THE INN AT ROBERT'S GROVE
THE FISHING
Robert's Grove is located on the Placencia Peninsula about an hours flight from Belize City. The fishing grounds in this area are varied and vast. The guides will range east and south depending on the species you want and what the weather dictates. Most of the fishing is within 45 minutes of the lodge but there are some days where an hour trip may be worthwhile as well. The guides will stay out form dawn to dusk until they get you what you want. It is one of the few lodges with guides that almost make you stay out longer than you want.
Traveling down the coast south you will encounter creeks, rivers, lakes an lagoons that have tarpon fishing year round. The fish range from 5-100 pounds. It is a maze of channels that will have you lost in no time. This type of fishing is best early and late as tarpon are rolling and feeding. Rather than the flats fishing around Ambergris Caye this is less sighting of the body of the fish and more sighting of the surface activity of the fish. It involves a lot of accuracy casting at the mangrove pockets and overhangs. Nothing like a big tarpon slowly finning 50 feet in front of you to get your heart going early in the morning. Who needs the coffee! Traditional tarpon flies or more natural looking bait fish patterns are used. The guides will usually head out for bones or permit as the sun gets a littl
e higher.
Permit are available year round as well with flats around all the islands in the area. On a fairly calm day you will see permit 100 yards away, on a choppy day they may not show themselves until it is too late. There are more permit the further south you go and the guides may head south towards Punta Gorda if the conditions are right. This is the best permit fishing in the world bar none. Still permit fishing is not exactly fast action. You might cast to 10 permit in a day with not a single bit of interest from any of them while the next day one races 15 feet to gulp it in. There is no explaining the fickleness of these fish. We will see schools of 20 fish as well as singles, double and everything in between.
One thing for sure is that you will see permit. They range from 5-40 pounds throughout the region. Bring some Del's Merkin in a few different sizes and weights and most successful permit anglers swear they smell glue, so if you tie your own forget the glue. They won't last as long but it since you are not making a lot of casts they don't have to. Once hooked these guys are powerful with there wide bodies making them fell much heavier than 
they are. Permit are the hardest species to catch. Once you get one to the boat it is off to a bonefish ( piece of cake) and then the afternoon tarpon to grab a grand slam.
Bonefish are located around certain islands scattered of the coast. They average 3 pounds with some large specimens on the deeper edges with the permit. There is not much wading here and not as many bonefish as there are further north around the Turneffe Islands or Ambergris Caye. None the less it is still excellent bonefishing. The fish seem to be in large schools so it is not uncommon to be able to hook a bunch in an hour once you have located one of these big schools. The singles and doubles along the edges of flats will be the largest fish up to 8 pounds.
All in all the best reason to fish here is the permit and tarpon and the fact that the guides stay out so long. There is a bit more travel time to the grounds than at most lodges but the variety that gives you is unbeatable. Add to that the nicest accommodations and cuisine in Belize, the diving, tennis, pools, hot tubs, kayaks, sailboats etc and you can bring everyone in your family and they will think you are a hero.
We can customize the trip around you and your family or friends. If you want to fish every other day and spend the other days with your family it is no problem. There is some excellent snorkeling around some of the permit areas with coral edges teeming with beautiful fish and exotic coral. This keep Lisa busy sometimes when she goes out and tires of staring at permit. She will hop in and snorkel while we pole down the flat. She is happy and so am I, Fly Fishing Heaven Placencia Style
BELIZE!
THE INN AT ROBERT'S GROVE
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