GSF Articles

Dreams Come True - Turneffe Flats

By Susan Crenshaw


I’ve always dreamed of going to Belize. When Roger & I were invited to the annual GSF fundraising auction this year we actually bid for and won the trip to Belize.  My constant smile increased 10 fold!  Roger bought 12 weight Sage rods, new reels, salt water floating line, slime line for tarpon, flies for tarpon, permit, bonefish, and new UV 50 clothing from Solumbra. Christmas!!!


The timing was perfect. Hurricane Dean had just passed through the week before. The lodge at Turneffe Flats lost their dock (again) and had to reschedule 14 anglers who arrived when we departed on September 1, 2007. After we left, Belize was watching another Category 5 hurricane named Felix building in the Eastern Caribbean which we now know struck Honduras and then Guatemala, sparing Turneffe Atoll and Belize.  We booked from August 25-September. 1, 2007
The owners of Turneffe Flats Lodge, Craig and Karen Hayes, are hard working delightful people who do their best to run a high quality upscale fishing and diving lodge. It’s a 90-minute boat ride from Belize City to the flats, a 30-mile atoll with hundreds of areas to fish. But it’s not for a fair-weather angler by any means.
The normal day starts with a hearty breakfast at 7am then on the water before 8. Each couple has a comfortable fishing skiff with a 50hp 4 stroke outboard engine - but no bimini top. UV clothing is a must and then some!  Bugs are only bothersome if and when the wind stops blowing (never too rare). 
Regular wading shoes with very thick soles (Simms) are the best to bring along.  The neoprene type, which are thin-soled, can be cut through easily by the coral and rocks.
A typical day of fishing includes walking the flats in water from 6 inches to 3 feet for 3-5 hours fishing for bonefish. Catching one is great fun.  They
spook easily and are picky about what fly they want to take.  Accuracy is a must! A long cast with no false casting and a 14 foot tippet in a 20-knot wind is really helpful.  I recommend that anyone going on this trip go to the beach on a windy, blustery day and practice. 


Trying to stop a bonefish, or a permit, is tough and Roger was spooled twice by Permit. The guide has to be notified of the fact that you’re down to your backing, now!  They will start the engine or pole along with you to help you get the fish in.
My first bonefish decided to run to the ocean from the flat, saw a barracuda, and came straight back at me full speed, wrapping around a rock in the process and almost running over me. My guide “Pops”, the senior and best guide at Turneffe Flats Lodge, quickly untangled my line from the rock. I kept reeling mach 4 and landed my first bonefish.
One very serious angler was in pursuit of the “grand slam” (tarpon, permit and bonefish in one day). He fished from 6 am to 6 pm. His biggest challenge was the tarpon which migrated to deep waters in the previous week’s hurricane.  He did get his grand slam.
The meals were great.  Some nights were fabulous, others were adequate.  We were so exhausted that bedtime was 9 PM in our well-appointed cabana on the beach. High-speed Internet, for anyone who had to “keep in touch”, was available for free. We chose to take a pass on e-mail, and totally enjoyed our boot camp learning ocean fishing at Turneffe Flats.


I recommend that anyone who loves adventure and sun and fly-fishing give it a go! Thanks to Golden State Flycasters!!!