Fishing day

Guides at Blue Horizon fish the tides, and water conditions. It is rare to be fishing over the high noon day sun.

They prefer to fish early in the morning, come into the lodge for lunch and a short siesta, then head back out in the afternoon. If it is particularly good at noon time, you will stay out on the water or if you are a long way away from the lodge, you will probably have lunch in the boat.

Anglers can expect to get numerous realistic shots at permit on a daily basis. Something unique to Blue Horizon’s fishing program, and in contrast to traditional permit fishing, is spotting permit from the skiff, then stealthily slipping into the water, wading to within casting distance for optimal position, then casting to tailing fish. This type of fishing will blow your mind. There is no set fishing schedules at Blue Horizon Lodge; long fishing days are the norm. They fish by the tides and weather conditions, not the cook.

The flats of Belize, generally, run in a north-south direction. Typically, they are narrow flats, 50 to 200 feet wide that steeply rise from the bottom to a depth of 6 inches on the east side with a long taper to the west side to deeper water. These flats can run 100 feet to 5 miles long. The permit are usually tailing down that line throughout the high tide curve.

As the boat is poled down these flats, you can spot tails and dorsal fins and nervous water that give the permit away. Normally, you step out of the boat on hard surface flats and position yourself for the right kind of crosswind or downwind cast. It is not unusual to get many casts to the same fish.

You cannot line these fish; that is, cast beyond them. The cast must be close. “Hook ‘em or spook ‘em” is often heard. Once hooked, you keep your drag loose and let them run off the flat. Then you get back in the boat and fight the permit in deep water.

This is the toughest fly fishing in the world and not for the light hearted. Blue Horizon Lodge is the only lodge dedicated to permit. They know the flies and techniques to land these difficult fish. They approach an average of 2 permit landed per angler per week every year. This is truly your best chance at landing a permit.

Permit swim erratically, so casting close to the fish is essential. Many people believe that casting close to a permit will scare him off, and sometimes it might. But if you cast too far in front of him, he may turn before he gets to your fly and never see it. If you cast over him, he's history, or if you cast to the side of him, he might see your line or turn and run into it, which will also spook him. Regardless of what you may have read or been told, strive to drop your fly the length of the fish directly in front of him. If you scare him off, then so be it. At least you'll know he sees the fly. You can't catch a permit on a fly he never sees, so listen to the guide and put it right in front of the fish - not to one side or the other - right in front of him!!

Your drag must be set quite light - just strong enough to keep your line from free spooling. There are many coral formations in the waters and after you set the hook, you want to allow the permit to run as straight and as quick as possible off the flats into deep water where you will fight him. A loose drag is essential. If you tighten down on him, he will feel the pressure and zig-zag around the coral heads and cut you off.

Don't try to cast from too far away and sacrifice accuracy. Most permit are taken at about 40 feet. Your cast must stay between you and fish. Never line a permit or he will blow up and disappear. Immediately upon making your cast, point your rod at the fish and take the slack out of your line with long slow strips. When the guide tells you, or if you feel the slightest tap, set the hook with a strong short strip, while the rod is still pointed directly at the fish. Never try to set the hook by raising your rod tip. This ain't trout fishing!

After hook-up, raise your rod as high as you can, but don't pressure the fish. You'll probably be on foot at the time of hook-up, so the object is to get back in the boat while letting the un-pressured permit run, and then follow him in the boat as quickly as possible to deep water. Keeping it all together is mayhem for sure, but all permit fly-fishing is mayhem.

Forget the idea that large numbers of permit means they will compete for your fly. You can only fish to one at a time - the one that is closest to you. If there are many permit in view, the closest fish may keep changing, which can be confusing. When there are many fish present, it is almost impossible to keep track of them all and cast without lining a fish you didn't see. Casting to one or two fish is much easier than fishing to a huge school.

Make sure you are looking at the same fish that your guide is seeing. A permit can pick up a fly, crush it and spit it out, and you won't feel a thing. That's why listening to the guide is imperative. His trained eye will know when the fish has picked up the fly, even if you aren't sure. Believe him! When he says, "Cast" you cast. When he says "Strip", you make a long, slow strip. When he says, "Drop it," you point your rod at the fish and let the fly drop (stop). And when he says, "Set," you set the hook.