Kay Fly Fishing Lodge Hosted Trip Report - January 14th - 21st:

Kay Fly Fishing Lodge Hosted Trip Report – January 14th – 21st:

Kay Fly Fishing Lodge Hosted Trip Report – January 14th – 21st: WCA Operations Manager Cliff Knight

Pre-Fishing Day (January 13, 2023)

“Joey and I flew down to Cancun a day early because flights were significantly less expensive on Thursday than Friday. We used the money we saved on flights to hire a local Cancun guide for a day of Tarpon and Snook fly fishing near Isla Blanca. Isla Blanca is about 15 miles north of Cancun and provides ample flats fishing for someone who wants to stay local to Cancun. Our guide for the day was Orlando Medina Alcocer, the owner of Cancun Fly Fishing Isla Blanca. Orlando was fantastic! He picked Joey and I up at the Courtyard Marriott at 5:30 am sharp on Friday morning and we picked our way through traffic up to a gated property north of the hotel zone on Isla Blanca. We began motoring as the sun was coming up and had a beautiful boat ride watching the sun rise to the flats and mangroves near Boca Iglesia.”

“The fishing for the day was quite fun, with plenty of shots at baby tarpon and snook. We only managed to seal the deal on one tarpon, but had tons of fun with Orlando. A strong North wind blew in mid-day and brought clouds, wind, and rain. This more or less shut down the day of fishing, but Orlando made the right call getting us out early before the weather really rolled in. A run that took us about an hour in the morning took us about 2 and a half hours in the afternoon due to the rough conditions. Orlando did a great job navigating the big water in his Panga to safely get us home. We truly enjoyed our day with Orlando and this one day adventure will surely become part of our Mexico program moving forward.”

Day 1 (January 14, 2023)

“Everyone arrived in Cancun the afternoon or evening of January 13^th. While this isn’t absolutely necessary, it ensures that everyone is ready to go on Saturday morning. The traffic around the Cancun airport is currently very bad due to road construction, so our shuttle to the lodge was late picking us up. We were in no rush as we had nothing on the agenda for the day other than travel to the lodge, so we enjoyed a cold beer at the hotel while waiting for the shuttle. Our driver picked us up around 11:30 and we began the adventure down to Punta Allen. Punta Allen is located in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, which is a nature preserve south of Tulum. Depending on traffic around Playa del Carmen and Tulum, this travel day can be quick and easy or long, drawn out and tough. I would say our day fell somewhere in the middle. We had roughly 4 hours in the car and 45 minutes in the boat to get to the lodge. The 4 hours in the car was broken up by a quick stop in Tulum for tacos and beers. Our driver wasn’t super stoked on the stop as he knew what laid ahead in Tulum for traffic, but the stop was needed. The tacos were awesome, and our tab ran a whopping $50 for 8 people’s worth of tacos and beers – a Mexican bargin!

After navigating the horrendous traffic of Tulum, we finally crossed through the “arch” that marks your arrival to the Sian Ka’an biosphere. Another 30 minutes on bad, pothole filled roads brought us to the Boca Paila Bridge. 2 guides from Kay Fly Fishing Lodge were waiting on us with pangas to take us on the final stretch to the lodge. The boat ride through the mangroves was beautiful and a great reprieve from the previous van ride. 45 minutes later, we were at the lodge setting up rods, enjoying appetizers and getting settled in for our week of fishing.”

Day 2(January 15, 2023)

“Mornings at Kay Fly are structured. Coffee is ready by 6ish, a different breakfast at 7am each day and departure for fishing is about 7:45 am. Everyone was up bright and early and ready to hit the water this first morning. The fishing on this first day was quite excellent! Everyone saw permit and Jerry even managed to bring two Permit to the boat. John and Jason caught a whole pile of bonefish through the day and the other anglers enjoyed a mixed bag of species. The weather and conditions were beautiful this day. The orientation of Ascension Bay protected us from the North wind and provided clear water for plenty of fishing opportunities. This first day was probably the best conditions we saw all week with super fun fishing! After fishing, we enjoyed appetizers, margaritas and an awesome dinner. The margaritas, a simple mixture of fresh lime juice, orange liquor and tequila, at Kay Fly Fishing Lodge are not to be missed!”

