Fishing Travel
I have gone on quite a few travel fishing trips and have a few tips from what I have learned along the way.
1) Reports - Search the Internet for independent third party reports on a location/operation. Don’t just rely on the marketing material created by the operation. Note that over time fisheries can improve or decline rather dramatically, so make sure your information is recent and pertains to the time of year you plan to go.
2) Cost - The best fishing operations get lots of repeat business and can therefore charge more. Don’t spend the money to go to some far away place and then skimp on the lodge/guide. There is a vast difference between the best and the worst guide everywhere I have fished. I remember standing in line at the airport in Puerto Vallarta after experiencing some fantastic fishing for large Marlin and Tuna with great captains who knew what they were doing. I was talking to the people in front of me and they had chartered with a “bargain” operation that approached them in the marina. They paid about 30% less per day to fish than I did, but all they caught were a couple small Dorado each day. Some of those Dorado were literally the size of the bait we were using to catch our fish. When I told them about all the giant marlin and tuna we caught I don’t think they believed me. We had very different experiences that week even though we were in the same place at the same time. If you pay less money but get an experience that wasn't that great then you didn't save any money on a trip; you just wasted the money that you did spend.
Most people are on a budget of some sort, but if you are trying to save money make sure you understand what you are giving up. Personally, when I go on fishing trips I don't care much about level of accommodation or food so I don't mind saving some money on those things. I don't skimp on quality of captain/guide. That is what makes or breaks a trip for me.
One way you can often save money is to try to charter a smaller boat if that size boat will still let you do the kind of fishing you want and you can find a captain with an outstanding reputation. You might not need a 60’ Viking to do the fishing you want to do, and a 30’ boat with a good captain might give you the same success. In calmer areas like the Sea of Cortez a small boat can be fine. I have caught some very large fish in small pangas. If you are fishing inshore, a smaller boat is usually preferable to move around quietly and get into tighter spots.
3) Equipment – All things being equal, operations with better equipment tend to be better. If you see someone who doesn’t take care of their tackle you should avoid them, even if you are using your own tackle. People who are sloppy with tackle are likely going to be sloppy with everything else. Also, make sure you are clear on what the operation provides and what they don’t. In some areas, it is not standard for charter operations to provide tackle. In other places they may provide basic tackle but you have to provide lures.
In many less developed countries you may want to bring your own tackle even if you are told that tackle will be provided. I've been to plenty of places where I was assured that they would provide top quality tackle but the tackle ended up being pretty substandard. You don't want to go all that way and lose the fish of a lifetime because someone else didn't put fresh line on or a reel's drag got stuck because of lack of maintenance. You may not have room to pack everything, but bring some basic stuff so that you can still fish successfully.
4) Seasons – In some areas, the fishing is very seasonal, especially for migratory fish. I have heard of many people going to places that are great at some times of the year and dead in others without doing any research and then complaining about a bad experience. Most operations are in business during non-peak times, so whether they are open should not be your only indicator. Make sure you do some research and talk to people about the best times to go for the kind of fishing you want to do. For example, a place might have good fishing for a certain type of fish all year but during a particular season they might all be in deep water and you might not be able to target them with the technique you were hoping. Figure all that out ahead of time.
5) Weather – Make sure you do your research on weather. In many areas fishing can be great in between weather fronts moving through but you had better find out if there is a chance that you will get blown out during the time you are there. I got very lucky a while ago fishing in Puerto Vallarta in early September. That is still hurricane season and while there were no hurricanes there were torrential rains from tropical storms the week before I went and also the week after that effectively shut down the fishing. The fishing was great during the week I went but that was very lucky and I wouldn’t want to chance that in the future. I usually have to plan my trips way in advance in order to accommodate my work schedule, so I try not to plan during risky times such as hurricane season or times when whether is highly variable (such as spring) if the fishing in that place is highly dependent on weather.
6) Safety - This should actually be the first consideration. If you are going far offshore, you want to make sure that there is adequate safety equipment on board. This starts with some form of communication in case something goes wrong. Boats break down all the time, especially in remote places. You want to make sure you aren't going to get stuck floating out in the ocean. It's happened to me several times but fortunately the boats I was in had radios that worked. You also want a captain who is going to put safety first. Most of them do, since they don't want to lose their boats, but I've had some that pushed the limit more than they should have.
7) Moon phase – For some types of fishing the moon phase has no effect, for some it has some effect, and for some it is everything. Make sure you do your research on this. I have found that inshore saltwater fisheries tend to be the most affected by moon phase, which makes sense because they are the most influenced by tide.
Before leaving on your trip, check the baggage guidelines for the airline(s) you will be flying and print them out. Sometimes employees at the airport are not aware of the guidelines, so if they try to tell you that you can’t bring something or you have to pay an extra fee you can show them the printed out guidelines from their company website.
I have gone on quite a few travel fishing trips and have a few tips from what I have learned along the way.
