By Jan S. Maizler Article & Travel Editor
Photos By Jan S. Maizler
An Important Note
My travel plans to the Yucatan - especially Quintana Roo State, which includes the stretch from Cancun south to Belize - have never been clouded by personal concerns about the crime or violence so heavily reported about in Mexico. The extensive coverage by the American media fails to make it clear enough that these activities occur in towns far to the north bordering Texas. Since one does not plan travel to Key West based on events in, say, northern Alabama, rest assured that life in the Caribbean Yucatan is comparable to the Florida Keys.
Inspiration for Exotic Angling
In these days, the pursuit for unpressured wild fishing might seem to imply distant shores for traveling shallow water anglers. Yet Boca Paila Fishing Lodge demands we rethink that notion. All it takes is a quick flight to Cancun and then transferring to a spacious air - conditioned van for a two and a half hour scenic drive south and then, you're there - presto. The bulk of the drive is over modern highways featuring flyovers that leapfrog the intersections of places like Playa del Carmen. The remainder of the trip is on a limestone road south of Tulum that features some of the hippest posadas hidden in the mangrove shadows or on coral bluffs perched near the sea.
On our seamless transfer ride, I noticed a distinct analogy between the lodge and the geography of the Florida Keys. Just like south of Florida City, the land south of Tulum peels off from the landmass into a peninsular finger pointing into the sea. In the Keys, the land "ends" in Key West. In the Yucatan, the finger stops at Punta Allen. The beauty of the lodge is that it lies a mere nine miles south of the Tulum arch and offers fishing on an equal footing with the lodges of Punta Allen. In fact, while I fished Boca Paila Lagoon, we witnessed many boats from the south fishing "our" home waters.
Boca Paila Fishing Lodge
This magnificent destination can best be understood as a five-star experience that not only has the focused intimacy, fellowship, and angling program excellence of the best fishing lodges but also offers the beaches, tours, service, activities and cuisine of the finest resorts. You'll find that every one of your desires will be addressed here. Boca Paila is perfect for guests ranging from hard-core anglers to non-fishing individuals, couples, and families. Hike the limitless beach and search for treasures from the sea or perhaps 'yak the gentle surf. If the wind is up, kite surfing is an option. My greatest personal pleasure at the water's edge was to cast the surf at dawn and dusk for the plentiful bonefish, cero mackerel, barracuda, and big blue runners.
Imagine starting your day with a full-bodied coffee and a huge plate of sliced local mango, papaya, and melon. A hot fragrant breakfast of pancakes or an array of differently cooked eggs with bacon and Mexican-style bread is served which will fuel your engine for the morning of flats fishing.
While you dine on your first meal of the day and gaze at the spectacular Caribbean Sea, your guide has already filled his Dolphin skiff with an ice chest full of water, drinks, and plenty of luncheon sandwiches. As you rise from your meal, your skiff awaits you a short walk away across the property on the Lagoon side. It's a pretty impressive sight to see a dozen gleaming skiffs with new Yamaha engines and bow resting bars lined up along a pier whose tip is adorned with a huge palm-thatched roof. And what better feeling to know that a non-angling friend, spouse, or family member is squared away at Boca Paila with a morning of sunbathing, swimming, a massage, and a browse at the Lodge's shop. Perhaps their afternoon might be pleasantly taken up with sightseeing, shopping or exploring the antiquities in nearby Tulum. The more adventure-minded traveler might enjoy a skiff-based eco-tour of swimming with the manatees over the fresh water cenotes in the Lagoon or even running the skiff miles westward into the mangrove bush to encounter and explore a Mayan ruin. I can say that these latter offerings are delightful - as I've done them both.
At the end of the day, you can enjoy a libation before dinner at the lodges' beautifully-sculpted bar, in the sitting room, or on the ocean side patio. I personally enjoyed having one of Francisco's perfectly blended margarita-on-the-rocks as my wife and I walked and waded the surf's edge.
Boca Paila's fishing program is also best evaluated and understood from an organic point of view. The lodge was founded by the Gonzalez family in 1964 and not only has the pedigree of a long history but the hands-on stability of native ownership. Their nine air-conditioned "cabanas" (rooms) hosts 18 rods, either spin or fly. Their angling format boasts twelve guides with the longest seniority of employment in the Yucatan.
