Leeds Creek

A number of years ago  (September 2010) Rick fished Leeds Creek during a visit to St. George, Utah.  I'd been wanted to fish it for quite a while, but hadn't gotten around to it while visiting family in St. George, but I decided that I'd do it this trip.

Quail Creek in Red Cliff's area

I tried yesterday to go to what I thought was Leeds Creek, but the area was wall to wall people playing in the creek and hardly a place to park.  Not amenable to fishing, but I did hike a bit and enjoy the beautiful country.  It wasn't until I got back to home base in St. George that I took a closer look at the map and discovered I was one watershed away from the Leeds Creek drainage.  Tough to fish if you're in the wrong drainage I guess.

Leeds Creek, one watershed to the east

So today, I resolved to go to the proper drainage basin and see if I could find some fish!  Early on it was quite cool and in the canyon where I started there was no sun anywhere.  In the second hole I saw a fish dart as I moved forward so that was encouraging.  The water temp was around 40 degrees and leaves were just starting to break out on the trees surrounding the stream.

First small bonneville cutthroat

As it got brighter and the sunlight began to creep down the walls of the canyon and get closer and closer to the creek at the bottom, visibility improved and I started to catch fish.  I had tried four different fly combinations, but ultimately all the fish were caught on the Renegade.

Trout number two

As the day got brighter the fish were more active.  I think the cool water temps may have had them moving a bit slower.  I'd like to come back when water temps are a little warmer and see if they are more aggressive and there are perhaps some insects around that may have them keyed into more of a feeding rhythm.

Nice spot distribution-and the sunshine shows the coloration better

I spent a couple of hours and had sixteen fish to hand.  A half-hour drive had me back into town and I was at my mother-in-law's in time for lunch.  A nice way to spend the morning!

Stream looks lots better in the sunlight!

Interesting lack of spots around the lateral parr marks on this specimen

Ascension Bay--Day 5 (Tough fishing, but great lunch spot!)

Another day of challenging fishing here.  Fish were rather sparse, wind was blowing, clouds made for only partial sun that didn't help the fishing.  Rob went with Shan deep to the southeast part of Ascension Bay to the tarpon lagoons to see if tarpon could be found in abundance.

Shan,with typical smile on his face
Javier, junior guide with Chucho today

After spending the morning searching for tarpon or snook (in vain) it was lunchtime and Chucho planned for us to eat lunch at the Tupac ruin deep in the mangrove swamp (wetland) of southeastern Ascension Bay.  As we arrived a welcoming committee of turkey vultures were waiting on the roof.  Not sure if they planned to feast on us, our leftovers, or were just hanging out.

Tupac ruin

There were two chambers on the inside. The inner chamber had lots of bats and they started flying when I poked my head in so I didn't spend a lot of time there.  I understand that the rabies shot series isn't a pleasant one so I'd prefer to avoid it.

Front entrance

Original detail and fresco still visible

View from the roof of the mangrove wetland surrounding Tupac ruin

The "dock area" at Tupac ruin

After lunch we headed out to see if we could find some fish.  The sun came out for a couple of hours and I was able to site cast to three tarpon hanging out near the mangrove shoreline.  I stripped the line in with short, quick strips, watched one of the tarpon peel away from his companions, eat the fly.  I set the hook and the fight was on.  Great fun, great water clarity, great fish.  No photo, it came off once the leader was held at the boat before any photo could be snapped.

We found a couple other large schools of tarpon, they ate the large mantis shrimp fly we tossed, but we were unable to hook up.  We also were able to cast to a school of 15-16 large snook in really tight quarters--about 15 feet away from the fish.  Take a 2-foot arm, a 9-foot rod and there isn't much left to cast and strip in.  Challenging and we didn't get the hook into any, though we did have some follows.

A very nasty fuzzy green caterpiller

This cute green fuzzy caterpillar is loathed by the guides.  If it's little spines touch human skin it causes a burning sensation that lasts about 24-hours we are told.  They call it the "cigarette caterpillar" because it feels like somebody pressed a burning cigarette into your skin.  Some years they are plentiful and falling from the mangroves.  This year we only saw this single caterpillar.  The guide had me take my forceps and carefully pick it up and drop it overboard.

For further info see:  https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/07/18/automeris-caterpillar-in-yucatan/

We are hoping for better sunshine and better fishing tomorrow.  Fisherman are natural optimists!

Ascension Bay-Day 4

It dawned clear and sunny today so we were happy to see the clouds of yesterday gone and opportunities looking up.  Rick & I were fishing with other partners today to give them some variety and we both ended up heading way down to the southwest corner of Ascension Bay to Magote Tigres (the "Tiger Magician").  I started sight casting to a large tarpon which proved unsuccessful.  My partner for the day was able to hit barracuda, snook, and bonefish.

Jeff, retired Boeing engineer, was Rob's partner today.
Sight fishing for bonefish in Ascension Bay at Magote Tigres.

We both cast multiple times to a feeding, tailing permit in the 25+ pound range (Chucho called it a "big mother" so it was sizable even for a seasoned guide).  The soft mud was almost to my knees but felt great on my bare feet.  When I finished it was packed tightly under my toenails and did not come out easily even after showering.

Multiple casts to permit, but alas, no desire to eat.
It was only about 30 feet away!

We ended up having the opportunity to sight fish the super grand slam today.  Not that we converted, but it was much better to be able to see the fish, cast to the fish, and actually get some of them to eat our flies.

