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Belize trip

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dlaurend

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i went to turneffe last year which is in the same region as el pescador.  From my experience there are millions of small bonefish around yearly.  Permit are more plentiful but still hard to catch in spring.  Tarpon year round though numbers and location flucuate.


And the diving in that region is really great!


 



Its a year  round fishery

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I have stayed there a number of years ago. My wife and I went in November, they did and may still offer a 2 for 1 special. Guides were ok depending who you got. The resort itself was top notch, everything included. Make you breakfast before you go to fish, guides pick you up at the doc. Lodge provides lunch and drinks for the boat, get back to the lodge around 3:00 and cocktail hour, bar stock free. We had dinner outside every night with the other folks and met some cool people. IF you want to go to town you can get a boat to take you over for the evening. Nice pool on site, not a beach to speak of . Did chase a few bones near the lodge on foot as well. I'd go back.

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As aneary said, the two for one is a great deal, I booked through Frontier's and they were great because my first booking was shortly after my throat cancer surgery and had to re-book and that us how I found out about the two for one deal. Lots of small Bones some permit, no Tarpon. I went in November both times. My trips to Belize is how I ended up with my name Bonefishdick.

 

The Atoll is a good two hour ride from the mainland and I believe there is only one other Lodge on the Atoll. If two guys go, you split the bill, tips etc. but if you go with your wife if your married you have to cover all the tips yourself. I would caution you on this. The two for one special is you pay the single supplement rate. The first time I went my wife likes to snorkel and they also have what is called the Atoll adventure where they take people who like to snorkel everyday to do that and some others activities.While on the Atoll and you have to schedule a trip back to the mainland in advance.. My wife snorkeling everyday meant I had the boat to myself. I had the full day to fish, no half hour up and half hour down watching the other guy fish when in the boat; when you waded they would spread you out if two people fished.

 

The second time I went, I did the two for one and they wanted to match me up in the boat with someone else if my wife did the Atoll adventure. For that kind of money I told them if they insisted on doing that I was not booking the trip, My reason for the refusing to matched up with a stranger was I saw what happened on my first trip with a man from the UK and the guy he got matched with ruined his trip. My other reason was I said if my wide wanted to go with me I would not have room in the boat for her. I got the boat to myself again, no stranger in my boat. The guide I had both times was named Dubs and he was awesome

 

If I book a two for one trip with another flyfisherman that is a different story but I would refuse being matched up with stranger. If I know you and you ruin my trip I will get even later.

The Tug Is The Drug

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I have been in Oct and Nov and the weather was great. There were more tarpon around in October.


I would rate the fishing at Turneffe much higher that time of year. The average bonefish was better than the big schools of twinkies at El Pescador. There is much more wading available at Turneffe vs. the mud bottoms around EP and there are more permit (we both scored on our trip).


Accommodations/food/staff at both places were top-shelf.


I would not go back to EP for bonefish however I would go back during Tarpon season. I think that's really their claim to fame (access to savannah flats)


For bonefish I much prefer Bahamas to either location.

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I am gonna be honest about Turneffe overall for how expensive it was I did not find the fishing spectacular.  I did the mix adventure with my wife where i could choose to scuba or fish each day...or do both in one day.  I will say the scuba diving was spectacular and better than the fishing.  Maybe they market the fishing more because they can get more money... but again the scuba was top notch and I have been to some of the best scuba spots on the planet.


I also got quite angry at Turneffe because as somebody said above because I was a single angler I was paired with a stranger.  He was a nice guy but It cut my fishing time in half on the flats boat which I felt I paid a premium for to fish on my own.  When I complained after the first day they said it would cost an extra $400 a day for my own guide.


My advice is this also.. When doing an all inclusive lodge get all the costs total and get it in writing / email.  In the end in Turneffe when we settled the bill, there were an extra $1400 in misc. charges.  I had to go back to the original emails and show them the contract they sent and it showed I only owed $600 in the end, which they accepted after i argued their own contract for 20 min.


I dont want to bad mouth the place.  In the end It was one of the best trips my wife and I have ever taken.  And we went into to it knowing it would be expensive, but for the premium we payed i dont feel the lodge gave us premium service. 


side note.. we spent a week in the Belize jungle which I highly suggest as well.. great ruins, caves, wildlife


side side note.. My fishing buddy who has done turneffe, el pescador, and belize river lodge likes belize river lodge the best of the 3.  


 



good luck

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mightyrime your experience and BFD have totally put me off. I don't like treatment like that one iota. Faced with what you and BFD experienced it would have ended up in a bit of shouting match. Getting a bill for $1400 against actual costs of $800 well quite simply its either fraud or very sharp and nasty practice. No probs with two in a boat if that is the upfront deal before leaving home and price paid reflects its a two up situation. Two up is bad enough with a close fishing friend but a stranger no way.

Warm water fishing is on my wish list but not in Belize I think. Glad I saw your posts.

 

Mike

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Mike,



I would still go fish Belize as it really is a great place.  But after my experience and the experience of my friend who has been 3 times the best value is to book a hotel and then hire a guide separate.  Will Flack's outfit belizefly.com is supposed to be really good.  


I have also heard very good things about southern belize around Placencia and further south.  It is not quite so tourist driven so I think you get a bit more value for your dollar.

