The Palometa Club is located south of the glamorous stretch of Caribbean resorts known to travelers the world over as the Mexican or Mayan Riviera. Highlighted by the popular all-night party town and cruise ship port of Cancun, the area encompasses the golf and diving destination of Cozumel, the sun sports hideaway of Playa del Carmen and the dramatic Mayan ruins of Tulum. But beyond there the pavement ends and the real adventure begins. As you leave the glitter of nightlife, the throngs of tourists, the jet skis, the tour buses, the cheap souvenirs… peace returns and the lush coastal
jungle closes in. Completely protected from development by the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a 1.3 million acre World Heritage Site, this is the real Yucatan, authentic Mayan Mexico at its best. The Palometa Club and the Mayan lobster fishing village of Punta Allen lie thirty miles south of Tulum at the end of a long, narrow peninsula of dense jungle and wild beach that forms the northeastern edge of the famed Ascension Bay. This is where you’re going! Fly Fishing Mexico in style, fly fishing heaven style!

Simply the best in Punta Allen, and for miles beyond! The day begins at sunrise with mugs of rich Mexican coffee followed by a traditional hot breakfast of cereal, eggs, bacon, ham, juices, toast and pastries. Hardy box lunches are prepared for the fishing boats and typically include sandwiches, fruits, desserts, ice water and other beverages of your choice. After the day’s fishing it’s cocktail time at the outdoor beach lounge where icy margaritas and sweet pina coladas help punctuate the recounting of the day’s adventure. Dinner is served family style featuring delicious local Caribbean and Mexican dishes like moja de ajo, pollo con mole, and chili rellenos, followed by scrumptious locally inspired desserts. Bottled water is used for drinking and ice.

The Palometa Club is managed by Dick and Kaye Cameron, former operations managers and hosts of Ascension Bay Bonefish Club. As equity shareholders in The Palometa Club they contribute their 16 combined years of experience running fly fishing operations to ensure an unrivaled experience for all their guests.

Dick is a second generation Alaskan and began his fishing career at age ten aboard his father’s commercial fishing boat. A consummate adventurer with a deep passion for fishing and hunting, he has owned fishing lodges in Alaska and has guided wilderness hunting trips throughout the state. For the past five years Dick has worked at Ascension Bay learning the secrets of this amazing fishery and becoming trusted and well-liked by the residents of Punta Allen. His popular status with the townsfolk has allowed him to assemble an elite team of veteran guides and experienced service staff for The Palometa Club.

Kaye was born in Seattle to a large, fun-loving family that emigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. Her professionalism and contagious enthusiasm make her the perfect co-host. Dick and Kaye were married in Punta Allen, Mexico in June 2004. They have a combined new family that includes Dick’s son Jason 20, Kaye’s son Jim 25, and her daughter Valerie 19. During the off-season Dick and Kaye live in Alaska.

Permit

For the saltwater angler the ultimate quarry is undoubtedly permit. For the same reasons steelhead or Atlantic salmon haunt the dreams of the fresh water fly rodder, permit consume the attention of the serious flats fisherman. Earning the same “fish of a thousand casts” reputation as those anadromous legends to the north, permit are rare, spooky, unpredictable, and have a nasty habit of snubbing your fly no matter how good the cast or how perfect the retrieve. That said, permit are actually far more “catchable” than most anglers realize. And The Palometa Club is simply the best place on the planet to get it done. Ascension Bay provides the optimal eco-system for permit to thrive and the population of fish that swim these rich waters is unequalled anywhere else on earth. From schools of pan-sized baby permit to fish eclipsing 30-, even 40-pounds (including several line-class records), Ascension Bay is to permit what the Skeena in British Columbia is to steelhead, or the Ponoi on the Kola Peninsula in Russia is to Atlantc salmon … Mecca!

The Palometa Club is just that – a club devoted to fishing for permit. We’re experts at it, we prefer to do it over all other forms of fishing, and we’ll give you the best opportunity possible to claim bragging rights to one of the toughest, most sought after fly fishing trophies. If you’ve always wanted to catch a permit on a fly what are you waiting for? You won’t have a better chance than at The Palometa Club

Bonefish

All the “bad” things you’ve ever heard about Ascension Bay bonefish are
true. They average two- to three-pounds, they eat well, and you can
catch a lot of them… everyday. They are lots of 5-6 pounders as well. A few 8 pound fish. It is a very healthy fishery. If you want to key in on bigger fish let your guide know. You will catch fewer if you skip the small ones!

Uhmm? So when was the last time you complained about catching a dozen three-pound, turbo-charged trout on the fly? Let’s put this into perspective. Ascension Bay bones are smaller on average than, say, bonefish in the Bahamas, the Florida Keys or the Seychelles. But ever since the bans on gillnetting in the area they are improving in size and numbers. And what do you really want to do on your next fly fishing trip, catch fish or flog the water? Besides, the reality is while you’re warming up on your casting and catching skills, getting your boat legs back and basking under a warm sun in one of the most beautiful places on earth, the odds of a bigger bone cruising by the edge of the flat are actually pretty high. Plenty of five- to eight-pound fish have been caught, and we land a double-digit bruiser – considered a trophy anywhere on earth – at least once a year.

Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned salty nothing quickens the heart like a large school of bones “pushing water” towards you, or a flat glistening with the silver tails of feeding fish. When it comes to bonefishing The Palometa Club is the perfect place for teenagers, lady anglers and landlocked trout bums to catch their first (and second, third, fourth…) “ghost” of the flats. It’s an addiction that will keep you coming back to Ascension Bay year after year.

Tarpon

It can take some searching to find them, but in the far reaches of the Bay, in hidden “lakes” often accessible only through ancient Mayan channels cut through the mangroves, the intrepid angler can find pods of baby tarpon from 15- to 30-pounds. These fish will readily eat flies and their explosive, acrobatic takes make for an unforgettable day of fly fishing.

In the fall, larger migratory fish upwards of 80- to 100-pounds can be caught as they enter the bay. A few of these bigger fish remain in the area year-round and it is not uncommon to get several shots a week as you search for bonefish and permit. Experienced anglers keep a tarpon rod in the boat – rigged and ready!

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.

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Tie a few patterns with just the weight of the eyes as a variable 1 with lead eyes, 1 with chain, 1 with small chain, and 1 with no weight or mono eyes just to make sure you have flies for very skinny water all the way to waist deep water. Presentation seems to be much more important than fly selection.
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Why book it through us when you could book direct?

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Our Pledge

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