Day 3 (January 16, 2023)

“Fishing Days at Kay Fly are a lot of “rinse and repeat.” Coffee, breakfast, running in the boats, fishing, return to the lodge, appetizers, cocktails, dinner and off to bed! We were rotating guides each day, so everyone got to experience different guides and their styles. One of the great bonuses at Kay Fly is that each boat has an assistant guide along for the day. This guide is an extra set of eyes, and helps with rigging rods, managing your fly line and if the needed, to hop out of the boat to chase down a fish. Everyone caught fish this day except for Joey and Cliff, who despite the guides suggestion that it wasn’t the best idea to only target permit, stubbornly decided that was how they committed their day. With the cold north front that came though upon arrival to the lodge, the permit mostly left the bay for deeper, warmer water. Most excitingly, folks caught their first tarpon and snook today!”

Day 4(January 17, 2023)

“Again, rinse and repeat mode on fishing. The conditions were continually getting more difficult as the wind grew stronger each day. Luckily, we still had sunshine on this day. The visibility granted by the sun would get worse on Wednesday and all but disappear on Thursday. Sunshine is critical to sight fishing on the flats, as the glare from clouds can make spotting fish very difficult. The stronger winds, specifically when they come from the southeast, which is the predominate wind in that area, can make the morning crossing from Punta Allen into Ascension Bay pretty rough. This can be normal in saltwater fishing, but most folks were donning their raincoats and hunkering down during the morning boat commute. Cliff and Joey continued to beat themselves up looking for Permit that had moved out of the bay. In retrospect, the other anglers made the right call and looked for bonefish, tarpon, snook, barracudas and jacks.”

Day 5(January 18, 2023)

“The combination of clouds and strong winds made fishing a little tougher for the group. Most people chose to cruise back into the mangroves and look for snook or bonefish. We mixed in some blind casting into the mangroves for fun. Additionally on this day, Thomas caught his first permit! We capped the evening off on this day with a stroll through Punta Allen to look at the local soccer complex and see the permit statue in town. The soccer fields were actually funded through the fly fishing industry!”

Day 6(January 19, 2023)

“The fifth day of fishing was likely our toughest conditions. We had clouds and wind all day and we all knew this was coming. We adjusted our strategies accordingly and most folks avoided the deeper flats, where seeing fish was all but impossible. Bonefish in the shallows and snook in the mangroves was the name of the game today. Additionally, a few guys brought some spin tackle and enjoyed part of the day fishing deeper channels with traditional spin gear. The spin fisherman were very productive doing this, catching a couple of very nice jacks! We capped off day 6 with happy hour on the roof palapa with awesome freshly fried barracuda fingers, margaritas and a corn-hole game.”

Day 7(January 20, 2023)

“The final day of fishing is always bittersweet! By this point most folks are beginning to think about getting home to families and the reality of normal life. We tried to put this to the wayside for the day and enjoy ourselves. The sun was back and everyone had a good day of fishing. Cliff and John spent the morning looking for Permit and actually had a couple of shots. This meant the permit were beginning to move back into Ascension Bay. We spent the afternoon looking for snook and had plenty of shots and catching a couple of smaller tarpon and snook with Jose and Willy. John hooked the largest snook I have ever seen, but it unfortunately came unbuttoned near the boat. This is why we keep coming back, right? After the last day of fishing, everyone began packing their bags for another long travel day on Saturday and enjoyed one more of Pepe’s famous margaritas before an awesome final dinner of Pork Chops!”

Day 8(January 21, 2023)

“We started our last morning very early with a 6:45 am boat ride from Punta Allen back up to the arch at the entrance to the biosphere. Joey and I had a relatively early flight from Cancun and everyone decided to go together to make the logistics for the day a little easier. Lilly sent us with breakfast sandwiches for the travel day, which were awesome! The travel on this day was much easier than the arrival day, with only 2 hours in the van instead of 4. Everyone said their goodbyes at the airport and began their travels home. Kay Fly Fishing Lodge runs a stellar operation and I can’t wait to get back down there. I want to give a huge thank you and shout out to the staff including Lily, Pepe, the housekeeping team, cooks, and the whole guide staff. Until next time, Kay Fly Fishing Lodge!”

For those interested in Kay Fly Fishing Lodge, please contact WorldCast Anglers. Be sure to stay updated on the WorldCast Anglers Hosted Destination Travel Offerings!