TWO WEEKS ON THE PENINSULA – A YUCATAN ROAD TRIP ODYSSEY Yellow Dog’s Tom Melvin and Yucatan program manager Shaun Lawson recently headed across the border to tour the Yucatan Peninsula. The goal? To visit and fish with eight lodges in 14 days. Armed with a Jeep “Amigo” rental car, a slightly outdated road map, a sat phone on the fritz, no Spanish whatsoever, and accompanied by ten days of solid rain … what could possibly go wrong? DAY 4 DAY 1 Arrival into Cancun. After 13 laps around the Cancun airport, we find the road to the coastal town of Chiquila. Smooth sailing for the first five minutes until we’re pulled over by the local police/welcoming committee. After a very short conversation (none of which we understand) we pay a $20.00 fine for an unknown offense and continue on our way. Ferry ride out to Holbox, where we have the best margaritas of our lives. Several of them, actually. This is going to be one hell of a trip. DAY 7 Campeche Tarpon guide “Hollywood” hikes us deep into the Campeche mangrove backcountry, where Tom sets the record for baby tarpon farmed in a small freshwater inlet creek. Return to Campeche after a great day of fishing for dinner with Alejandro, a tour of city and the Virgin de Guadalupe festival. The Christmas season in Mexico is really something to see. First day on the water with Casa Blanca Lodge. Lodge managers Johnny and Rita are incredible and run a great program. Shots and permit and plenty of bonefish throughout the course of the day followed by a great dinner at Casa Blanca. DAY 11 Staying in the town of Punta Allen during the Christmas week is pretty neat. It’s like a real-life Corona commercial, with Christmas lights in the palms trees and a Mexican Santa wearing board shorts and riding a beach cruiser. Definitely a fun place to visit in December. DAY 8 DAY 5 DAY 2 Early wakeup at Isla Holbox Fly Fishing Lodge and a 6:00 AM departure with guide Angelo. After a 30 minute run, we pole into a backcountry lagoon loaded with baby tarpon. Twenty-year-plus veteran guide Shaun forgets his raincoat, which of course means that the sky opens up and dumps buckets for over an hour. After a full-blown Mexican baptism, tarpon begin rolling EVERYWHERE! Many hookups, lots of fish jumped, and several landed. Head back to Chiquila and on to Campeche. Our transfer day across the Peninsula to Pesca Maya Lodge and Ascension Bay. A long drive in the cozy Amigo, and pulled over at several police checkpoints. Apparently Shaun – being a 6’8” gringo – draws a bit of attention down here. At every stop, however, once they see the Yellow Dog luggage tags, they’re all smiles, checking out our fishing gear and talking flies. We are learning that the Yucatan Peninsula is a very safe place, as there are soldiers and policemen patrolling everywhere. A quick taco stop in Tulum before rallying the rental car down the dirt road to Pesca Maya Lodge. Looking forward to fishing world famous Ascension Bay. Fishing Espirito Santo Bay after a stop at Playa Blanca Lodge. Great bonefishing for large schools throughout the day. End up in a backcountry lagoon for snook and tarpon, where we find tons of action in the mangroves. Super high winds and lots of rain for the day, but the guides of Casa Blanca still put us on fish. DAY 12 DAY 9 We depart Punta Allen for the drive back to Tulum, where we take a left and head south to the small village of Xcalak on the Belize-Mexico border and Costa De Cocos Lodge. We stop at a tiny local restaurant along the way for Chile Con Carnes. We instead get shrimp wrapped in Sizzlean (processed bacon). It’s clear that our Spanish is not getting any better. DAY 3 Wakeup in Campeche at the Hotel Castlemar. We are met by Alejandro Hernandez of Campeche Tarpon and head out to the mangroves wilderness north of the city. Shaun sticks a 10-pound baby tarpon right off the bat. Head back to Campeche and visit the phenomenal Edzna ruins for the day. After an afternoon of Apocalypto flashbacks, we drive back into Campeche for dinner at the “Campeche Tarpon museum” and beers with the team. Campeche is amazing, and already becoming one of our favorite places in the Yucatan. . DAY 6 Fishing with Pesca Maya Lodge. The evening before produced lots of rain and high winds, so the water is a little murky and off-color. Our guide Wilbur does put us on bonefish and several ‘cuda, and we get a shot at a nice 20-pound permit that refuses the crab that Shaun tied the night before. Great day, and another solid program down. We pack up and drive to Punta Allen to meet the boat to Casa Blanca Lodge. On the drive to town, we come to a puddle the length of a football field with a Super Duty truck being towed out – never a good sign. The rental car – small on space and big on cajones – makes the crossing with ease.. Back to Punta Allen after a pretty insane panga ride across rough, windy seas. One of the guides rides in the front of the panga to plane-out, holding onto a rope. It reminds us of a bronc rider at the Livingston Rodeo in Montana. Grab the rental car and head to Grand Slam Lodge. Our Jeep goes swimming again in a puddle that has doubled in size due to the recent rains. An afternoon session with GSL guide Daniel. Schools of bonefish are everywhere. Dinner with lodge manager Capt. Miguel Encalada before sacking out for the night. DAY 13 A full day of fishing with the guides of Costa De Cocos. This is a great lodge in a very laid-back and out-of-the-way place. Our guides take us into the backcountry of Chetumal Bay, where we find bonefish, permit, baby tarpon, and even a few snook. What an incredible fishery! We decide that the bar at CDC is one of our favorites, as well as the small town of Xcalak. Tom leaves Shaun in Xcalak and drives north to Playa del Carmen and Azul Sensatori Resort alone. Tom’s trip has come to end, and its time to fly back to Montana and winter in Bozeman (where the temperature is a balmy four degrees this morning). Shaun hops a ride on a small boat from Xcalak to San Pedro, Belize, where his adventure continues… DAY 10 DAY 14 A quick, early morning drive back down the road to La Pescadora Lodge to meet Jose and Lily. This is the start of two days of fishing with La Pescadora, and expectations for permit are high! If only it would stop raining and give us some clear water and visibility. READ MORE ABOUT SHAUN AND TOM’S ADVENTURES AND OTHER TRAVELS OF THE YELLOW DOG TEAM ON THE YELLOW DOG TRAVEL BLOG: www.yellowdogflyfishing.com/blog email: info@yellowdogflyfishing.com • website: www.yellowdogflyfishing.com • 20 • phone: 406-585-8667 • toll free: 888-777-5060 21