Upon arriving at the Boca Paila Fishing Lodge beyond the long row of beachfront Tulum Hotels promptly at 7:30 am, we noticed the place was already jumping. Visitors were polishing off breakfast and the guides were getting the last of their gear inside the boats while being proficiently directed by Chico, the general manager and the principle host of the property. Undoubtedly this was not the first occasion these guys had done this, in fact Boca Paila has been present since the late 1960s. To say these guys are pioneers of fishing in this region is a real understatement, they have been the only game in town long ago and it had been a a couple of hour drive from Tulum, not 20 to 30 minutes as it is now.
We came for the fishing and they had been ready on behalf of us. Subsequent to momentary introductions with Chico, he informed us that our boat and guide Alfonso were by now waiting on the dock in favor of us. A quick review of our tackle and off we went. Chico made sure we also had a variety of the best flies and jigs in favor of the area and time of year before we departed and handed those to our guide Alfonso following he personally escorted us into the boat.
Once on the water, Alfonso didnt squander much time and we took off across the glass lagoon in search of our opening fish of the day. There was a brief stop on a cut inside the lagoon, where it meets the sea, and Alfonso said we needed to stop on behalf of something there. Devoid of giving freely all of the secrets of the locale, the stop proved to be rather advantageous in the course of the day.
Subsequent to the “stop” where the lagoon meets sea, we made our way to the opening of many of what I presume are Alfonsos favorite spots within this magical lagoon. There awaited at the very least 30 miles of practically unaffected and protected wetlands and interconnected natural waterways.
Alfonso killed the engine as we arrived at the opening spot and he commenced poling us across the black rooted mangrove shores as he surveyed the water with his proficient ability to see. Within 10 minutes he saw the bone fish and we had been directed to “11 ‘o clock about 30 feet out,” and then the rapid request to “strip it, strip it, strip it!” We followed our guides command and bingo, my Dad had our primary fish on. Inside two minutes, an additional respectable sized bone fish was caught and released by me. This was gonna be excitement!
Further across the shore, Alfonso continued to survey the waters from his 3 foot platform in favor of the next catch. This time it was Permit and I had one on the line. If you have not caught a Permit fish on a fly rod or even just light tackle, its difficult to explain how much fun it really is. It was average size on behalf of the area, about 10 pounds nevertheless it fought for 15 minutes before relenting and following a quick photo it was released. What a charge and what a ravishing fish!
a variety more Bone Fish and a mixed bag of Jack, Mud Snapper and Porgy and off we went to the next spot. I thought to myself, if all of the spots are like that, one of my arms may not make it the day. We had some issues using the line on my rod and had to return to the lodge for line which took Alfonso no occasion to get back up and running.
Following about an hour of poling down in the brackish waters near our first prize pool we had caught a few more of the undesired Snappers, Jack and Porgy so we decided to move down again. I ought to mention that there is rarely a dull moment on the lagoon. Even when you arent catching fish, theres quite a lot to catch sight of. In the course of the day we probably saw 12 rays of varied species and witnessed several cases of Mullet boiling, bursting and leaping from the water to escape from a striking Barracuda with many birds of numerous species and colors. We also saw a nesting couple of Sea Eagles (Osprey).
We crossed the lagoon at elevated speed for afternoon fishing before gliding in, engine off and back to the poling for Alfredo. I should point out that Boca Paila Fishing Lodge has an especially able fisherman and guide in Alfons. I didnt see a 10th of what he spotted for us, of course he was sitting up 3 feet higher than us, but he was amazing.
Just before lunch I got into my second Permit and this one was closer to 15 pounds and he wanted to run. The Permit are quite common inside the Tulum, Boca Paila locale of the lagoon so I shouldnt have been too startled to catch sight of Alfonso making lunch while I fought this fish. What did surprise me was that when I said “I think he’s coming in, grab the net”, Alfonso didnt move. The fish gave me my answer when he took off on another long run and I caught a dry smile from Alfonso and went back to my fish. an additional 10 minutes and I would at long last land that one, and yes, Alfonso had the net equipped this time.
After lunch, which was fantastic by the way, a ham sandwich, chips and a beer. Subsequent to being in the sun for 4-5 hours, it was one of the very best lunches I have had in a while and Alfonso showed us the Mexican method of adding some hot sauce into the sandwiches… it was excellent. We moved nearer to shore and again began to stalk the next catch, it was hot and the fishing appeared to slow somewhat within the afternoon heat, but Alfonso was unyielding and when he caught me sitting on the bow he demanded that I stand up. “You can’t catch fish sitting down…stand up and get!” I was up and about directly and was somewhat embarrassed but that ended quickly after I hooked into an additional Permit, this one was somewhat smaller, in all probability 8 pounds but the battle lasted 10 minutes and the thrill was definitely not gone.
We stalked a number more small groups of Bone Fish and Permit pairs, landing a couple more average sized Bone Fish before moving on once again. This time, as we came across the new spot, Alfonso informed us that this was a large channel and one of the deeper parts of the lagoon. Still only twelve to fifteen feet deep but we changed up the tackle and went to a large jig with a significant leader. I am guessing about 20 to 25 pound test.
This is where things got very attention-grabbing. We must have hit that channel as a school of baitfish were passing through or had just passed because it was a feeding frenzy! The first casts for both my father and I produced two large Snook inside the 20 pound sort, pretty respectable fights for both, but pound for pound I believe the Permit is hard to beat. Anyway, as things got crazy, and cast after cast produced larger and larger Snook, I started thinking about the mysterious“Super Slam”; Bone Fish, Permit, Snook and Tarpon. I would have been ecstatic to have such an incredible day and fall short but then as if on queue another big strike and from the water it arrived, the Tarpon ran beyond the boat at full speed then made a run back by means of another spectacular jump. While it had been relatively undersized a Tarpon at about 10 pounds, it was the icing on a perfect day of fishing.
We stayed at the channel another 20 minutes roughly and I was so worn-out and completely satisfied that I handed my rod to Alfonso and watched him catch a variety more Snook while my Dad did the same and brought in a few more Bone Fish for measure.
All in all, I must say that this was the best day of fishing EVER. Between the company, the Boca Paila Fishing Lodge services and the amazing variety of fish we caught, this one will likely be tough to beat. I would like to again personally thank the staff at Boca Paila for this wonderful experience we will both always remember!
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