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Was gonna put this in the outta state section but there are countless other out of state reports in the in state section and no one seems to care. Went out yesterday with a guide on the flats in Isla Blanca near Cancun in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Started out in the mangroves looking for tarpon. I got a couple and lost a couple. I used a tiny black streamer for those guys.
After the tarpon started moving deep into the mangroves, we moved out more to the flats to search for bones or permit aka palometa. Permit are very difficult to catch, much harder than tarpon. Up until yesterday, I have tried to catch them but wasn't successful. As my guide pushed the skiff along the flats, we came across a school of permit. There were maybe four fish. Usually you have one shot when sightfishing for permit. I wasn't able to make anything happen with the first school but not long after, a much larger school of probably 10 or 12 palometas were spotted off in the distance. The nervous water and flashing is what you look for to find them. We got close enough to make a cast with the tiny crab imitation I was using. I plopped it right in front of the school and after some fancy stripping, I finally hooked up! Couldn't believe how strong they are for their size. After making five or six blistering runs, I got the fish in with my 9wt.
Last time I went out, I went with Cancun Tarpon Fishing. I wasn't able to go with those guys this time so I tried Cancun Flats Fishing instead and the guide was truly awesome. He and his father run the business and are living the dream. They said they both easily spend over 200 days on the water per year.
A quick vid from inside the thick mangroves-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ssjHWDTGiD8
After the tarpon started moving deep into the mangroves, we moved out more to the flats to search for bones or permit aka palometa. Permit are very difficult to catch, much harder than tarpon. Up until yesterday, I have tried to catch them but wasn't successful. As my guide pushed the skiff along the flats, we came across a school of permit. There were maybe four fish. Usually you have one shot when sightfishing for permit. I wasn't able to make anything happen with the first school but not long after, a much larger school of probably 10 or 12 palometas were spotted off in the distance. The nervous water and flashing is what you look for to find them. We got close enough to make a cast with the tiny crab imitation I was using. I plopped it right in front of the school and after some fancy stripping, I finally hooked up! Couldn't believe how strong they are for their size. After making five or six blistering runs, I got the fish in with my 9wt.
Last time I went out, I went with Cancun Tarpon Fishing. I wasn't able to go with those guys this time so I tried Cancun Flats Fishing instead and the guide was truly awesome. He and his father run the business and are living the dream. They said they both easily spend over 200 days on the water per year.
A quick vid from inside the thick mangroves-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ssjHWDTGiD8
