Category: Experience Xcalak

Suppose you’re headed to Xcalak, Mexico soon; first, lucky you. You’re about to fish one of the most beautiful and underrated saltwater fly fishing destinations on the planet. But before you start dreaming about tailing permit and cruising bonefish, do yourself a huge favor: get your cast dialed in before you land. Even the best…

There’s nothing like stepping onto the flats of Xcalak, Mexico before sunrise, that soft light just starting to break over the Caribbean. This is when the water’s cool, the wind’s usually calm, and the fish haven’t been pressured yet. Tarpon and bonefish love this window. Tarpon roll in the back lagoons and along mangroves, while…

If you’ve spent enough time chasing fish on the flats of Xcalak, you already know that timing is everything. You can have the best cast, the right fly, and even a school of permit fish tailing right in front of you, but if the season’s not in your favor, luck runs thin quick. That’s why…

Every angler who’s been to Xcalak, Mexico knows the highs and lows. One day, the Caribbean flats feel alive with bonefish, permit, and tarpon rolling through every pocket. The next day, the weather shifts, the tide slows, and the fish vanish like smoke. You’re left standing on a white sand flat, questioning your fly choice,…

If you’re standing on the dock in Xcalak, fly rod in hand with a local fishing guide, staring out at that endless turquoise water, you’ve got a decision to make. The flats and mangroves of Xcalak are alive with three legends of the salt: snook, tarpon, and bonefish. Each one will test you in its…

Saltwater fly fishing looks easy when you see the highlight reels of big tailing permit, bonefish sliding into range, and tarpon blowing up on the fly. But if it’s your first trip, especially somewhere like Xcalak, the reality hits quick: wind in your face, fish vanishing before you even pick up the rod, and your…

Some places just have a rhythm to them, and the waters surrounding Xcalak, Mexico, are no different. It’s the hush of the wind across the mangroves, the push of the tide over white sand, and the whisper of a guide calling out from the poling platform, “Permit. Ten o’clock. Coming in hot.” In that moment,…

You’ve booked your trip to Xcalak or are planning to. So now you’re trying to figure out what you can get ready for. First, get into the mindset that fishing here will be different from the streams of the Rockies or the marshes of the East Coast.  One of the things that makes Xcalak such…

You’re standing ankle-deep in warm Caribbean water, the sun rising behind you like a fireball over the mangroves. The sky is cloudless, and the flats are glass-calm. You scan the turquoise shallows, your guide pointing just ahead, “Permit, eleven o’clock, thirty feet.” You squint, trying to pick out the fish through the glare, but all…