Get hooked on the Belize angle

Barely 100 feet off a deserted, coconut-palm-studded beach in Belize, the professor was getting schooled.

“Strip! Strip!'' ordered fishing guide Kachu Marin, crouched next to my friend Mike Traugott on the forward platform of the 23-foot panga.

Mike began to strip in his fly line in short, deliberate tugs.

Fifty feet from the skiff and three feet down in the greenish-blue water, the tiny fly inched forward erratically along the sandy bottom.

“Slow down!'' Marin barked.

Mike, a professor at the University of Michigan, the United States, slowed his pulls but also unintentionally swept his rod to the side.

“Don't pull your rod sideways!'' cried Marin, an exuberant teacher who gave his fishing lessons in exclamation points.

“You go sideways, you're dead!''

Cast away

Somewhere in the turquoise water, a bonefish hit the tiny Mylar-and-fur fly.

Mike pulled his rod sideways. As quickly as it hit, the fish was gone.

“No! Don't be going no sideways!'' Marin admonished. “That's why you lost the fish!''

Mike cast again. “A little short,'' Marin muttered under his breath. No matter. Strip! Strip! Slow down!

Another bonefish hit. Mike pulled the line straight back and deftly set the hook.

A few minutes later, the spent bonefish was at the boat.

Marin grabbed the leader and led the bone in increasingly tighter circles.

Then, with a practised move, he hoisted the silvery prize into the boat for a quick photo and live release.

“Good job, Mike! Good job, man!'' Marin beamed as he handed Mike the fat-shouldered, three-pound bonefish, his diploma from Bonefish U.

Kachu Marin is one of 20 guides who fish out of El Pescador Lodge on Belize's Ambergris Caye.

The resort is one of a growing number of high-end fishing lodges that cater to a particularly exotic type of fly angler: the growing international band of obsessive-compulsives who chase bonefish, tarpon and permit in tropical and semitropical locales worldwide.

The 36-room lodge was built in 1974 on a site hacked out of a mangrove swamp on the southern end of Ambergris Caye, an extension of the Yucatan Peninsula that lies 12 miles off the northeast coast of Belize.

Family feel

Today, El Pescador is owned by Ali Gentry, 35, who operates it with her mother, Chris Gentry Spiro, and stepfather, Stephen Spiro.

Gentry's husband, Alonzo Flota, a native of San Pedro (the caye's only substantial town), is the resident dive master.

(The local diving is world famous; the second longest coral reef in the world lies less than a half-mile offshore.)

El Pescador has a decidedly family-friendly feel. Absent is the coarseness of some fishing lodges.

Everyone eats at a common table at set times. The lodge also features what may be the world's only combination flyfishing-shop-jewellery-store-art-gallery.

Forbes Traveller recently named El Pescador one of the Top Ten luxury eco-resorts, though hardcore adventure-seekers may find it too domesticated.

Exceptional teachers

Fishing manager Bob Stevenson oversees the 20 fishing guides who work out of El Pescador, 15 of whom specialise in fly-fishing.

Mike and I fished with three guides during our four days at El Pescador. All were great.

It's difficult not to catch something at El Pescador.

Huge schools of smallish bonefish prowl the flats and eagerly charge a fly.

“If you want to learn, this is a great environment … I'll put them on juvenile or adolescent bonefish all day long,'' Stevenson said.

“Will they catch a big bone? No. A permit? No. A tarpon? Probably not. They will catch fish.''

For those who want a break from the lodge, San Pedro is five minutes by water taxi.

“It's hardly Manhattan,'' Spiro laughed. “But it offers great charm and fun little shops'' that specialise in local crafts (Belize is known for its wood carving), as well as jewellery and art.

A Sunday afternoon in San Pedro provided a welcome break for Mike and me from the revelry at El Pescador.

The narrow streets were clogged with bicycles, golf carts and a few cars and small trucks.

After three days of overcast skies that made spotting fish difficult, gusting winds that blew down our casts and occasional torrential rains, our luck finally changed on our fourth and final day.

For anglers, the weather in Belize is all about trade-offs: In the winter high season, it's cooler and dry —but windy, bad for flycasting.

In the low season, which corresponds to the hurricane season, it's hot, humid and less windy — but most days it rains hard, though usually briefly.

We were there in early October, start of the transition between the low and high seasons when anything or everything can happen.

On this day, the sun rose in a nearly cloudless sky.

The wind had slackened but didn't disappear, moderating the temperature.

A good sign

Marin welcomed us aboard his panga, a shallow-draft wood-and-fibreglass skiff favoured by guides and commercial fishermen in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

This was the best omen of all: His father, Carlos, 66, the dean of guides at El Pescador, on our first day had taken us to a sweet spot along a mangrove shore, where Mike caught an acrobatic 15-pound tarpon, the catch of the trip.

