Fly Fishing Blogs | Xcalak on the Fly

You might spend ten years fishing your local spots, but the first hour on the flats can still be a humbling experience. It’s just a different challenge, so different than the curvy rivers of Colorado or the coastlines of New England. Places like Xcalak and the flats around it are a true destination fishing trip,…

No two days of flats fishing in Xcalak are alike. The fish are here all year, bonefish, permit, tarpon, and the rest of the Caribbean lineup, but it’s the weather, wind, light, and tide that shape each day. Once you understand these factors, you can work with the conditions instead of against them. Here’s how…

Plenty of destinations get booked once. A place gets photographed, checked off a list, and that’s the end of it. Xcalak isn’t one of those places, especially not when it comes to Xcalak fishing trips. Ask around at Casa Paraiso during happy hour, and you’ll find a good chunk of the anglers on the dock…

Anyone can book a flight and a guide day. Building a trip you actually remember takes more than that. The best fly fishing lodge experience isn’t just about the water; it’s about everything wrapped around it: where you sleep, who you’re fishing with, how the days move, and whether the place feels like somewhere you…

Most anglers show up to the flats thinking the fish are going to be the biggest thing standing between them and getting one on the fly. They’re definitely a challenge. But for the most part, the fish do the same handful of things every single day: tail the same grass beds, cruise the same edges,…