Just had this report through from a recently returned client who visited Casa Blanca lodge in Mexico in October. A grand slam plus 25lb snook highlights the truly world class nature of the fishery down there.
Hi Mat,
As the merkins go back in the cupboard for another year I just wanted to write to thank you for an awesome trip to Casa Blanca. We were very luck to have a week of relatively stable weather sandwiched between 2 tropical storms, and experienced some great and varied fishing. I hadn't really appreciated how much water can be reached from the lodge - during our 6 days we spent time in the vast Ascension Bay, the slightly more intimate Espiritu Santo Bay, Santa Rosa lagoon system, and also wandering the surf immediately in front of the lodge.
At the end of the guided fishing day we'd grab a quick cerveza, gulp down some of the amazing hot snacks (that seemed to miraculously appear as soon as we arrived back at the lodge) and then walk no more than 20 minutes or so up the beach to have some great fun with triggerfish and permit tailing amongst the breakers, and jack crevalle marauding at breakneck speed. We did our best impression of 'Running Down the Man!' as we chased the jacks, but fitness hampered our beach-sprinting efforts! There were always bones around the Casa Blanca pier, and usually a few tarpon/cuda/cubera lurking under the pier nights after dinner.....but they are seriously educated fish.
We spent a lot of time chasing permit, and had legitimate shots each day. Most permit did what permit do best, and either entirely ignored our best efforts, or spooked at the sight of our crab/shrimp creations. One of the other guys at the lodge landed his 80th Casa Blanca permit during our week, and he patiently tolerated a ridiculous amount of quizzing about the finer points of fishing for cruising permit on deep flats. Who knows whether it was a result of Joe's advice or plain good luck that we managed to secure the Grand Slam on our final day. The Super Slam was oh so close....next time.
We had some truly exceptional fishing for snook on other days - whether packs of double figure fish herding mullet schools in open water, or shots at 30+ lb brutes (honestly!) skulking under the mangroves. You know it's a big snook when 80lb mono shock tippet is seriously abraded!
The Casa Blanca set-up is very very slick. The food and lodging are really first class, and guides very accomplished (their ability to spot permit at 200+ feet is humbling, as is their ability to spin a Dolphin skiff on a sixpence if needed to take a tricky shot), and lodge managers Bobby and Mike bend over backwards to make sure that no little detail is left neglected. The air charter from Cancun to the lodge was a real treat as we could scan loads of flats from the air...not that we needed to be any more excited prior to our first day's fishing.
Thanks again for a great trip.
James
For more information on fly fishing Casa Blanca lodge or participation in our group trip 2nd-9th April 2011 please email us or call on +44 (0)1621743711.
Fly Odyssey
No comments:
Post a Comment