Col. Dave Nuss

A year without going to Tarpon Caye Lodge is a wasted year.

Mike B.

Thanks for a fantastic trip. I’ve been meaning to sit down and write to you ever since I got home. I’m already looking foreword to another trip next year, especially now that I have a little experience under my belt. I have been on a number of fishing trips in the last ten years, and this trip ranks at the top of the my list. You guys are great. Charlie, please give a special thanks to Kevin for me. I really enjoyed being on the water with him. He work very hard every day to give us the best experience possible. I do believe he was happier then I was when I caught my first Permit. A truly great guy. Hope you are all well.

Pat F.

Greatly enjoyed my recent trip to Tarpon Caye: the fishing AND the staff are first rate. Looking forward to another visit at your wonderful fishing camp.

Steve G.

Wanted to drop a line to say how enjoyable Tarpon Caye was a couple weeks ago. The staff were great (especially Marlon and Paul), and I had a great time, even though I only caught a few fish (BUT one was the biggest!).

Jeff Perin – The Peak Fly Shop

We caught a ton of fish during the week and left the lodge feeling like we had made some really good friends with the Leslie family and their staff.

Robert R.

I would like to thank all of your team for a great fishing trip. This was the first time I fished for Tarpon, Bone and Permits and I’ll never forget it. I think I’m hooked on Tarpon and Permit fishing. I should call it Permit hunting and not fishing. I couldn’t believe the level of anticipation hunting permits. I can only compare it to riding a biggest and fastest rollercoaster:
Spot fishing is like standing in line for this rollercoaster, you are trying to imagine what the ride will be like or how the permit will strike and run

creeping up to the Permit and casting is like the long slow ride up the fist hill the tension is now increasing the further up the hill you go

finally the strike and run is like go down the fist large hill and going through all the turns Permit hunting is amassing and want to thank your team again for setting me to get my first 10 pound permit. I don’t know how many times I’ve repeated both my Tarpon and Permit catches to all my friends and co-workers.
Permit hunting is amazing and want to thank your team again for setting me to get my first 10 pound permit. I don’t know how many times I’ve repeated both my Tarpon and Permit catches to all my friends and co-workers.

Jonathan R.

You provided an amazing experience and even cooked up the barracuda that my wife caught.

Thom P.

Thanks again for a wonderful trip.

Robert F.

Just a note to express my gratitude for the wonderful trip to Tarpon Caye over the Christmas holiday 2007. Having been to a number of fishing lodges I can tell you Charlie’s hospitality is second to none. By some standards Tarpon Caye is rustic but you will want for nothing. I was just as comfortable and felt more at home than at any other place I’ve stayed.

Marvelous local style food with fresh catch of the day everyday. Honest, simply prepared and absolutely delicious. I ate at least ten different fresh fish during my stay including fresh lobsters, shrimp and conch. I have to say the conch chowder, conch ceviche and the never to be forgotten fabulous conch fritters were my favorites. Stuffed jacks, fried beans and fish hash for breakfast; it doesn’t get any better than that!

The fishing is fantastic. Charlie does right, fishing the tides. Imagine that, fishing on the fishes schedule not the lodges. Marlon is an experienced and knowledgeable guide and is above all extremely enthusiastic. I felt as though I did three days fishing per day. Instead of being stuck in a boat for 8-9 hours a day, several of those hours spent making long runs to fishing grounds and staring at empty water because the tide isn’t right, facing a cold sandwich for lunch and searching for a suitable piece of Mangrove swamp for a bathroom Tarpon Caye allows the angler a chance to feel comfortable and refresh oneself and have a great meal back at lodge. Tarpon Caye is in the middle of the fishing grounds surrounded by flats teeming with fish. No long runs. On the first morning I caught my first ever Kingfish right in front of the lodge not two minutes from the dock. A typical day was trolling or chasing Tarpon very early, back to the lodge for a great breakfast, mid-day stalking Permit on the flats, back to the lodge for lunch and maybe an hour in the hammock, and out again in the evening for Tarpon or deep troll the reef for Grouper until dark. Followed by dinner and refreshments, this is a fisherman’s perfect day.

I had never fished for Permit on the flats prior to this trip. Marlon consistently put me on fish each and every day. I had at least 10-12 legitimate shots at Permit every afternoon. Stalking permit with Marlon is and intense and exciting experience. Success? On the fifth day, dead calm, overcast with an unusually high tide we had perfect conditions for sighting aggressively feeding Permit. On one tide, from 9am to 1pm we boated 5 PERMIT from 4 to 10 lbs.. After catching one and experiencing the incredible battle it was to land a Permit I didn’t think there could be anything better. But to be able to get four more and take five in a day was out of this world! Top that!

I will return again and again to Tarpon Caye. Hard-core fishing is what I’m all about and Tarpon Caye is the best of the best!

Peggy & Gary K.

