Upon arriving on the Boca Paila Fishing Lodge beyond the long row of beachfront Tulum Hotels without delay at 7:30 am, we noticed the place was by now jumping.  Guests had been  finishing up breakfast and the guides were getting the last of their gear inside the boats while being proficiently directed by  Chico, the general manager and the main host of the property.  Undoubtedly this was not the opening occasion these guys had done  this, in fact Boca Paila has been around since the late 1960s.  To say these guys are pioneers of fishing in this area is  an understatement, they have been the only game in town back then and it was a 2 hour drive from Tulum, not 20 to 30 minutes as  it is now.

We arrived on behalf of the fishing and they were ready in favor of us.  Subsequent to brief introductions with Chico, he informed us that our boat and  guide Alfonso had been by now waiting at the dock on behalf of us.  A quick examination of our tackle and off we went.  Chico made sure we  also had a few of the very best flies and jigs on behalf of the locale and season before we departed and handed those to our guide Alfonso  following he personally escorted us to the boat.

Once on the water, Alfonso didnt fritter away much time and we took off across the glass lagoon in search of our opening fish of the  day.  There was a brief stop on a cut inside the lagoon, where it meets the ocean, and Alfonso said we needed to stop on behalf of  something there.  Without giving away all of the secrets of the locale, the stop proved to be quite beneficial in the course of the day.

Subsequent to the “stop” where the lagoon meets sea, we made our path to the opening of many of what I imagine are Alfonsos favorite  spots inside this magical lagoon.  There awaited at least 30 miles of nearly unaffected and protected wetlands and  interrelated genuine waterways.

Alfonso killed the engine as we arrived at the first spot and he started poling us along the black rooted mangrove shores as  he surveyed the water with his expert ability to see.  Within 10 minutes he saw the bone fish and we had been directed to “11 ‘o  clock about 30 feet out,” and then a rapid plea to “strip it, strip it, strip it!” We followed our guides instruction and  bingo, my Dad had our opening fish on. Within two minutes, an additional good sized bone fish was caught and released by me.  This  was going to be entertainment!

Further along the shore, Alfonso continued to survey the waters from his 3 foot platform for the next catch.  This occasion it  was Permit and I had one on the line.  If you have never caught a Permit fish on a fly rod or maybe light tackle, its tricky  to explain how much excitement it genuinely is.  It had been run of the mill size for the locale, about 10 pounds nevertheless it fought for 15 minutes  before relenting and subsequent to a quick photo it was released.  What a charge and what an exquisite fish!

a number more Bone Fish and a mixed bag of Jack, Mud Snapper and Porgy and off we went into the next spot.  I thought to myself,  if all of the spots are like that, one of my arms might not make it the day.  We had various issues with the line on my rod and had  to return to the lodge more line which procured Alfonso no time to get back up and running.  

After about an hour of poling along inside the briny waters in the vicinity of our opening prize pool we had caught a few more of the  undesired Snappers, Jack and Porgy so we decided to move down once more.  I should remark that there is seldom a boring moment  on the lagoon.  Even when you arent catching fish, theres a lot to see.  Throughout the day we probably saw 12 rays of  various species and witnessed a number of instances of Mullet boiling, bursting and leaping from the water to escape from a  striking Barracuda with numerous birds of countless species and insignia.  We also saw a nesting pair of Sea Eagles  (Osprey).

We crossed the lagoon at elevated speed for afternoon fishing before gliding in, engine off and back into the poling for  Alfredo.  I should mention that Boca Paila Fishing Lodge has a particularly able fisherman and guide in Alfons.  I didnt  catch sight of a 10th of what he spotted for us, of course he was sitting up 3 feet higher than us, but he was amazing.

Just prior to lunch I got into my second Permit and this one was closer to 15 pounds and he planned to run.  The Permit are  quite common inside the Tulum, Boca Paila region of the lagoon so I shouldnt have been overly startled to catch sight of Alfonso making lunch  while I fought this fish.  What did surprise me was that when I said “I think he’s coming in, get the net”, Alfonso didnt  stir.  The fish gave me my reply when he took off on another long run and I caught a dry smile from Alfonso and went back  to my fish.  an additional 10 minutes and I would finally land that one, and yes, Alfonso had the net equipped this occasion.

Following lunch, which was great by the way, a ham sandwich, chips and a beer. After being in the sun for 4-5 hours, it was one  of the very best lunches I have had in a while and Alfonso showed us the Mexican method of adding a few hot sauce into the  sandwiches…it was excellent.  We moved nearer to shore and once more began to stalk the next catch, it had been hot and the fishing  seemed to slow a little in the afternoon heat, but Alfonso was persistent and when he caught me sitting on the bow he demanded  that I stand up. “You can’t catch fish sitting down…stand up ready!”  I was up directly and was slightly  embarrassed but that ended instantly after I hooked into another Permit, this one was somewhat smaller, in all probability 8 pounds but  the battle lasted 10 minutes and the thrill was definitely not gone.

We stalked a variety more small groups of Bone Fish and Permit pairs, landing a couple more run of the mill sized Bone Fish before  moving on once again.  This occasion, as we arrived at the new spot, Alfonso informed us that this was a large channel and one  of the deeper areas of the lagoon.  Still only twelve to fifteen feet deep but we changed up the tackle and went to a large jig with  a significant leader.  I am guessing about 20 to 25 pound test.

This is where things got fantastically interesting.  We must have hit that channel as a school of baitfish had been passing through or  had just passed since it was a feeding frenzy!   The first casts for both my father and I produced two large Snook in the  20 pound sort, pretty good fights for both, but pound for pound I think the Permit is hard to beat.   Anyway, as things  got crazy, and cast after cast produced larger and larger Snook, I started pondering the mysterious “Super Slam”; Bone  Fish, Permit, Snook and Tarpon.  I would have been ecstatic to have such an incredible day and fall short but then as if on queue  another whopping strike and out of the water it arrived, the Tarpon ran beyond the boat at full speed then prepared a run back by means of  another spectacular leap.  While it was comparatively small a Tarpon at about 10 pounds, it was the icing on a perfect day  of fishing.

We stayed at the channel another 20 minutes roughly and I was so exhausted and wholly satisfied that I handed my rod to  Alfonso and watched him catch a variety more Snook while my Dad did likewise and brought in a couple more Bone Fish good  measure.

All in all, I have got to say that this was the best day of fishing EVER.  Between the company, the Boca Paila Fishing Lodge  services and the brilliant number of fish we caught, this one will be tough to beat.  I would like to again personally express thanks  the staff at Boca Paila for this wonderful experience we are going to both never forget!

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