Rick managed to cast to a permit that was trying to run circles around him.  It swam toward the boat and then turned about five eight-foot circles in the water only fifteen feet from the boat before swimming away.  Rick was stunned at what had just happened and the guide was a little upset that Rick hadn't cast as instructed.  Rick wondered, "When are you ever supposed to cast your fly right on top of the fish?"  The correct response is "never" so it was a weird and unfortunate permit experience.  On a positive note, Rick has never seen a permit so closely in the wild.  He'd have rather been catching than observing.

Rick did manage to find some bonefish today so definitely better than yesterday.

Another beautiful Ascension Bay bonefish

As often happens, Rick feels acutely the need for fish to feel welcome with him and seeks to share his love of fishing directly with the fish.  Thus the photo below is what happens so that those finned friends know they are loved.

Rick loves fishing--or is it fish?

"Goodbye my friend"

After the day of fishing, as is our custom Rob had a shrimp cocktail, Rick had fresh guacamole & chips, and both had a large limeade.  Rob has had shrimp six times in the past four days and is very happy.

This mango filled honey drizzled crepe was dessert tonight.
I forgot to take a photo of the dinner plate--I ate it too fast.

As is usual we were greeted by towel art in our room.  Today, a crocodile lay in wait as we entered our room at the lodge.  Just try and get that blanket from him!

Looking forward to another great day tomorrow!

Ascension Bay - Day 3

Tough day today for everyone but Rob. Overcast and dark (no sun) with strong winds all day blowing at 20 mph or so. Almost impossible to see the fish, and very hard to cast. I fished with Shan, the host from Red's Fly Shop, and Rob fished alone (his partner was ill this morning).

Shan and I hunted all morning without a real chance to cast to any bonefish. A couple spooked by the boat, that was all. Then at lunch time, we entered a lagoon and found four or five schools of bonefish tailing in the same area (eating shrimp from the bottom, which puts the tip of their tail above water in the shallow lagoon).

This is about the only way find bonefish on a day like today - see the tails?

We got out of the boat, and worked into a position upwind of the schools so we could reasonably cast. I was able to three schools, and hooked a bonefish from two of them. Lost one on the run, broke another off. After about 30 minutes of stalking and casting they disappeared. That was the last of the fish I cast to that day. So as expected, a difficult, slow day, but always cool when you are able to cast at tailing bonefish. You can also tell my difficult days because I have more pictures of birds than fish!

Flamingos at the other side of the lagoon

Gray Garza

White heron

Rob, on the other hand, went to the far north, and with a guide that had a different strategy (blind casting in deeper water while watching the flat for bonefish) and caught a jack crevalle, barracuda, snapper, bonefish, and snook. Then just outside the lagoon at Punta Allen, found another snook and a giant bonefish. He won the fish lottery today, catching more than the whole group I believe.

Rob's really big bonefish

We were greeted by sting ray towels upon returning, which was the only thing I saw most of the day.

Don't dry yourself with that - that's what killed Steve Irwin!

Tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sunny, which will make for a better day.

Ascension Bay - Day 2

First fishing day for Rob and me. It dawned sunny, and the afternoon thundershowers did not materialize until about 7 pm, so we had sunshine all day, which is good for spotting the fish. The wind, which is always present, was not too strong, so it was pretty good conditions for fishing.

We headed south across the bay to the lagoons in Santa Rosa, where we found enough bonefish regularly throughout the day to keep things interesting, but not in spectacular numbers. Bonefishing is kind of like hunting. The guide poles the boat, or you walk with a guide around a lagoon with the fly at hand ready to toss it into the path of an approaching bonefish. They make their presence known by holes in the mud, where they have sucked the shrimp out to eat. Even when the huecos (holes) are there, sometimes the fish have moved on to another lagoon.So you can spend an hour or two searching for fish before you find some.

Today, we encountered them fairly consistently, but they were very skittish, often turning and running before we had a chance to cast. Rob and I each had a few to hand, a good way to start the week.

I removed the buff and kissed the fish properly full on the lips after this photo was taken

This is a good sized bonefish for Ascension Bay

Rob and an average size bonefish

Rob fighting a bonefish

 We arrived back to crab towels today, ready to help us clean up for dinner.

 Another great dinner (any dinner I don't have to cook is great!)

Chicken fajitas

Ascension Bay - Day 1

After an overnight in Tulum, we met the guides at the bridge partway to Punta Allen to avoid a very bad road this year. It being Sunday, Rob and I headed to the lodge, albeit by a somewhat indirect route. Since we don't fish Sundays, our guides gave us a little ecotour on the way to Punta Allen.

We encountered a big crocodile right at the bridge where we started. Wouldn't want to be wading and fishing here.

We wanted to see some ruins, but they were beyond the far south end of the bay. The guides took us instead to see what the indicated was a Mayan lighthouse, built near the point of an island in the bays inside the sand spit leading down to Punta Allen. There is a depression on top where they believe fires were built to guide ships north to Tulum.

Along the way we saw many birds, and the guides kindly positioned us to try to get some good pictures.

The daddy osprey was a very angry bird, screaming at us the whole time we were near his nest, where the mama bird was presumably sitting on her eggs

 Just a little ways from Punta Allen, we encountered quite a number of dolphins.

Then it was in to the dock and on to the lodge, where we had a relaxing Sunday afternoon. A tradition at the lodge is that each day the bath towels in your room are folded like animals. We arrived to lobsters in our room.
                                

The other tradition is good food. Sunday night was a fish, which I wrapped up in the fresh corn tortillas for fish tacos.

The rest of the group had a rather slow day, just a couple fish caught in each boat. They stayed in the North end of the bay, which in my experience often is slower that heading south across the bay. That is where we will be headed tomorrow.