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| Cerros Mayan Ruins |
This was our second trip to the Central American country of Belize. The first time was during the extremely cold winter of 2015. The winter of 2019 was considerably milder but it was still great to get away from chilly New England for a couple of weeks.
Cerros Beach February 26 - March 2, 2019
Cynthia and I flew into in Belize City on February 26th. We then hopped onto a smaller plane which took us to Corozal in northern Belize. We stayed at the same spot as on our previous trip. The Cerros Beach Resort is the perfect place to just relax and become acclimated. Here we enjoyed the hospitality of the proprietors, Bill and Jennifer. Bill is an excellent cook with a knack for fusing American Cusine with local flavors and ingredients. They also make and brand their own wines which are quite good. Activities on site include sea kayaking, swimming, bird watching, and hiking to nearby Mayan ruins. I made a few casts from a kayak but didn’t even get a nibble. After a several laid back days we got on another small plane and flew to Caye Caulker near Belize’s famous barrier reef.
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| Our Cabana |
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| Cerros Beach Resort |
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| Sunset Over Corozal Bay |
Caye Caulker March 3-6, 2019
My sister, Dotty, would be joining us on the island in a couple of days. Prior to leaving home I booked two fishing and snorkeling combo trips for the three of us. Cynthia and I just couldn’t wait another day to get out on the water so the first thing we did after checking in was to book an all day snorkeling trip with for the following day.
The barrier reef in Belize is the second largest of it’s kind in the world and a very popular snorkeling spot. The eight passengers in our boat were just a small fraction of the total visitors to the reef that day. Despite the crowds the fish watching was very good. Saw many different species of fish including some that I never saw before like the Longspine Porgy and a Sand Tilefish. Besides the usual colorful reef fish we saw large stingrays, huge Tarpon, nurse sharks, and a big sea turtle. Before returning to the dock we stopped in an area known for it’s huge tame tarpon. The tarpon here have been conditioned to snatch food (small dead fish) dangled by hand over the water. It’s become quite a tourist attraction.
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| Friendly Tarpon |
Later that evening we hiked to the western side of the island to watch the sunset. Of course I brought along a fishing rod “just in case”. I used a micro rig that consisted of a two hook sabiki baited with bits of shrimp. After a whole lot of bait stealing I managed to catch a pretty little Schoolmaster Snapper.
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| Schoolmaster Snapper |
The next day my sister Dotty arrived. We spent most of our time exploring the island and lounging by the pool where we met two families who were traveling together and staying in the other cabins. One was from Colorado and the other from British Columbia. The two men in the group, Ed and Larry, had a fishing trip planned for the following day. They invited me to come along and help share the cost of a half day trip. I enthusiastically accepted their invitation!
Soon after we arrived at the dock we were greeted by Captain Ish. Ish is a jovial fellow with a personality as colorful as his clothes. He’s also good at putting his clients on the fish.
The first stop was a nearby area with a Magrove covered shoreline. The Captain used his casting net to easily catch (Well, he made it look easy) a bunch of Redear Sardine baitfish.
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| Captain Ish Netting Bait |
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| Redear Sardine |
Soon after we arrived at an area more than half way to the mainland and began trolling. We used conventional reels on boat rods with braided line. The rig was simply a long sturdy wire leader tied to a large hook with a live sardine as bait. This was trolled slowly without any additional weight. We took turns holding the rods two at a time.
On the second pass near a reef I hooked up. The Barracuda made an initial leap and then fought fiercely all the way to the boat. Captain Ish gaffed the fish. After a couple of photos the fish was put on ice. Next Larry hooked up and reeled in another cuda about the same size. After several hit and runs, Ed hooked up and pulled in a huge Barracuda.
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| First Barracuda Of The Day |
Next on the agenda was some bottom fishing for Snapper. Captain Ish anchored near a reef and the mate cut up some bait. My first fish was a colorful little Yellowtail Snapper. This was soon followed by a few Gray Snapper, and a bunch of Lane Snapper. A few were big enough for eating and were put into the cooler.
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| Yellowtail Snapper |
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| Gray Snapper |
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| Lane Snapper |
We got back to the shore around noontime. The captain cleaned our fish, tossing the remains into the water where big hungry Tarpons swam waiting for a handout.
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| Captain Ish Cleans A Fish |
That evening we dined on Snapper and Barracuda Franchaise with Mango Sauce. The sauce was made with lime juice, local hot sauce, and Mango jam made by Bill, the proprietor from the Cerros Beach Resort. The fish was washed down with ample quantities of cold fruity libations. We were a bit wary about eating the Barracuda. It’s been known on occasion to cause ciguatera poisoning. The toxin occurs naturally in coral where it enters the food chain. The toxin becomes magnified at the top of the chain. Our questions and research revealed a lack of recent ciguatera incidents in the area. Barracuda was also on the menus of a number of local restaurants. We decided it was probably safe enough and I we lived to fish another day.
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| Left to Right: Larry, Me, Ed |