Dear Charlie and Staff,
We just wanted to Thank you for the great time we all had at Tarpon Caye Lodge with you for the week. We’re still laughing at some of the stuff everyone did and said, and I have a picture of Gary wiping the tears from his eyes, he was laughing so hard he cried the last night we were there and he was sitting at the picnic table with you guys!

The Pesky Permit Club at Tarpon Caye Logde

Clubhouse:
Built on stilts above the Caribbean Sea
Open deck with a fantastic view
Wall Of Fame
Dining area where delicious and memorable family style meals are served
Self-Sustain:
Full running fresh water from our water storage system
Solar system provides a 12 volt lighting system at night when the generator is turned off
Diesel generator provides 110 electricity throughout the day and is shut off at 9 p.m.

Bar:
Enjoy a cold drink under our brand new tropical thatched bar
Thatched Palapa:
jump in a hammock under our open air thatched palapa
FREE Wi-Fi internet

Water Sports:
Kayaks and snorkeling gear are available for complimentary use

Guides and Staff:
Our employees are all licensed, certified and most of all warm, friendly and ready to assist and make your trip enjoyable

Dining at Tarpon Caye Lodge

Dining:
Dinners at the lodge usually consist of generous portions of fresh seafood including lobster, conch, shrimp or freshly caught fish (let us know if you have a special diet). Local Belizean fare such as chicken and pork with local vegetables are also on the menu.

The resident cook would be happy to prepare your favorite dish, just ask! Try the fried plantains!

You may choose to snorkel the reef just in front of your cabin and pick up some conch which the island Chef will turn into a tasty “Ceviche” dish or tantalizingly delious conch fritters; at dinner time. Snorkel past some of the large coral heads and you may be able to spot cruising tarpon in the deeper pockets of the reef or see lobsters hiding in the coral.

TARPON (Megalops atlanticus)
OTHER NAMES: Silver King, Sabalo

RANGE: All Florida coasts plus the Greater Antilles and some other Caribbean islands, including the Virgin and Cayman Islands. Scattered in the Bahamas, where it is most plentiful around Andros but also present elsewhere, including Bimini, the Berry Islands, and the Exumas.

HABITAT: Fishable throughout Florida in warm months, including the Panhandle, but adults are largely confined to South Florida in the winter. Major fishing efforts for big Tarpon are directed at live-baiting in large passes, inlets, channels and river mouths throughout the state, and at sight-fishing with fly and casting tackle on shallow flats in the Keys and on the lower Gulf Coast from Homosassa southward. Large and medium Tarpon also are found off the beaches and in the surf of both coasts at times, and many are hooked from bridges and piers, especially at night. Medium-size fish are common in a variety of settings in South and Central Florida, including freshwater rivers and landlocked canals. Tiny juveniles inhabit landlocked canals and ditches.

DESCRIPTION: Green or steel above, silver on sides and belly. Deep, thick body; forked tail. Long trailer at end of dorsal fin.

SIZE: From 12 inches or less to about 75 pounds, on average, although big fish of 100 to 150 pounds are numerous in many areas. World record 283 pounds, 4 ounces; Florida record 243 pounds.

FOOD VALUE: None.

GAME QUALITIES: Famous for the spectacle and frequency of its jumps. Giant Tarpon don’t quite match the acrobatics of the smaller ones, but they leap frequently enough in shallow water, and with even more fury.

Permit: (Trachinotus falcatus)
OTHER NAMES: Round Pompano, Great Pompano

HABITAT: Permit are found mostly on the flats and in the lagoons around Placencia. They are abundant in southern Belize (Punta Icacos and Punta Negro)

DESCRIPTION: Deeper body and blunter head than the Pompano. Large, sickle-shaped tail. Scutes absent Silver overall; sometimes has a black blotch on side under the pectoral fin. Like Pompano, small Permit may also show some yellow on the underside.

SIZE: Can run as high as 40 or 50 pounds, with 20-30, pounders fairly common.

GAME QUALITIES: Rates as one of the very best gamefish a long runner on the flats and a strong, stubborn deep fighter offshore. Also one of the most challenging to fool, especially with artificial lures. This is a catch and release fish.

Here are some techniques we have developed over the years: Present the fly to tailing fish as softly as you can; this is very important. Especially if you are fishing to a school; for they get spooked easier than the singles and doubles.
Tailing permits on the flats are feeding permit. In order to stand a chance of getting a hook up, you must present the fly on his dinner plate, and don’t be in a hurry to strip it back in unless you made a bad cast.
A permit will circle its dinner plate to see what comes on it when he is digging. If your fly is on the plate at that time that’s when you make one or two inch strips. If the fish goes down over your fly, make a short set with your line.
DO NOT raise the rod, for you may not feel the take. You may feel a light tapping on your line, if so, set right away; for the tapping you feel is the permit crushing your fly and if he does not like the taste, he exhales the fly in a heartbeat.