1) Reports - Search the Internet for independent third party reports on a location/operation. Don’t just rely on the marketing material created by the operation. Note that over time fisheries can improve or decline rather dramatically, so make sure your information is recent and pertains to the time of year you plan to go.
2) Cost - The best fishing operations get lots of repeat business and can therefore charge more. Don’t spend the money to go to some far away place and then skimp on the lodge/guide. There is a vast difference between the best and the worst guide everywhere I have fished. I remember standing in line at the airport in Puerto Vallarta after experiencing some fantastic fishing for large Marlin and Tuna with great captains who knew what they were doing. I was talking to the people in front of me and they had chartered with a “bargain” operation that approached them in the marina. They paid about 30% less per day to fish than I did, but all they caught were a couple small Dorado each day. Some of those Dorado were literally the size of the bait we were using to catch our fish. When I told them about all the giant marlin and tuna we caught I don’t think they believed me. We had very different experiences that week even though we were in the same place at the same time. If you pay less money but get an experience that wasn't that great then you didn't save any money on a trip; you just wasted the money that you did spend.
Most people are on a budget of some sort, but if you are trying to save money make sure you understand what you are giving up. Personally, when I go on fishing trips I don't care much about level of accommodation or food so I don't mind saving some money on those things. I don't skimp on quality of captain/guide. That is what makes or breaks a trip for me.
One way you can often save money is to try to charter a smaller boat if that size boat will still let you do the kind of fishing you want and you can find a captain with an outstanding reputation. You might not need a 60’ Viking to do the fishing you want to do, and a 30’ boat with a good captain might give you the same success. In calmer areas like the Sea of Cortez a small boat can be fine. I have caught some very large fish in small pangas. If you are fishing inshore, a smaller boat is usually preferable to move around quietly and get into tighter spots.
3) Equipment – All things being equal, operations with better equipment tend to be better. If you see someone who doesn’t take care of their tackle you should avoid them, even if you are using your own tackle. People who are sloppy with tackle are likely going to be sloppy with everything else. Also, make sure you are clear on what the operation provides and what they don’t. In some areas, it is not standard for charter operations to provide tackle. In other places they may provide basic tackle but you have to provide lures.
In many less developed countries you may want to bring your own tackle even if you are told that tackle will be provided. I've been to plenty of places where I was assured that they would provide top quality tackle but the tackle ended up being pretty substandard. You don't want to go all that way and lose the fish of a lifetime because someone else didn't put fresh line on or a reel's drag got stuck because of lack of maintenance. You may not have room to pack everything, but bring some basic stuff so that you can still fish successfully.
4) Seasons – In some areas, the fishing is very seasonal, especially for migratory fish. I have heard of many people going to places that are great at some times of the year and dead in others without doing any research and then complaining about a bad experience. Most operations are in business during non-peak times, so whether they are open should not be your only indicator. Make sure you do some research and talk to people about the best times to go for the kind of fishing you want to do. For example, a place might have good fishing for a certain type of fish all year but during a particular season they might all be in deep water and you might not be able to target them with the technique you were hoping. Figure all that out ahead of time.
5) Weather – Make sure you do your research on weather. In many areas fishing can be great in between weather fronts moving through but you had better find out if there is a chance that you will get blown out during the time you are there. I got very lucky a while ago fishing in Puerto Vallarta in early September. That is still hurricane season and while there were no hurricanes there were torrential rains from tropical storms the week before I went and also the week after that effectively shut down the fishing. The fishing was great during the week I went but that was very lucky and I wouldn’t want to chance that in the future. I usually have to plan my trips way in advance in order to accommodate my work schedule, so I try not to plan during risky times such as hurricane season or times when whether is highly variable (such as spring) if the fishing in that place is highly dependent on weather.
6) Safety - This should actually be the first consideration. If you are going far offshore, you want to make sure that there is adequate safety equipment on board. This starts with some form of communication in case something goes wrong. Boats break down all the time, especially in remote places. You want to make sure you aren't going to get stuck floating out in the ocean. It's happened to me several times but fortunately the boats I was in had radios that worked. You also want a captain who is going to put safety first. Most of them do, since they don't want to lose their boats, but I've had some that pushed the limit more than they should have.
7) Moon phase – For some types of fishing the moon phase has no effect, for some it has some effect, and for some it is everything. Make sure you do your research on this. I have found that inshore saltwater fisheries tend to be the most affected by moon phase, which makes sense because they are the most influenced by tide.
Before leaving on your trip, check the baggage guidelines for the airline(s) you will be flying and print them out. Sometimes employees at the airport are not aware of the guidelines, so if they try to tell you that you can’t bring something or you have to pay an extra fee you can show them the printed out guidelines from their company website.
Here are some good fishing travel resources from Half Past First Cast:
Packing a Fishing Rod Tube Properly
Hydrating
Packing a Fishing Rod Tube Properly
Hydrating