The lodge is open year-round, but is generally far south enough to muffle the effects of wintertime cold fronts from the north. In the event of late summer tropical weather, the lodges' perfect geographic placement close to Tulum makes any needed relocation a snap. The lodges' twelve-month seasonality creates the ability to time arrivals based on certain species "peaking." My guide, Alfonso, told me that the snook are very plentiful in the surf at the nearby boca or inlet during the months of September and October. The shallow water species pursued at the lodge are bonefish, tarpon, permit, and snook. In the spirit of fairness, I'd have to add - based on my personal experience - that there are plenty of jacks, ladyfish, snapper, and mackerel as well.
The Fishing
My fishing diary more than suffices to illustrate and document this marvelous fishery.
Sunday afternoon arrival - since I would not be skiff fishing the Lagoon until Monday, I spent the late afternoon casting the gently lapping surf with four-pound spinning and a 1/4 ounce white Spro bucktail jig. My results were 8 large blue runners and numerous cutoffs by large mackerel barely ten feet from my rod tip. I was able to get some wire leader from Chico - the head of their fishing program - for my surf efforts the next dawn. After a fried grouper and broccoli dinner, we turned in.
Monday - in the hour before breakfast, I was able to release more blue runners, a nice bonefish of three pounds, and kept two mackerel, which I took to the lodge kitchen. After I ate, I sped down to my skiff with the excited anticipation of fishing with Alfonso, a truly top guide. I was using six-pound spin and a weighted Crazy Charlie for bonefish. My permit outfit was a nine-foot long steelhead model rod and reel loaded with eight-pound mono. The lure was a tan quarter-ounce Backbone jig. On the flats for six hours, we released ten bonefish to five pounds and a fifteen-pound permit. We finished the day in a deeper channel casting for tarpon: no silver kings, but five more bonefish, lots of jacks, and a four-pound mutton snapper kept for the kitchen.
Tuesday - The early surf gave up three nice bonefish and a big horseye jack, which were released. I also caught another big cero mackerel, which I gave to Francisco for a midday lunch. On the morning trip, I released another five bonefish. Around noon, my wife and I dined on whole grilled snapper and mackerel with salad, tortillas, and lots of glasses of fresh limeade - wonderful! On my request, Alfonso took me back to the deeper flats and channels to cast for tarpon. I was able to release another bonefish, but in the increasing wind it was hard to spot cruising or rolling tarpon.
Wednesday - In the face of winds that were pushing 30 M.P.H., I took the day off. I know Alfonso wanted to go and I'm sure we could have caught fish. But I really wanted a laid-back day of reading, swimming, and beach hiking with my wife. A lunch of fresh-chicken tacos cooked by Mrs. Gonzalez and slathered with a delicate slightly spicy sauce was the highlight of the day.
Thursday - I was back at it with a vengeance. After releasing five more bonefish on the little rod, I was feeling permit fever. Alfonso ran the skiff to the Lagoon side of the boca. I quickly cast to a permit of twenty pounds and it gobbled up the Backbone jig. After releasing the fish, we poled to the northern flat and saw eleven more groups of permit! But in the open with brisk wind, it was hard to get to them. I tried for tarpon again in the same area as the days before and released two more bonefish.
Friday - Upon Alfonso's request, we started an hour early so we could run right into the inlet to fish for more permit. Despite the inlet being capped with sand, this did not stop the permit from trying to get into the ocean. I was able to hook another twenty-pounder out of a school of a hundred fish. After releasing the permit, I insisted to fishing to some pods of barracuda that looked upwards of forty pounds. Try as I might, they would not take the tube lure. After that, we poled along the sheltered flats inside of the boca and I released another five bonefish.
Friday afternoon and Saturday - My wife and I went with guide Eduardo to swim with the manatees and go far into the bush to a Mayan ruin - all of it eco-touring in and out of their super shallow draft skiffs.
During our drive back to Cancun the next day, I spent most of the trip looking back or gazing at the driver's rear-view mirror. Wouldn't you?
Author/writer Jan S. Maizler is CyberAngler's Travel and Article Editor.
Jan is a past IGFA world record holder for bonefish on two-pound test line and permit on four-pound test line. He has caught and released over two thousand bonefish and one thousand tarpon in his angling career. Jan has been fishing in salt water since 1962.
In 1977 he published his first flats fishing book entitled Flats Fishing. Since then, he has written eight books and published hundreds of articles on angling in many leading websites and magazines. His newest book is Fishing Florida's Flats by University Press of Florida.
He has been a long-time angler and resource of Miami's Biscayne Bay, a fishery that offers some of the largest bonefish in the world. Jan has travelled the world over in his angling pursuits. For more information on Jan, search his name, Jan Maizler, on Yahoo.com or Google.com. Read more About Jan.
Author/writer Jan S. Maizler is CyberAngler's Travel and Article Editor.