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mightyrime

 

What got me was the way these guys tried to wheel and deal you. Its true to say I have been around the bock a few times and I have seen all kinds of crap going on when it comes to organised trips. Friend of mine went to Cuba and the show was run by someone that had worked in the fly industry his experience was average at best. Communications were poor and the guiding disorganised. There were not enough boats to go around the guides. He paid a lot. He discovered that there was a huge disconect to what he was paying for a guided days fishing and what the Guides earned from it. He too if there is a next time will book his guide himself and sort out accomodation. Ok some places in the world thats not possible and they have you but if all costs are transparent up front then you know what you are in for.

Its funny but guys over hear ask me if I book my trips to the USA with what you Guys I think call an Outfitter. They tend to get open mouth lock jaw when I tell them no I make a few phone calls, stroke a few PC keys and do it myself and for say Cape Cod or Montauk for 18 days it sets me back $3000 all in everything. They for just 7 days had been forking out $6000 for having their hands held and seduced by photos and glossy brochures.:)

The killer element of these warm water trips is the guide fee which seems to be around $600 plus the embarassing tip for what I consider half a days fishing. LOL.

For fun google up Salmon fishing trips to Russia's Kola Peninsula and see what kind of money these Guys are demanding.

 

Mike

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Totally agreed..  I am as DIY as it gets.  And for 15 years of my career I organized travel around the planet ( I was a rock and roll touring production manager).  Now I stay home with wife and baby but I do local production in NYC so I spend my days organizing people and equipment.  What I will say also about Turneffe is they were not trying to purposefully rip me off.. they were just very unorganized when it came to the books end of stuff and could not fathom nor find the mistake in accounting they made.


I have maybe done about 10 tropical saltwater trips in my life and this was the first that i used the "all inclusive take care of me" package.  If I was rich and never counted my pennies I would never book travel for myself again, but I have yet to win the lottery and with the new baby finances are tighter.


We have kind of derailed this post but what I learned for belieze and other tropical trips to be a success ( if saving money is somewhat important)


1. travel with a fishing partner as this splits rooms, rental cars, guide / boat costs, and you avoid the stranger pair up



2. with said partner make a realistic budget and set your goals



3. get those plane tickets first use skyscanner to find the best times to buy or kayak is pretty good



4. rent room and car at the same time ( some places like vieques has more hotels than car rentals.. and without a car there you cant get to all the fishing spots)



5. if you are going to use a guide call him many times pre trip.. if he is not helpful on the phone most likely he wont be much help in the skiff



6. pack a good first aid kit ( this has saved me sooo many times with bug bites, diahreha, and cuts)



7. make your breakfast and lunch pay for dinner as a lot of these lodges charge $30 for breakfast and lunch like $40 for dinner. breakfast and lunch is easy to make.. hot dinner is worth it after a long day on the water



8. as said before get ALL costs in an email including taxes, tips, cleaning fees, electrical charges, water charges.... sometimes it seems like a good deal upfront but these added resort costs really add up and can make you realize it is not a good deal


9. Have Fun... even in the greatest fishing locations the fishing and weather can suck.  Take a moment to remember you are in the tropics in the dead of winter.. and that is awesome in itself


K


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I have read all the reply's and and there is a lot of good information in this thread. it not only apply's to Turneffe but any trip that a person might be thinking about. As I said earlier iIbooked this trip shortly after my throat cancer surgery and chemo and radiation treatments and I was now really interested in taking what I would consider to be maybe a once in a lifetime trip and the cost what not the first thing that came to mind. I guess I can blame that on what they call Chemo Fog.

 

In all fairness, I did not have any issues with surprise additional costs. I booked through Frontiers and paid them in advance. I knew before my arrival that the tips were on me so I had no problem with that. Additional costs consisted of the lounge/bar and the fly shop. No cash was required, you signed for anything you wanted such as flies, shirts, hats etc and of course the wife's bar tab and paid with a check when you settled up on the last day. I would suggest you keep your own running tab as a check against what they say you owe.

 

Issues with arrangements can be resolved if the the owners of the lodge are there, but in the fall both times I was there the owners were stateside bird hunting, that means dealing with the manager and that could pose a problem. I think If I were to go again I would make phone calls to get a clear understanding on how I should resolve any issues if the owners were not there when I was.

 

With all that being said I am not sure I would book a trip like this again because of the cost but at the same time that was at a different time in my life and with different circumstances and I have never regretted going.

The Tug Is The Drug

P1060161avrs.JPG.4cfec72f29b8d59afe85d0e7a9d85266.JPG

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I've been to El Pescador several times, not through Orvis, but booked through Frontiers. Each time it gets better. I've done the 2for1 and full freight.They just had a major reno to their rooms. The Guides get better every year. I am going back this Spring. I highly suggest you bring your own gear. I bring 3 rods. Bones are small but they are plentiful. One thing we did on a windy day was beat the mangroves on the mainland for snook. The guide was great and a crappy weather day turned out to be a great snook day.The Directors are real good about telling you what to bring. The resort is great if you are bringing a non-fishing partner.All meals, beers and regular liquor (their rum was just fine) included. Lunch on the boat is packed and its as much as you want.The non-fishing staff is even better. some of the guides are now the sons of original guides. Personalities differ, and some will talk your ear off, and some won't. I give this place highest marks.

Happy Holidays,

Mike

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