Ascension Bay
Trip Description
Ed Blank's ADVENTURES on the Fly offers 2 types of adventures to the Sian Kaan Biosphere. The first is a lodge based trip where we travel to the flats in boats and return to the lodge each day. The second is a unique camping trip to the south side of the outer bay from a tent camp on a picturesque deserted island in the middle of the world's best bonefish flats. Nonfishing guests are entertained on both adventures.
Both trips begin with your arrival at the airport in Cancun. Depending on your travel plans we will meet you up at the airport and head south along the Caribbean coast on Highway 307. Perhaps we will stop to get some lunch or dinner along the way in Playa Del Carmen. Remember, the last place to buy anything or pick up extra cash is in Playa Del Carmen, a cute seaside town. Many people fall in love with this beach town as it hasn't lost its local charm. Very often people will spend a couple of days based in Playa before or after their fishing adventure.
After an hour and a half on 307 we pass The famous Tulum Archeological site and turn down a dirt road that leads to the Sian Kaan Biosphere along the Punta Allen peninsula. Before long the road deteriorates to the point that we virtually stop to crawl over some huge pot holes! There is jungle vegetation either side of us with an occasional glimpse of the Caribbean on our left or the lagoon on our right. We enter the Biosphere and the road gets worse (but this keeps most people away).
Another hour finds us passing a military check point and they may or may not search our van, in general they are looking for weapons or drugs - so don't bring any of either!! The next landmark is The Boca Paila Fishing Lodge and the Boca Paila cut that divides the peninsula and creates an island for the rest of our journey. Finally after bouncing around in the van while passing several views of long deserted beaches we enter Punta Allen the small lobstering village of 300 which is our base of operations.
Lodge Trips
The fisherman will meet right after breakfast at the dining room and head out for a long d
ay of bonefishing. Sometimes the weather dictates where we go other times a calm day means we can go anywhere! There are flats just a few minutes
from the lodge and some of the most spectacular flats near the Tres Marias islands are about 45 minutes away. The flats are perfect h
ard bottom shallow flats that are perfect for wading. They are very light in color and stretch out for miles. Wading allows both anglers in the boat to fish and gets us closer to the fish. The flies we use tend to be lighter versions of the typical bonefish flies. These fish hang out in very thin water so sometimes no weight at all is best. Brown or pink seen to be the hot colors with tan and white a close second!
The flats on the north side are softer bottom flats, the bottom has 2"-3" of silt and grass but still very wadeable. We will spend the week in a Zen like trance looking for that "tell tale tail", or just the slightest hint of a wake that indicates a cruising fish, or the easy one - a fish feeding in such shallow water it's whole back is out of the water! Sighting the fish is the first challenge the sooner you see it the sooner you can prepare to cast. If you don't move, a bonefish swim between your legs but make a casting motion and you'll spook the same fish at 30 feet!
Camping Trips
Bringing our Alaska float trip experience to the Caribbean has allowed us to create an adventure found no where else. These are week lon
g, extended camping trips in the middle of the million acre Sian Kaan U.N. preserve. Imagine waking up on a small palm filled sand island with a mile long bonefish flat for some early morning fishing. Stalk a bone, watch the sunrise and come back to camp for breakfast! Camping on the flats allow each angler to fish as much or as li
ttle as they want. It also allows us to spend allot more time fishing on the best flats rather than traveling to these flats which are an hour from the lodge.
In keeping with the purpose and use restrictions of the preserve we hire local guides and staff and treat this fragile area with the utmost respect. . We have seen bonefish feeding holes, deer tracks and jaguar prints all on the same flat. The menu consists of wonderful Mayan cuisine with lots of seafood (special diets can be accommodated) and vegetables. The Mayan food is much more gentle than other cuisine found in Mexico. Purified water is brought with us, a fresh water shower is set up in camp, private latrine facilities, cots, tents, tables all in all the most comfortable camping available.
W e will have a boat or two in camp to travel daily to the outlying flats. After breakfast we will hop in the boats and move to our most promising flat of the morning. We also keep kayaks in camp to give you a little more range for after hours fishing. You can wade for miles in this area without ever going over your waist! Wading allows us all to fish and we can get much closer to the fish than you can poling in a boat. On a tarpon day you may find yourself being poled through creeks and lagoons but almost all of the bonefishing is best done by boat. Lunches consist of sandwiches, chips and fruit and are served out on the flats each day. After an afternoon of fishing we return to camp for a wonderful meal, maybe a margarita or beer and maybe make a cast to a tail barely visible in the glare of the setting sun. Relax a little more each day, and slowly realize this could be Flyfishing Heaven.
Ascension Bay
[ Trip Description | The Fishing | The Lodge | Tackle&Gear |
| Things to do | Season | Map | Women | Prices | FAQ ]
Isla Holbox
Isla Blanca
Xcalak
[ Alaska | Amazon | Argentina | Bahamas | Belize | Chile ]
[ Christmas Island | Costa Rica | Mexico | Russia ]
[See more trips at FlyFishTravel.com ]
[ Articles | Fly Patterns | Air Fare Search | Travel Insurance | Payments ]
PO Box 180446
Boston MA 02118
Toll Free :(888)857-6700
Outside US call: 617-427-4444
Fax (617) 427-7890