Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - Magazine - Index

BEN EDMONSON PHOTO
Costa de Cocos
Way down at the southern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the Mexican
province of Quintana Roo just a couple of miles from the Belize border, lies a quaint little fishing village named Xcalak
(pronounced Ésh•cah•lahk). The main attraction in Xcalak is the nearby Mexican Navy base (twelve young studs armed
with two go-fast patrol boats), strategically placed to protect the local populace from the warmongering Belizians across
Chetumal Bay. When the navy guys aren’t busy sleeping in the shade, playing soccer, or fishing for dinner, they run
one of the boats up to Xcalak, zoom around the harbor a few times at warp speed to attract a crowd, then tie up to the
big pier and do their “muy mas macho” thing for the local señoritas. It’s a great show, but it can be a little distracting
when you’re trying to cast to a dozen 40-pound tarpon finning around on the other side of the pier.
The main attraction for me, however, is Chetumal Bay and its 200 square miles of flats, lagoons and mangrove islands.
More specifically, it’s the almost unbelievable numbers of bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook and barracuda that thrive here,
and the fact that—except for the Mexican Navy, of course—almost no one fishes for them. The Chetumal Bay fishery
is one of the best kept secrets in the modern world—so good, in fact, that we debated even telling you about it. It’s the
Florida Keys during the Hemingway era—a time capsule of the-way-it-used-to-be fly fishing just waiting to be savored.
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