After the hook up:
When the hook up comes, raise the rod as high as possible and keep the line clear of your rod butt and other obstructions. The bigger fish may stay and try to take your fly off on the bottom, for he thinks it’s a crab nipping their lips. But, when he finds out differently, he takes off like a bat out of hell. Keep your hands off the reel when the fish is running; for one touch of the reel could snap your leader.

After all this is done, wait for further instructions from your guide; for that will come depending on the situation you are in at that time.
Our guides fish with a boat tender, so the boat is always close enough if you need to chase the fish. Our guides are very knowledgeable of the sport, so he will be giving you a lot more information and instructions and will be talking you through this journey.

Bonefish: (Albula vulpes)
OTHER NAMES: Silver Ghost, White Fox, Macabi

RANGE: The bonefish is a tropical species and is seriously fished only in the south end of Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami and the Florida Keys and also, of course, throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean. Stragglers are sometimes caught north of the preferred habitat, usually from the surf, although a few are taken from the Indian River. The Longfin variety is rare in Florida.

HABITAT: Bonefish do much of their foraging on shallow mud or grass flats, where they can be sighted and cast to. They also frequently gather in large schools over fairly deep, soft bottom, where their feeding stirs up patches of silt or “mud.”

DESCRIPTION: Thick-bodied but streamlined. Dark back, usually greenish, and silver sides; pointed snout with under slung mouth; forked tail. A smaller and much lesser-known variety, the Long fin Bonefish, Albula nemoptera, looks almost identical, except for streamer-like extensions of its dorsal and anal fins.

SIZE: Common from 2 to 10 pounds; sometimes to 15 pounds, and possibly to 18 or 20. World record 19 pounds; Florida record 15 pounds, 6 ounces.

FOOD VALUE: Although popular in the Bahamas and tropics, Bonefish are seldom eaten in Florida. They are indeed very bony; and too highly prized as gamefish to kill for, at best, a mediocre dinner.

GAME QUALITIES: Legendary for long-distance runs in shallow water. Strong, jack-like fighter in deep water.

read more about the fishing

Here is a list of the basics you will need for your trip. I have organized this list on Pro Guide Direct where you can actually purchase the brands and items that I have found to be the best of the best. Any Items that you purchase from Pro Guide Direct will help us earn a living and help you by being ensuring that you have the right gear for the trip. Many of our destinations are pretty remote with no chance to buy things on site.

We are aware of the difficulty clients have when traveling with lots of luggage, therefore we
have taken that into consideration and created a gear checklist that will give you every piece of
gear you will need and eliminate all of the unnecessary clunk that you simply won’t need.
Tarpon:
– 12 wt rod with intermediate sink WF fly line with extra spool WF full floating
– Permit: 10 wt rod with WF full floating line
– Bonefish: 8 wt rod with WF floating line
Tarpon leader material:
– 20 – 40 – 50 or 60 pound test disappearing pink flora
Bonefish and permit leader material:
– 8 – 12 – 16 pound test taper leader or spools of the same sizes to make leaders,
disappearing pink if possible
Tarpon flies/lures:
– Gummy minnow with silver side and gray back 1-0 hook preferably
– Clouser minnow chartreuse and white 1-0 hook preferably
Permit flies:
– Merkins: brown, tan, tan and brown, olive green
– Sexy Sixties
– Mantis shrimp
– Beaur Flies
– Rag Head
– Or any other that you might like
– All should be tied on # 4 hooks with minnie dumbbell eyes or hallow bead chain eyes
with weed guard Bonefish flies:
– Crazy Charlie: gold, pink, white, chartreuse and crystal flash
– Clouser: chartreuse and white, full chartreuse and full white, all with hallow bead chain
eyes and tied on # 6 hooks.
Trolling equipment:
– Ugly stick: 7 ft stand up rod for little big game with 4-0 10 reel with 30 lb test line
Bait Casting (snook fishing):
– Ugly stick: 7 ft medium to fast casting rod with reel equivalent to 3500 Shimano Reel,
with 17 lb test line.
Bait casting for permit and bonefish:
– Ugly stick: 7 ft fast tip flex with ultra light reel, 8 lb and 12 lb test line, extra spool.
Trolling Lures:
– assorted 4 inch to 5 inch Rapalla, Yozuri, Bombers all Divers
Casting Lures:
– Assorted 3 inch to 4 inch Rapalla, Yozuri, Mirror Lures slow sink, Buck tail Jig, Sassy
shad, Zara Spook
Permit and Bonefish:
– Assorted colors; wiggle jig on # 2 hooks
Other Items:
– Hard steel leader
– Braided flex steel leader
– All 70 to 90 lb test
– Barrel swivel 70 to 90 lb test
– 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 single hook

Note: Wipe sunsceen off hands before handling rods, tippets and flies. Creams act as
lubricants and cause slippage, and impart scents to flies that deter strikes. Rinse rods and reels in
fresh water after each use. Salt water is very corrosive. Use reels made for salt water when
possible. Rinse your rods and reels in fresh water daily after fishing.

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