Casa de Ascension - Punta Allen, Sian Ka'an
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Tackle, Flies and Gear
Fly Gear
Anglers should be properly dressed for their fly fishing adventures. We recommend the following fly gear:
- polarized sunglasses
- a long-sleeves shirt and long pants
- wading boots
- gravel guards or high top socks (this will prevent sand and coral from getting into your boots)
- a fishing hat that includes sun protection for your neck
- sun block with 30 S.P.F. or higher
- Fly Tackle
Bonefish Fly Tackle
Rods
7- or 8-wt. with fast action
A three- or four-piece rod is easier to travel with
A spare rod is a good idea
Reels
Fully anodized
Featuring smooth, strong drag systems
In a size appropriate to your rod
Large enough to accommodate a minimum of 137 meters of 9-kilogram backing
Large arbor design is a good idea
Fly lines
A weight forward floating line that performs well in hot weather
Leaders
3 to 3.7-meter tapered saltwater leaders in 3.6 – 6.8-kg class
Some fluorocarbon tippet material in the same weights
Bonefish Fly
Crazy Charlies #6 (silver, amber, crystal pink, crystal chartreuse)
Blind Charlies #6 (silver, amber, crystal pink, crystal chartreuse)
Mini Puff #6, # 4 (pink, tan/orange, chartreuse)
McVay Gotcha # 6 (chain bead-eye)
Christmas Charlies #8 (tan, pink, yellow)
Nasty Gilbert #6
Bonefish Clouser #6 (chartreuse)
Raghead Crab #8
Popovic Ultra Shrimp #4
Mangrove Critter #1/0
Jan Isley’s Yucatan Charlie #6
This last fly has:
a pink or beige marabou tail with 3 - 6 strands of chartreuse crystal flash
the flash is tied in all about a 15-centimeter-long, white kip tail wing
the wing is tied in on throat 1.9 centimeters long
it has bead chain eyes or blind, translucent yellow swannundaze (a flattened oval plastic) or v-rib
the v-rib is wrapped over chartreuse flymaster plus thread
Permit Fly Tackle
Rods
9- or 10-wt. with fast action
A three- or four-piece rod is easier to travel with
A spare rod is a good idea
Reels
Fully anodized
Featuring smooth, strong drag systems
In a size appropriate to your rod
Large enough to accommodate a minimum of 183 meters of 9-kilogram backing
Large arbor design is a good idea
Fly lines
A short belly, weight forward floating line that performs well in hot weather
Leaders
3 to 3.7-meter tapered saltwater leaders in 3.6 – 6.8-kg class
Some fluorocarbon tippet material in the same weights
Permit Fly
Bauer’s Fur Crab #6
Turneffe Crab (olive) #6
Raghead Crab #8, #2, or 1/0
Del’s Permit Crab #2
Popovic Ultra Shrimp # 4 or 1/0
Bauer’s Mantis Shrimp
Tarpon Fly Tackle
Rods
10- to 12-wt. with fast action
A three- or four-piece rod is easier to travel with
A spare rod is a good idea
Reels
Fully anodized
Featuring smooth, strong drag systems
In a size appropriate to your rod
Large enough to accommodate a minimum of 229 meters of 9-kilogram backing
Large arbor design is a good idea
Fly lines
A short belly, weight forward floating line that performs well in hot weather and a clear intermediate sinking line
Leaders
Hand-tied
- These incorporate a shock tippet section married to a class tippet section by a series of special knots
Store-bought
- Rio Powerflex Big Game Leaders (sold in packets of three with pre-straightened shock tippets; ideal weights are the 7.25-kg class tippet / 27-kg shock tippet leaders)
Tarpon Fly
A Tarpon fly should generally be tied on 1/0 & 2/0 size hooks. A Tarpon fly should be dressed heavily to maintain neutral buoyancy. They should also create an appealing silhouette that moves water.
Tarpon can respond to just a few variations in shape and color. Anglers should note that brightly-colored flies work best from November to March. Dark flies work best from April to October when the water is typically clear. There should be some color contrast between the water and the fly. Flies that work well include:
Paradise Sunset (orange, yellow & grizzly)
Paradise Purple (black & purple)
Prince of Tides
Paradise Cockroach
Grim Reaper
Borski’s Orange Butt Tarpon
Red & White Tarpon
Lefty’s Deceivers in various contrasting colors
Tropical Punch
Mini Crystal Poppers (these can produce brutal top-water strikes by tarpon, particularly during the fall months)
Snook Fly Tackle
Use the same tackle as for permit (see above).
Snook fly
Snook target surface flies energetically. The following surface patterns flies work well:
Whitlock’s Swimmin’ Frog
Swimming Baitfish
Randy’s Gator Frog
Peacock Diver
Snook-A-Roo
Crystal Poppers
Flies listed in the tarpon flies section also work well for subsurface patterns. So do the following flies:
Whitlock’s Sheep Fly
Lefty’s Deceivers
Dahlberg’s Rabbit Strip Divers
The ultimate prize catch for saltwater anglers is permit, a game fish. Permit is to flats anglers what Atlantic salmon is to fresh water angler
Bonefish (locally called “macabi”), which thrives in Ascension Bay, is among the world’s best game fish. It is highly sought after by anglers.
Anglers visiting Ascension Bay prize these large coastal game fish. Tarpon can reach nearly 91 kg in weight and nearly 2.5 meters in length. Tarpon is an elusive fish, residing in tricky-to-access hidden “lakes” in the far reaches of Ascension Bay.
Ascension Bay boasts one of the world’s most diverse varieties of game fish for the light-tackle saltwater angler. Anglers will find that they can catch all kinds of different species on the fly. Jacks, snook, barracuda, shark, needlefish, dorado, triggerfish, and snapper are all waiting for the intrepid angler.
What gear, tackles, flies and rods are needed to do the big catch.