Trip Report: The Flats of Belize

Getting back on the water post-op…where physical therapy takes the form of jumping tarpon.

Suffice to say, 2024 has not gone as planned. The year started off nicely on schedule, busy with photo shoots at lodges and fishing operations in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and across the U.S.—good fishing, (overall) fun people, and business was good. Then it all came to a screeching halt in June when I ruptured a disc in my spine while on a shoot. Attempts at conservative care failed throughout the summer, and in August I left my Montana home base behind to head to Texas for surgery.

Spine surgery had definitely not been in the business plan for 2024.

Thankfully I was able to work with a stellar surgeon who, after we got to know each other, was just as invested in getting me back on the water and back to work as much as I was. Surgery took place on September 10 and I started in on working to regain strength the next day, walking around the neighborhood like a little abuela as I learned to walk again with the nerve damage caused by the injury.

It’s been a process. And not the prettiest, at times. But that physical therapy and gym time is starting to pay off, as I recently found myself boarding a plane for my first post-op shoot and fishing trip. At only 10 weeks post-surgery I wasn’t exactly functioning at 100%; still limited in certain movements and definitely sore in others, but it was time. With the promise to my surgeon that I wouldn’t target big fish and I’d use good common sense, I was off to Belize.

Heading Back to El Pescador

For years, Belize’s El Pescador Lodge has been a sort of temporary home base for me. Every visit to the lodge has been for work—photo shoots, hosted trips, or working as the Fishing Director—but the lodge on the northern side of Ambergris Caye has been a touchpoint. I’m very grateful to call the guides and staff friends, and it’s a familiar stopping place amidst all the other travel. It was the perfect place to head for a shoot where I wasn’t quite back to my normal self; I warned the guides that my effective casting range was temporarily decreased and that our normal game plan of targeting big tarpon would be a no-go. The guys were game to see what we could do, and we formed a battle plan.

El Pescador has been a flats fishing staple for decades, drawing anglers from around the world who want to target bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook, jack, and other Caribbean saltwater species. It’s a productive, fun fishery; especially when the skies and the water are clear. In what’s become true 2024 fashion, I arrived the day after Tropical Storm Sara swept through, dumping a lot of rain both the island and the mainland, and creating huge swaths of brackish water which displaced fish from their normal haunts. On my second day in Belize Sara was followed by another strong northern front, bringing cooler temperatures but also cooler fishing.

Like the Belizeans themselves, the fish don’t love cold fronts.

But we make the most of it. I was just happy to be on an airplane again; to be on the island again. On the water, camera and fly rod at hand. I headed right for the dock after arriving and unpacking, and felt giddy taking my first casts in five months off the lodge dock, testing to see how it felt before hopping on the panga the next morning. I was back in Belize with a quiver full of fly rods, a couple cameras, and an ice pack.

Fly Fishing gear for the flats of belize

Back on the Flats

I rigged up 8, 10, and 12-weight rods—all Epic FastGlass—and immediately the colorful blanks caught the attention of guests and guides alike. The guides wanted to cast them, curious and pleased as to the rods’ performance in the windy conditions. Several guests had never heard of fiberglass rods and one night we grabbed drinks and headed down the dock so they could cast the rods. Glass is the perfect rod to teach someone knew to the idea of a double-hauling, as it’s easier to feel the correct rod load; it was fun to see a couple anglers grin as they started to figure out their double-haul timing.

While I was in Belize for a commercial shoot and Instagram takeover for the lodge, I was able to sneak in four days of flats fishing around the shoot, and despite weather conditions we made the most of it. Bonefish were a daily thing; often a bit of a “let’s just bend a rod” distraction when our hunts for permit weren’t turning up much. A lot of saltwater anglers begin to snub their noses at bonefish, but to my mind they’re always a good time. This is the time of year in Belize when snook can be found, and I was happy to get into a handful of snook the first morning, out fishing with guide Michael. Later that morning a nice jack put a solid bend in the 10-weight Bandit, and Michael whipped out his iPhone with a laugh to video the way the rod bent oh-so-nicely as the fish ran.

And the tarpon. Always my favorite in this fishery. Although I was on a medically-mandated ban from the big girls, we found plenty of small-to-medium fish to play with. The first one I set too hard and broke off like a beginner (still in pelagic tuna and snapper mode from Colombia this spring, maybe?) but there were others to be had.

The final day, fishing with guide Junior, we headed out to one of my favorite flats in this fishery, Savannah, where we pole and hunt for tarpon in water ranging from 8-10 feet. The day was quiet, the water still off from the recent storm, and the fish were deep. I finally threw a couple blind casts over a dark patch of turtle grass, bored and hoping something maybe—just maybe—would rise from the depths.

Fly fishing on the flats for tarpon in Belize

Well, rise it did. Just after Junior asked me to reel up so we could head to another flat, I threw one last cast just for the hell of it. Two strips, and a flash of silver scales broke the surface as a tarpon inhaled my home-tied purple-and-black tarpon toad. I set and he ran, giving us the traditional tarpon jumps and a couple nice little runs, and putting a solid bend in the Bandit. The rod was a lot of fun and I was happy to find the “bounciness” of the glass rods ended up producing a nice smooth, even fight and made it a little easier on my back, too, which was a nice little treat.

Looking to 2025

Big thanks to the entire El Pescador family for welcoming me back, and for making this a great first week back in the field (and on the water) post-op. I’ve got a long list of PT and strength-building focus to work on before my next big trip, and look forward to continue bouncing back and once more becoming more durable in the field. And big thanks to the Epic team for making spine-injury-recovery friendly rods… who knew?

If all goes to plan, we’ll be back to our regularly-scheduled programming in 2025. The year’s starting off strong with a three-week, three-location Argentina shoot and hosted trip for January / February, and then I go right from that to teaching at the Fly Fishing Show here in Denver, Colorado. I’m thankful to report the year is busy from then on out, so stay tuned for more trip reports in the future!