Xcalak Fly Fishing Gear List
What to bring?
Pack your bag and make sure to bring your favorite saltwater setups with you. Make sure you have two rods set up for permit, one for bonefish, and one for tarpon, snook, or jack and cudas. Lately, we've been having better luck using a line that's one size larger than what your rod recommends. For example, if you have an 8 wt rod, use 9 wt line; for a 9 wt rod, use 10 wt line. This adjustment helps a lot in windy conditions and makes your fly rod perform better. Shots on these flats happen fast, so it's smart to have your flies already tied on rather than rushing to change them. Also, it's a good idea to have a spinning rod handy for barracudas or when it's really windy.
Recommended Gear
- At least 3 rods from 8-10 wt if possible. We recommend overloading your reels with a line heavier than your rod. So for a 9 wt rod, you would load your reel with 10 wt line in order to help with casting in windy conditions when necessary.
- Hat, Buff / face shield, and sunscreen
- Long sleeve sun shirts and pants, sungloves
- Thermos and water bottle
- Cash tips for guide and lodge staff
- We recommend $30-50 per angler per day for the guide and $20 per angler per day for lodge staff (dining services, housekeeping, groundskeeping, maintenance)
- Dry bag or backpack, wading pack
- Rain jacket
- Wading boots / water shoes (think easy and quick…slip on)
- Polarized sunglasses – copper or amber lens and a green lens seem to be our go to lens colors on the flats here.
- Lens wipes / cleaner
- Fly line cleaner
- 100 yard spools of 12, 16, 20, 30, and 40 lb fluoro leader material
- Hemostat / pliers / nippers
Preparation is the key!
We can't express the importance of practice and preparation for this trip. Permit are the holy grail trophy of saltwater fly fishing and every day here at XOTF you have a chance to catch one. It’s up to you to be in tip-top casting shape and have confidence in your fly placing abilities. With a permit you will need to be able to place the fly within a hula hoop in front of a moving fish’s face. We recommend prior to your trip that you spend at least 1 to 2 hours a week practicing your double haul casting with a crab fly at a local pond or in your backyard (cut the hook off at the shank and you’ll be able to practice your fly retrieval through grass).
Fly Shop on the Flats
Xcalak on The Fly offers a small onsite fly shop with all the things you might need or have forgotten to bring during your stay including fly lines, flies, buffs and our new XOTF sun shirts and hats!