Fly Fishing Belize

[jgish92]

I would appreciate any thoughts on this.......
I am heading with wifes family in mid April to vacation in southern Belize - Placencia. I am relatively new to fly fishing, 5 years, and my fly fishing experience is exclusive to Pennsylvania, Catskills and a little bit of New England, i.e. fishing with a 5 weight rod for trout and bass on relatively small streams and creeks.
Would it be a waste of time to try and charter a boat to go for bonefish or permit? Are the skills/equipment needed for bonefish/permit sufficiently different enough from what I'm used to that it would be a waste of time/money? I'm thinking of going for it, simply because I don't know if I'll ever get back down there and YOLO (as the kids say.....)
Thanks in advance for your reply.

 

[afishinado]

I wouldn't go down there and just wing it for the first time. Get yourself, or borrow and 8wt outfit and practice casting for decent distance, but most important accuracy. Also practice with a lightly weighted fly attached that's cut off at the hook bend. No doubt casting in the wind will be part of the deal so try casting in wind from different directions. Bone fishing is great but the only way to learn is to get out there and fish. So give it a go FFing and maybe have a spin outfit handy if conditions are tough. One final thing, tell the outfitter you are a newbie to bone fishing and if possible try to hook up with a guide that's good at teaching. Good luck.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Folks who are well prepared and fully geared out sometimes pony up for plane tickets, lodging, and the guide just to take the skunk. If you're going to be there anyway, might as well get after it.

Afish's advice is a good plan. For what it's worth, I find an 8 wt comes in handy for lots of freshwater applications, including throwing big flies at bass. It's not like it it would have to be a limited-use specialty purchase.