Fishing Report

The fishing has been consistent on the flats during March, April and May, with everyone catching bonefish (2 – 5 lbs) and even a few permit and baby tarpon.

Two anglers, Darrell and his father Donnie, managed to catch a pair of permit ... one after the other (5lbs and 6lbs, both on Turneffe crabs). Their photo shows them side-by-side, each with a permit in hand, and grins from ear to ear! They tell a great story of how guide, Perry, worked this trick.

Buzz was here last week, and apart from bonefish he had a "mini grand slam." The permit was a tiny baby the same size as his hand, and the tarpon was about 5 lbs. Brooke, also here last week, had a nice permit, about 10 lbs. The really big permit (20-30lbs) are still visiting the flats, but lately no one has landed one on a fly. They have been breaking off and getting away after a good fight. However, June, a tiny lady from Manhattan caught a permit of 23 lbs on a spinning rod. The fish looked almost as big as her! Jacks, snappers and barracudas have been caught regularly too.


The weather has been consistent, though temperatures are rising (77 F-89 F), and we are getting some fairly strong breezes (from NE, 10-15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph).
There are still plenty of bonefish and permit visiting the flats when it’s windy, and a bonus is that they are less spooky than they are in flat calm water. It’s worth practicing casting in the wind.

Tight lines,
Mango Creek Lodge

Guest Fishing Report

This past week saw good fishing on the flats around Roatan and Guanaja, Honduras. Weather was good with light winds and for the most part sunny skies and temperature in the eighties. There were a few cloudy afternoons and the occasional light shower.

There were a few bonefish to be found on the home flat Monday afternoon. This flat holds a solid population of bonefish but not too many permit. The occasional triggerfish can be found cruising and tailing on top of the reef. Cloudy conditions combined with chop from a northeast wind and the high tide made it tough to spot fish unless they were deliberately tailing. More fish were spooked than caught.

Tuesday morning the wind continued and this helped push more water on to the flat near Helene. The deeper water meant prime conditions for permit! Before we even landed the boat on the flat, we saw black tails glistening in the morning sun. There were permit everywhere! Larger schools of smaller fish (8-10 lbs), schools of 2-3 fish, and larger singles covered the flat. We had many shots but only managed to hook one fish that promptly screamed off the flat, wrapped the leader around a coral head and shredded it. Best flies were Turneffe crabs in cream and olive, size #6
and lightly weighted.

Tarpon fishing was also good around the docks of Helene. Angler Don Wilkerson jumped three, landing one of about 20-25 lbs on an orange grizzly Cockroach. Capt. Ted Lund also landed one tarpon of 6-8 lbs on the flats of Barbaret. We also found agreeable mudding bones in the same area. We had shots at some smaller snook on one of the beaches of Barbaret as well.

Wednesday we were off to Guanaja. The winds had calmed which made for a smooth ride over to the island. As we approached the first flat at the eastern side of the island, we were greeted by hundreds of waving bonefish tails! Bonefish populations on the flats of Guanaja are outstanding! The day's fishing produced a number of bones from 2-4 lbs. Best flies were Bonefish Bitters of any size or color. Our best shot at permit came mid morning, two 10-12lb fish were following the Turneffe crab before a Yellow Jack sped in front of them and mowed it down.

Thursday found us back on the flats near Helene looking for permit. We found a good school cruising the smaller flat east of Helene. A good cast in front of them sent them scrambling to find the fly but upon stripping the fly so the fish could see it, it hooked on some turtlegrass and the fish quickly lost interest. There were also some tailing bones in the same area. We moved to the larger flat, where we had good shots at schooling perms but no takers. There were a host of triggerfish, 3 foot lemon sharks, barracuda of all sizes and also 3 fully grown(3-4 ft) Rainbow Parrotfish on the flat as well. Look for permit working behind the triggerfish. The largest fish we saw that day (20 lbs) was following one of the larger triggers.

Friday was the day after the full moon. Winds were calm and the tide was not as high as it had been. We saw one school of fast cruising permit on the flats that wasn't very interested in eating. There were some larger bones tailing but the calm conditions made them tough to approach and cast to. The triggerfish and parrotfish had moved from the flat to on top of the reef in the fly line snagging coral. We also saw a few lemon sharks and a four foot cuda crashing bait. This day proved best for a few Port Royals and rum cocktails and stories about sea monsters and the elusive
Easter leprechaun.

Jason Balogh

Guest Review

What a fantastic trip. It was one of the best fishing trips I have ever experienced. I have fished in many locations and I found the service of the Mango Creek Lodge staff to be superb. Perry (guide), Pam and Graham (managers) and the staff at Mango Creek Lodge were excellent. The fishing was challenging which required good fly casting skills. I would recommend any fisherman to take fly casting lessons suitable for flats fishing. I enjoyed the diversity of fishing; bonefish, permit, tarpon and snook. My fishing guide, Perry, was excellent.

I fished for five days with Perry and I was the only fisherman. It was singular experience not to see another fisherman. My wife and I stayed at the Reef House Diving Resort in Oak Ridge. My wife was getting her diving certification. I wish we would have stayed at Mango Creek Lodge.

As to the fishing, the weather was not cooperative. We had two rainy days and every day was windy. I thought I could fly cast adequately, but in the wind it was a humbling experience. The first day I had a bunch of missed opportunities. My problem was presenting the fly properly especially in the flats. I think Perry was getting frustrated with me. And when I did hook up, I did not perform the strip strike correctly. By day 3, I was getting better. The other problem was spotting the fish. Perry would tell me to cast and I could not see the fish. Perry actually hooked up the largest bonefish (8lbs) and I landed it. My largest fish was 5 lbs and it was one of those ideal times where I saw a single fish, made the perfect cast and hookup. We bonefished some areas where Perry poled the boat. The spotting and casting was much easier and I could catch more fish.

I did fish for Tarpon with bait (Sprat fish; looks like a minnow) around the docks in St. Helene. I hooked up with four Tarpon, but only landed one fish about 15 lbs. I also caught a Snook and a number of Barracuda. I did not have a heavier fly rod for Tarpon fishing. Also I did not get a chance to go to Guanaja due to bad weather.

I am ready to go back to MCL. I went to Christmas Island twice, traveling with a fly shop in California. By the way, in comparing the two locations, I could catch more bonefish (10-20/day) at Christmas Island, but it was difficult to find larger fish. At Roatan, every day I had an opportunity to catch fish 5 lbs and up. I also enjoyed the Tarpon fishing.

I liked the remote setting of Mango Creek and dedicated fishing. I love to fish and when I take a fishing vacation I want to fish as much as possible. At Christmas Island, I was limited to the amount of fishing time and the flats open to fish. I can understand their position, since there were 25 - 30 fisherman. Perry and I fished from sun-up to sun-down for five days.

Edward Kim