Read about other parts of the trip: scuba diving in Cozumel and Mayan ruins in Cozumel.
We arranged for a day of fly-fishing through Olympus Tours at the hotel desk. It seems that there weren't many outfitters that offered it -- probably not the best time of year? There was only one person who was willing to take us out, Don Adolfo Chojun. I talked to him in Spanish over the phone, seemed my Spanish was better than his English, and we arranged to meet at 6:30am in downtown San Miguel. Not many restaurants were open that early, so we ended up not having any breakfast that day.
Don Adolfo and his son (also Adolfo) picked us up in front of the San Miguel church, in a friends battered pickup truck. We then picked up a few young guys who were going fishing with the driver (using squid bait and no fishing poles, just line-and-hook), and drove the long straight rode to the North side of the island. The boat pier where we were getting the boat is the same pier from where tourists depart to the Isla de Pasion -- but more about that island later.
As soon as we got on the boat it started to rain. It was a pleasant warm rain, but I hoped it'd be over before we started fishing. On the boat we found a small sea turtle, and set it free back in the ocean. The boat had a 15' fiberglass hull with one main compartment, a few seats, and an outboard motor. We motored over past Isla de Pasion until we got to some shallow lagoons. There, still on the ocean side, Don Adolfo set up the fly rods and I started practicing my casting.
Casting a 10-weight rod is pretty different from what I've used in the past. It was a lot heavier and stiffer (as one would expect), and so I found it a lot harder to load up. I was trying to get 50-60 feet of line out, as the further you are the less likely you'll spook the bonefish.
Over the years I heard a lot about bonefishing, but really didn't know anything about it. I associated it with fishing in shallow waters, had no idea how big the fish really were, and what it was all about. Well, I was about to learn from a master!
Bonefish, if I understood the Spanish correctly, are in the perch family. They're called macabi in Spanish. They have no teeth, and pulverise their food by grinding it on a bone in their mouth. They also have no bone struture in the fins. Their eyes are covered under a translucent scale, so that you can run your fingers over their eyes and it feels smooth. When there's no wind they enjoy sticking their dorsal fin above the water, but as soon as the wind comes up they go underwater. They are strong fighters, and that's what makes them so popular -- I had a few 5+ minute runs, where the bonefish would just speed away, making the fly reel whirl. I tried to slow it down with the palm of my hand, and as soon as the fish stopped running I'd start stripping line to bring it in. It'd work until the fish saw me, and then it'd run a hundred+ feet again! Fun fun stuff.
As soon as Don Adolfo had both fly rods ready, he had his son use a long pole to push us into the lagoon. He started teaching me how to read the water to find out where the fish are -- fortunately for me, soon the wind stopped and a school of bonefish surfaced their fins a few hundred meters from us. We both stepped off the boat, and waded barefoot, slowly and carefully, casting all along the way, towards them.
Don Adolfo caught one right away -- I could tell he's been doing it for many many years. Although his cast wasn't what I'd call textbook in my limited experience, the fly hardly ever slapped the water, and he was able to get the line our far and lay it straight. I struggled -- when I got longer casts, the false cast was nice and long, but laying the line would pile up the last 10-15 feet or so. I also had to work on not bringing the rod too far back, so lots of things to think about.
As soon as Don Adolfo hooked a fish, he gave me his rod to bring it in. Not knowing yet what to do, I held the line too tight and the bonefish got away with the fly! But we kept at it, and soon we both landed our own fish.
No more pictures of bonefish -- we had a great time fishing for the entire morning, and caught quite a few fish. In addition to the bonefish I also caught a frogfish, a snapper ("pargo"). I also hooked a barracuda, but didn't play it right and the fish chewed through the leader and got away.
The salt flies are pretty funky -- they are made to resemble a certain kind of shrimp, all with big bulging eyes. Very pretty and colorful!
While we fished on foot, wading through the shallows, Lisa and Adolfo Jr. did some fishing from the boat. The used spin rods, and caught a lot of other fish -- but no bonefish. Lisa enjoyed it, but spinning wasn't nearly as much fun as fly-fishing, and so she got off the boat and went walking through the sandy beach areas.
We hit a number of lagoons, had some more rain, some wind, conditions changed, and Don Adolfo had us try a bunch of different places. I must admit, though, that catching a few bonefish made me happy -- and spending time walking barefoot in these lagoons, water and beach of incredible color, casting away, that was enough. I wasn't concerned about how many we caught or how big the fish were.
After a lunch of sandwiches and a Coke on the boat, we headed towards Isla de Pasion. According to Don Adolfo the island was named by a grigo sailor from Florida, who'd visit it throughout the year, some 20-30 years ago. Each time that sailor would bring his big sailboat and three women (different women on each occasion) and spend a month frolicking naked on the beaches of that island. They'd go into town and resupply when they ran low on food or alcohol, but the rest of the time it was just sun and nakedness. Cozumel is 100% Catholic (according to our taxi drivers), and I guess the nudity wasn't overly approved by the locals!
After lunch we dropped Lisa off at Isla de Pasion so that she could enjoy some shade, and we spent an hour spin-fishing for bonefish in the sea channel near it. We did OK, caught a few, but it wasn't nearly as fun as fly-fishing.
If you go, tell Don Adolfo Chojun that you want to fly-fish. He may be a bit more expensive that some of the other outfits, but he's a local and experienced fisherman, great person, and he made this experience very special.