a perfectly golden Yucatan sunset. like the happiest tarpon in the world. As we quietly continued to head At Tarpon Cay Lodge this is the reality and the experience is one you’ll towards the busting fish Sam destroyed the rather peaceful anticipation never forget. by hollering out, “Fish coming! 9’ o’clock! They coming! Now! NOW!” I looked over to see a school of 50 tarpon rolling and splashing their way Isla Del Sabalo directly towards the boat like a pack of Friday night teenagers, high fiving their way down Main Street.

It had been nearly 6 months since paying clients had fished the waters sur My fishing partner Rob brilliantly uncorked a 70 foot cast towards rounding Isla Del Sabalo and an unusually gray and gloomy May mornthe frolicking beasts and in an instant a 40 lb tarpon was on and airing hung thick in the air. As our small two boat regatta set out from the borne. After the initial bursts of thrilling leaps and runs Rob’s screaming lodge, we squinted through the dribbling rain on our way out to the flats.

Abel reel began to quiet down and the fish settled in for a long dogfight.

It seemed that the weather gods were not on our side this day and that fate

“Nervous laughter spread across the deck of the boat as we poled ever closer to what looked like the happiest tarpon in the world.”

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Left: The bulletproof face of a Tarpon Cay Lodge juvenile tarpon. Right column top: Rob reachesTarpon Nirvana at Isla Del Sabalo. Right column middle left: A simple beach front cottage at Isla Del Sabalo. Right column middle right: The evening fishing session at Tarpon Cay Lodge can provide for some spectacular scenery. Right column bottom: A 30 lber tail walks just moments after inhaling a sardina pattern at Isla Del Sabalo. Photos: Dylan Rose Page 65

“Hands down, the best tarpon catching I’ve ever seen or heard of. You need to lie about how good this was because nobody will believe us!”

Looking up from the viewfinder of my camera I noticed that both anescapes the pressure and scene associated with life near a larger town. The glers in our partner boat were hooked up and I flashed them an excited operation is extremely remote, which becomes very apparent on the drive fist-pump. They appropriately responded with exuberant double thumbsin from Merida. Small, winding single lane roads course through a maze up and their laughter and exclamations were barely audible over Rob’s of ancient Mayan villages and towns. Once you arrive at the lodge, even schoolboy giggles. the nearest gas station is over two hours away.

It wasn’t long before tarpon were visible in all di It’s hard to know if the amazing action we experections and as soon as we released one fish, another rienced at Isla Del Sabalo was just random good was quickly hooked up. It was truly one fish on after luck or simply the outcome of fishing unpressured another for the better part of 6 straight hours. The action was, at waters in a very remote setting. The lodge is only times, so furious that on three separate occasions I lost big fish during entering its 5th year of operation and as a result there is still the fight, only to have another one grab the fly as I continued much to be explored — especially since relatively few anglers Megalopsicle my retrieve. On another cast I watched as four separate fish have visited when compared to Tarpon Cay Lodge. Two things engulfed my Tequila Popper at different times during the same are certain however, the fact that I will never in my life forget retrieve before I was finally able to drive the hook home on the fifth. the spectacular fishing we experienced last May, and the fact that I will The lodge owner Marco sensed that we were all experiencing a very definitely be back for more. special morning of fishing and hollered over to us, “My friends, this is Conclusions NOT normal! Enjoy it while you can!” We certainly took his advice. After more than forty 20-50 lb tarpon were hooked by our boat alone; we sat The northern Yucatan’s beauty will steal your breath away and the bountiour drained bodies down on the seats of the panga and cried, “No Mas!” ful opportunities to target juvenile tarpon with a fly are an angler’s dream.

In a note sent to me after we returned home Rob perfectly summed up There is simply no better way for one to get acquainted with tarpon than the experience by saying, “Hands down, the best tarpon catching I’ve ever a trip to Tarpon Cay Lodge or Isla Del Sabalo (or both on the same trip). seen or heard of. You need to lie about how good this was because nobody While the tackle, techniques, fly patterns and rigging strategies for these will believe us!” fish are not overly complex, there are some key aspects of the game that The beauty of Isa Del Sabalo lies in its simplicity. Anglers reside in will become apparent on one of these trips. A single week will jump basic, air conditioned beach cabanas, with two beds, a table and a private start your learning curve and give you the confidence to target tarpon bathroom. Each morning the pangas are loaded and beach launched in front anywhere you may find them. Their dazzling aerial displays, willingness of the property, mere steps away from your room. Meals are served under a to eat a well presented fly and brute strength will give anglers accustomed large central palapa and consist of down-home Mexican comfort food. The to a dedicated bonefish trip a refreshing change-of-pace. If you’ve not guides, while not adept at English, are very experienced and are brilliant booked a Yucatan trip focused solely on baby tarpon then it’s about time, at working with the needs of fly anglers in relation to their casting angles because to steal a line from the great Warren Miller, “you’ll only be one and the wind. Located about 50 km north of Campeche, Isla Del Sabalo year older when you do.”

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How to Get There

Flights to/from Cancun or Merida. Transportation to the lodges are by air conditioned van. The drive takes approximately 2.5-4 hours.

When to Go Resident baby tarpon are readily available in April and last throughout September. Bigger migratory fish are around starting in mid-August through mid-October.

Tackle & Technique Most of the fishing is accomplished with 8 and 9 weights.

Tropical floating lines are the standard with a few instances where clear sinking intermediates or light sink-tips are useful. Fly patterns in 1/0 and 2/0 are considered the “norm” with special attention to gurglers, poppers and floating shrimp.

TCL Specials, Enrico Puglisi baitfish patterns, Cockroach variations, and various Tarpon Toads are also effective. Patterns that emulate Sardinas and smaller baitfish are must haves as well. For larger migratory fish, patterns tied on hooks up to 4/0 are standard.

Fly Patterns Tequila Popper Tarpon Cay Lodge Special Megalopsicle

Dylan and Rob are all grins with one of many “doubles” this morning at Isla Del Sabalo. Photo: Dylan Rose

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