FLY FISHING FOR BONEFISH – COZUMEL FLATS, YUCATAN, MEXICO (APRIL 2014)

I had an awesome opportunity this past week while on vacation with my family in Cozumel, Mexico. I hired a local boatman and fly fishing guide through Cozumel Flats Fishing to take me out to the Cozumel flats, a remote northern portion of the island only accessible by boat. My singular objective was to catch bonefish on a fly rod. Having only experienced fly fishing for trout in fresh water streams and rivers, albeit some often fat pigs in the Rocky Mountain rivers, the concept of fly fishing in salt water for silvery bonefish has always blown my mind.

 

Cozumel Flats on northern end of island is only accessible by boat.

I met the guide, Enrique, at the marina north of town before daybreak and we were loaded up and on open water by 6am. We boated around the northwest point of the island, then continued east toward Cozumel flats over 10 miles of shallow reef (7-8 feet of water), heading directly into the rising sun. The 60HP outboard motor rang listlessly, as though intending to match the early hour pre-coffee haze where I found myself that morning, reclined in a seat looking forward behind the bow, as we cut through 2-3 foot wind swell coming in off the Caribbean Sea. The guide tells me that bull sharks and black tip reef sharks are common on the reef on this side of the island, as they tend to avoid the heavy boat traffic on the west side where the tourists are generally confined. The color and clarity of the water on this portion of the island is simply captivating.

 

We reached the far east side of the flats and pulled the boat up on the soft, white sand beach. Enrique and I grabbed our gear and pushed the boat back out into the water, taking the boatman, Juan, along with it. While Juan boated 6 km west to the inlet to the lagoon to eventually meet up with us in the flats, we walked south over the narrow band of dunes and salt cedar separating the flats from open water. The calm surface of the lagoon water reflected the pale blue morning sky and high wispy gray clouds. We waded into less than 2 feet of warm lagoon water and within minutes, Enrique had us watching our first bonefish feeding in the shallow waters.

 

 

 

 

In shallow water with good light, bonefish are easy to spot. Their white glistening tail and dorsal fins stick up above the water and shimmer in the sunlight. In deeper water with overcast skies, it can apparently be a frustrating endeavor. Luckily, the conditions were perfect.  "Mas temprano es mejor", Enrique says, meaning "Earlier is best" when for fishing for bonefish. I landed 4 bonefish in 4 hours while stalking the flats with Enrique, learning lessons by fire about effectively presenting your fly. Bonefish are notoriuos for being easily spooked and I spooked my share of them before landing one of these awesome fish. Each one stripped between 40 and 60 feet of line as they took off, often several times, before finally bringing the fish to hand. Impressive fish.