CAMPECHE MEXICO – Day 5, 6, 7
Two nights ago Marco and his partner Esceil and I arrived in Campeche Mexico. Campeche is a very old Mexican city, filled with historic sites. It is a romantic city. Evidently, it is where Mexican lovers visit for a romantic weekend. Everywhere I went I saw couples engaged in “gasahondo”. Esceil informed me that it is Spanish for “making out”.
The next morning we woke early and headed to the Marina to meet our guides. Belito and Juan, a father and son combo, are true Mayans. They stand tall at just under 5 feet. What they lack in height they made up for in knowledge of the area. Marco went with Juan so he could take some fresh photos for his website. With in 20 minutes after killing the motor I saw 2 cruising tarpon. Marco instructed me to intercept the fish with my fly, as began to lengthen out my line. I pick a spot well ahead of the fish as my target. On the final forward stroke I let the line fly, shooting through the guides. Just as I did, a third fish appeared ahead of the first 2 that I saw. Shit. My fly was aimed to hit the new fish square on the head. My perfect shot had just turned into a classic screw up. There was nothing I could do. The fly landed and the water exploded as the 3 tarpon bolted to the safety of the mangroves. At that moment I realized just how technical the fishery at Campeche is. I was crushed. I will regret that cast for a long time. Belito shrugged it off. Clearly, I was not the first gringo to blow the first shot at fish.
Through the course of the day I would only present my fly to 10 fish, and successfully jump only 3 of them. Marco was bummed. He really wanted to get some photos. He was also surprised at the lack of fish. He said there where usually 10 times as many fish to cast to. For whatever reason, the tarpon were scarce. In order to catch something, we went deep into the mangroves in search of big snook. And we found them. I hooked 1 of the bigger fish, nearly 10 pounds, but was unable to land it. They have very abrasive lips that chewed through the 60 lb shock tippet with little effort. By the end of the day, I had caught a dozen or more snook ranging in size from 8 inches to 3 pounds.
The next day we all went in one boat. Marco wanted to show me an area near Isla Arenas, an hour boat ride from the marina. The bigger boat was needed for a smoother ride there and back. So Marco, Esceil, Juan and I sped away from Campeche. Once we got to the location it was easy to see why Marco liked the area. It was untouched. There where no signs of humans. I felt special just being there. The pristine flats and mangrove channels where beautiful settings for casting a fly to hungry fish. The problem was there where no fish to cast to. We spent most of the day searching the area for fish, with no luck. Once we finally gave up, we sped back to Campeche to fish the area we fished the day prior. The wind was strong when we got there, making the fishing difficult. I did manage to jump a good-sized tarpon, loosing it near the boat. Bummer. I would have to return to Campeche at another time to catch a tarpon.
Tonight we left Campeche and arrived in Merida. After a quick bite to eat at Marcos favorite restaurant, we crashed deep in the heart of city at a modest hotel. I am tired. Eight hours in the sun for the past 6 days is catching up with me. It will be nice to sleep in tomorrow. We will also visit Chichen Itza, on the way to Cancun.
Damien
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