March 7, 2017
Tuesday morning at breakfast the group was full of energy and ready to go again, as if the challenges of the previous day never happened. Fisherman are an optimistic lot. The wind was blowing strongly, with clouds on the horizon, but no immediate threat of rain.
As is typical of a day fishing here, we gathered our things and headed to the boats right after breakfast, preparing for the Masaje Maya (Mayan Massage). What is that, you wonder? When you head south across the opening of Ascension Bay, you cross five miles of open water that gets a little choppy with the wind that nearly always blows from the east. Add the swells that make it through the reef, and you have a fun ride. Imagine riding a slowly gyrating mechanical bull. Add to that every 10 to 20 seconds something like sitting on a chair that drops abruptly 3 to 6 inches onto an unyielding concrete surface with a bone-jarring thud. Then every 30 to 60 seconds, somebody throw a cup or two of water in your face while the other two are happening. By the time you get across the bay, you are totally relaxed and ready to fish!
The wind was a little less today (but still stronger than we would like), so Rob and Rick went south across the bay. Tom and Hollis went north again. It was a tough day again, but only because of the wind and clouds, which make it difficult to find the fish. Rob and Rick were fishing the flats for bonefish. Before lunch, Rob found one walking and missed a couple others. Rick fished from the boat, and did not encounter anything.
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| Rob walking the flats with the guide |
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| My guide with the boat (the fisherman in the boat stands in the front) |
After lunch, it was more of the same for a while, Rob taking a turn in the boat, when the guides spotted signs of a school of bonefish feeding. In the next hour or so, we caught about 20 bonefish between the two of us. The remainder of the day was slow again, but that one hour made the day.
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| Rob is much happier after catching a few bonefish |
Meanwhile, Tom and Hollis headed further north into some tarpon canals. Tom had a tarpon on for a couple jumps, after which it threw the hook. They found a couple bones and a very large crocodile. The wind makes it hard, but at least the rain stayed away. Tomorrow is forecast to be better through the end of the week. Good news,
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| Tom and his first bonefish |
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| Hollis really needs some work on his long-arm technique |
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| Crocodile alongside the channel eyeing Tom and Hollis; I think I prefer fishing with mammals (bears) |
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| Hollis loves his perch |
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