Though oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface,
saltwater occupies a very small percentage of attention in the world of fly fishing.

Certainly the interest in flats fishing and off-shore angling with a fly rod continues to grow, but the number of quality new destinations doesn’t keep pace, and the current saltwater portfolio of most angling travel agents reads like yesterday’s news.

It’s always been part of the flyfishing ethos to wonder and want to find out what’s beyond the angling horizon or the far wave, and if those rumors of an El Dorado are true. For the most part, it’s difficult to leave new footprints in the sand, but we keep searching.

In 2007 The Fly Shop travel staff spent months trying to determine the quality of Penrhyn Island bonefishing. After reading a wonderful article in a major magazine our team made several visits to the remote and spectacularly beautiful South Pacific island. What we found after four months of fishing and exhausting research, was that Penrhyn bonefishing is dependent on unpredictable, cooling tides. It’s a place perfectly suited for bonefishing, and everything was there except reliable bonefishing.

In other prospecting we’ve discovered lots of swell hideaways that are just too difficult to get to, or won’t suffer the pressure of routine fishing. In the search, we’ve gained a greater appreciation for the rock-solid fishing destinations that are out there. We know there are a few places dotting the map that cry out for exploration. So, stay tuned.

Bahamas
After nearly seventy years of search by a veritable armada of intrepid fly fishermen, the finest flats of the “shallow sea” are still found along the shorelines of Andros and Grand Bahama islands. There is other fine fishing to be found in the “out islands” from Little Abaco to Great Inagua and we’ve got a pretty good handle on those places. But day in and day out, the list of bonefish lodges you’ll find on pages 160 through 163 are the most reliable Bahamian destinations you could choose. > read more

Belize
It is no coincidence that every great fly fishing destination in this tiny Central American coastal country was completely mapped by the early 60’s. The Fly Shop’s used to lease a yacht for two months each year in the 80’s to fish, dive, and cruise the 231-mile Belize shoreline. We know it like the backs of our hands. We were Belize before Belize was cool.  > read more

Mexican Yucatan
Boca Paila remains the oldest and one of the best of Yucatan fly fishing destinations, but it now shares claim to Ascension Bay, Bahia Espiritu Santo, and the tarpon lagoons that line the coast of this part of Mexico with other terrific arrivals on the flats fishing scene. Casa Blanca, Paradise, and Palometa offer new and exciting wrinkles to the Yucatan experience, and access to the Campeche and Holbox flats north of Cancun gices one more dimension to the world of tarpon fishing. > read more

Christmas Island, Los Roques & the Seychelles
These are, arguably, the three best wadefishing destinations for bonefish on the known planet! All are relatively new discoveries in the world of flats fishing (when compared to the Keys or Bahamas). We count ourselves among the anglers willing to ignore the political bluster in Venezuela, the rigorous and often unreliable travel to the South Pacific, and the expense and even more difficult travel itinerary necessary to reach the Indian Ocean. > read more