Belize, PART FIVE (final)

We left off with the capturing of two permit on the beginning of the sixth day. Here’s what happened next:
Michael had caught the permit while I was tarpon fishing, and since we were also in the presence of some small bonefish we decided to catch two in case we could get a slam. Michael had actually caught one on his first cast to the permit, though in my haste to get it clear so he could catch the permit I’d grabbed the fly line–rendering the catch non-IGFA legal. So I caught one:

And then he did (again) with a fish that fell off the hook next to the boat. Finally, after a half hour, he caught one that we held for a photo:

After this it was time to focus on tarpon, and we did this at the same place he’d caught the permit and we had both found our bonefish. There were plenty of tarpon around, but none of them would comply–frustrating stuff, to be sure. In a few hours, Eworth took us elsewhere, where we immediately dried one off. I hooked another close to the boat, and the fly came out. Finally I put the hook in one that stayed connected: a decent fish, made all the better by what it meant–another slam for the trip, and just one fish shy of a double grand slam for the boat:

We fished here for another two hours, and Michael had a few shots at pons but he was unable to make a mouth crack open. We left here and returned to permit fishing, where we thought the day would expire. I had a few shots at tailing fish, though I did not get a bite and when the fishing died we returned to the boat for a ride home. Eworth, however, had other plans: get Michael a tarpon, no matter what. It’s not every day, after all, that a double slam is a possibility.
We ran 8 miles to another place, deep inside the mangroves, and on the way I rigged and measured a new class/shock leader and tied on a new fly. We arrived at the corner of mangroves Eworth wanted to fish, and as Michael covered water he hooked a small tarpon that stayed on until I took the fly out, completing the double slam for the day. In case you were wondering, this is the moment we knew the day was epic:

I’d like to thank Eworth Garbutt for some fantastic guiding and Michael for his company on a great trip.

More to come from here, I hear the blackfin tuna are starting to show up.

regards,

ncl