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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Outdoorsman, writer and media producer Trey Reid shows us why he has been returning year after year for the excellent saltwater fishing near the Mexican-Belize border. Where to fish, where to stay and where to find great food are all covered here.
This is the January, 2021 AFF members virtual meeting presentation.
I've spent a lot of time in Xcalak and this is the best, most comprehensive overview I've come across. Well done.
P.s. consider a kayak trip up the Rio Huach to the lagoons , especially to the north. At night its even better. Laguna Secreto is also worth a visit.
Spent a week there a few years ago. Great fishing. We were able to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the Leaky Palapa. Great ladies.
I am obsessed with Xcalak since watching your great video! I too became interested in the Yucatan peninsula in college. I have been to the region 3 times, and love it! I am available in April! Or any time! Thanks! P.S. have also done the required reading, A SALTY PIECE OF LAND.
Great explanation on what to expect and how to plan your trip , sounds like a lot of fun .
Awsome video im going in 5 weeks cant wait
what an awsum insight into a special spot for fins and tails. you are good at what you do, love the full background, but not boring at all. Brilliant - i even subscribed, my first ever!!!
Hi there! My name is Jim Martinette. I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I found video review very comprehensive and very interesting. Infact, I just tagged my Buddy in this video. We are discussing taking this trip, but were wondering what a good daily tip to leave your guide? Thanks in advance for answering.
Thank you for doing this vid!
I was lucky enough to fish with Victor on several ccasions. So sad to hear of his passing. He gave both my sons their first bonefish
Nice video.. rip to your friend and family.. love mexico.. was in Chetumal bay Calderitas this past Sept 2022 with one day for tarpon.. trip set up through a guide friend in San Felipe to Holbox to Calderitas/Chetumal.. halfway through the day targeting tarpon.. one jack later, a nice ladyfish.. feeling half broken.. lol.. we saw a group of three .. I cast my 10wt and sip set and broke it off, one jump.. gone..
There was still one and the biggest one of the three.. My guide handed me my 12 wt and an hour and 50 minutes later.. safely released was a estimated 140 to 150 lb Tarpon.. caught on a NFC Iconoglass 12wt built by me and a black death fly tied on a size 6/0 Gammy recommended by my guide friend in San Felipe..
What a day.. saltwater fly-fishing is a hard itch to scratch..
I've been tarpon fishing 3 times prior, two with my friends in San Felipe (Yucatan) and they are definitely smaller but good practice.. I felt I was ready to give it a go.. I had a few days prior in San Felipe and i was ready..
nothing like it!
I went to Xcalak in the 1990s, made the mistake of taking the cheap bus from Chetumal instead of a boat…a nightmare. There wasn’t much there back then but I loved it.
So tragic about Victor's passing (and all his family members). Rob (at Acocote Eco Inn) had a gofundme set up for his family. I think it's closed now. I fished with Victors guides for a full week in late Feb 2020, just before everything went crazy with covid. I met Victor, but he didn't do any guiding himself that week. Such a kind soul.
I have to confess, after watching this video I was a little bummed when I heard Mr. Reid state that he will have (or already has) an article about Xcalak published in Tail magazine. These kinds of articles, but mostly because of social media, have ruined so many hidden gems in the hunting and fishing world. I'm afraid Xcalak will become another Punta Allen/Acension Bay type fishery with over-pressured fish, because of so many more anglers "discovering" it. In my opinion, "hidden gems" like Xcalak, should be a reward for anglers who do their homework to find the road less traveled. Just my .02. I'm not condemning anyone.
I agree! Just like with local fishing pressure at home in local waters started after the fishing & hunting shows hit the tv years ago. Nat Parks are over run, etc.
Thank you Ron next trip please stop by coasta de cocos we do mostly groups of ten and twelve fishermen right from our dock but better then that I make award winning Xcalak Rum so stop by for a drink !
What time of year do you like/is best to fish down there? Thanks! Awesome video.
I'd imagine SUP fly fishing would make for some great DIY opportunities? Let me know your thoughts on that Trey! Thanks!
Trey, thanks for a great show! I myself have been looking at pricing a trip to Belize the most affordable way.
Would you need to speak Spanish for your trip and where can I get more information?
Regards
This has been on my wish list for years. My question is…Why can’t you fly to Belize and drive up?
It is much more difficult to drive up and around the bay. Border crossings and taking a rental car into another country is a challenge. Pretty easy drive from Cancun down.
Flying into chetumal would work
You can now fly into Tulum International Airport, but securing a rental car can be more challenging, unless you're in early.
Show the damn food !
After everyone sees this vid & people start offering more to bump someone else out of their spot because it’s overbooked, it won’t be cheap anymore. I like the more cultural rather than just the tourist type experience. Nothing personal but, I think you blew it when you put this video up. Hope it is not for personal gain.
Well, Ted, we all have opinions, and while I appreciate your concern, I don’t think a presentation for a small fly fishing club in Little Rock, Arkansas, is going to change things too much. I care deeply about the community of Xcalak and my many friends there, and it’s my hope that exposing people to the fly fishing opportunities there will help the community prosper and allow guides and others to feed their families on the income brought by traveling anglers. As I stressed many times in this presentation, Xcalak isn’t for everybody; it’s not easy to get there and the accommodations aren’t glitzy, and therefore I don’t see it being overrun. I’ve been involved in outdoor media for most of my adult life, and the paradox of the business is that exposing people to opportunities will always be seen by some as “giving away” so-called “secret” spots. We live in a great big, interconnected world, and there are many more highly visible media venues that have shared information on Xcalak. So forgive me for not sharing your misguided feelings about “blowing it” with a presentation to our fly club.
Hi Trey , I have to agree with you on this . There are so many remote fly fishing places to go in the world that it would be hard to overrun them all . We spend a lot of time just down the road in Belize on Ambergris Cay and fish that area and it is well known with multiple resorts and fly fishing opportunities and yet we can go out all day and not see another boat . So I guess it’s all relative.
Happy Trails
@@mikekuczynski1552 Ah, the good life!
Hi Ted , it is a good life . The only reason my wife and I work is so we can go on adventures, life really is to short not to go out and explore even if it’s where you live . I understand your feelings about the video I live in Montana and every time a see a video or read an article about another Montana secret gem it makes me cringe. Fortunately for us there are lots of secret places here to discover and most people don’t want to take the time to find them .
Happy Trails
@@treyreid1403 Nice presentation. I've known about the people/places you mention, Leaky Palapa, Victor etc. for at least 15 years, and haven't had a chance to go. I have been to Punta Allen twice, fly fished Hawaii 3 times etc. etc. during that time, so it isn't that I don't travel, it's just that it definitely is a pretty specific journey. I agree that your presentation won't change things much.
Thank you for the extremely BORING introduction to xcalak 👎