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Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - Magazine - Index

The journey to Xcalak is an adventure
in itself, but once you get there you’ll
find one of the nicest little fishing
lodges on earth— Costa de Cocos.
earth—Costa de Cocos. The first thing you’ll get is a drink (Dave
knows his priorities), then a quick inspection of your private,
palapa-roofed cabana (with two double beds, ceiling fans, en suite
bath and 24-hour electricity), followed by a gourmet dinner in the
open-air dining room. Evenings, of course, are spent at the bar, or
on the beach-front deck adjacent thereto.
So how did we find this place? Actually, we didn’t. It was found
for us by Magnus Gunnarsson, head man at Svendsen Sport USA,
who invited us down there last January to test and evaluate Scierra’s
new saltwater gear. The fishing was simply outstanding—the best
I’ve ever had in Mexico—and Costa de Cocos proved to be a little
gem of a lodge.
Our first day started off with a whopping breakfast, followed
by a get together with our guides to plan the day. That’s right, the
guides speak English and they let you decide what you want to fish
for. It takes me a day or so to acclimate to the heat and get my “flats
eyes” working, so we opted for bonefish as a good warm-up quarry.
By 9:00 AM we were rigged and aboard the pangas (20- to 22-foot
real boats with huge, recessed casting decks that get you there and
back dry and alive) ready for the 20-minute run to the first lagoon
on the day’s itinerary.
As we nudged up onto the beach that separated the target
lagoon from the bay, Trapper Rudd spotted a big, solitary bone
working down the edge of the beach toward us. Even though he
earns his keep as a Rocky Mountain fly shop owner and trout guide
(www.cutthroatanglers.com), Trap is an absolute flats animal, and
had a shrimp pattern in the air before the rest of us figured out what
was happening. The fly dropped down 80 feet out, about 15 feet
ahead of the fish and right on his line of approach. I couldn’t have
done it better myself. Thirty seconds later an almost-10-pound
bone erupted from the shallows and blew straight out toward the
reef. He put Trap into his backing four times over the next ten
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