Fishing mojo runs in families; perhaps his son would work similar magic on our last day.

Marin gunned the outboard and ran 20 miles north up the coast to a rocky point that jutted out to nearly intersect the reef.

His knowing eyes scanned the water as we slowly cruised parallel to the beach, 100 feet offshore.

Back to school

He finally found what he was looking for: a school of hundreds of bonefish feeding along the shore.

We fished in this single school for more than five hours, together catching more than 40 bonefish ranging in size from barely a pound to perhaps five pounds.

Speedy, a friend of Marin's, was our human anchor.

Literally. For five hours, Speedy stood in three feet of water and held the plastic rope attached to the panga and kept us within casting distance of a huge school of fish.

Several times, Mike and I asked if he could come into the boat, but Marin assured us that Speedy was fine and, of course, Speedy agreed.

One unexpected bonus, caught just before we quit for the day: a permit, also known as pompano, considered the most difficult of the “big three'' inshore game fish to catch on a fly.

The iridescent, pearl-white fish was no bigger than a salad plate.

But it was my first permit, caught on a fly that I had tied myself in my basement back home.

“Good job, man!'' Marin said, cradling the tiny fish in his hands.

He extended his arms straight out towards the camera, a trick that makes fish appear larger in photos.

Size doesn't matter. I had finally graduated from Bonefish U.

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From Dubai

Delta Airlines and American Airlines flies four days a week via Atlanta and Miami. Fare from Dh7,580.

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— Information courtesy: The Holiday Lounge by Dnata. Ph: 04 3166160

Where to stay

El Pescador (www.elpescador.com) is the only full-service fishing lodge on Ambergris Caye.

Seven nights at the lodge and six days' fishing for two anglers staying in one room and fishing together in the same boat with a guide at present runs to $2,995 (Dh11,000) per person.

The price includes room, meals and air fare between San Pedro and Belize City.

Special deals during the August-to-December off-season include a two-for-one fishing package — so, your buddy goes for free if you pay the full single-angler price.

Most hotels in San Pedro make arrangements to go fishing, scuba diving or snorkelling.

Where to eat

We took all our meals at the lodge as part of our all-inclusive package.

Guests who ventured into San Pedro for dinner raved about Elvi's Kitchen, where a full lobster dinner runs for less than $30 (Dh110).

Try Elvi's shrimp in watermelon sauce or the traditional stewed chicken, rice and beans.

Fresh local snook, considered by many the tastiest fish, is available at the Blue Water Grill.

If you're still hungry, head to the Casa Picasso in San Pedro for a coconut bomb dessert.

A Belizean treat that shouldn't be missed: Marie Sharp's Habanero Hot Sauce (not for the faint of palate).

What to do

Go fishing, diving or snorkelling, of course.

For those who don't want to get wet, most hotels on Ambergris Caye run day trips to mainland points of interest, including the Mayan ruins at Altun Ha, the Belize Zoo and inland rainforest parks.

The price varies by vendor.

Rates at El Pescador varied from $60 (Dh220) for a tour of the baboon sanctuary, $75 (Dh275) for the river trip to Altun Ha ruins and up to $200 (Dh735) for a combo cave tubing and rainforest zip-line trip.

Information

Getting around: Forget about renting a car. Regular water-taxi service connects San Pedro to El Pescador and other major resorts on Ambergris Caye.

A one-way trip from El Pescador costs $7 (Dh26).

Walking is the best way to see the town and you can rent a golf cart for less than $50 (Dh184) a day.

The caye's lagoons can be explored by kayaks that are available free to guests at many of the hotels or they can be rented.

But watch out for crocodiles after sunset.

Anglers: Fly anglers should bring 8- and 10-weight outfits, which will suffice for bonefish, permit and the resident tarpon.

You can use a 5- or 6-weight rod for bonefish, which tend to be small.

But remember, wind is a factor most times of the year.

Floating lines are fine, though you might bring an intermediate-weight line.

A 12-weight rod is a good choice for the larger migratory tarpon in the summer.

And don't forget back-up rods. As for bonefish flies, the usual suspects work well in sizes 4, 6 or 8.

Bring tarpon flies in sizes 1/0 to 3/0.

If you have room, bring a pair of flats wading boots or diving booties; there are many flats along the shore that you can wade for bonefish and permit without having to pay for a guide or boat.

Go online: A local merchant maintains a commercial website about attractions, rentals and more at www.ambergriscaye.com.

Also see: Belize Tourism Board, www.travelbelize.org.