Headed to Cozumel? The Bonefishing in Cozumel is Awesome!
Lee Ann and I love to spend time in Cozumel. The Scuba diving is fantastic, which is why divers travel from all over the world to visit this diving paradise! The word is out on Diving this beautiful island.
If you have a trip to Cozumel, you have an opportunity to fish for bonefish that very few people know about!
There are lagoons to the south and to the north of the town of San Miguel that have healthy populations of bonefish. While the south lagoon is in the National Park, which does not allow fishing, the north lagoon allows fishing, and the fishing is good!
The only way to fish this is with a guide. We scheduled a day of guided bonefishing with Albert and Nacho Jr. Euan, who own and operate Bonefish Cozumel Guide Service. I have fished with other guides in Cozumel before, which made it even more obvious after our day of fishing that the Euan brothers know the lagoon better than anyone else!
I fished with my nephew, Peter Kurz, his wife, Chanise, and my friend, Ed Davis today. Our day began with Nacho picking us up in town. We headed north on a road more suited to 4 wheel drive than highway vehicles, arriving at a sheltered lagoon where 2 boats were ready to go. After a half hour boat ride, we entered the North Lagoon, where we almost immediately saw one tailing bonefish after another, feeding along the edge of shallow mangroves! What an exciting welcoming committee!
Cozumel bonefish tend to feed as individuals in the early morning, then school up, and feed in deeper water as the sun warms the lagoon. Early morning tailing bones were in very shallow water, and required small, light flies cast at least 3 feet away from them, so that they weren’t spooked. I figured this out after the first cast sent a bonefish fleeing to the next county! Once the fly sank to the bottom, a series of 3 quick strips and a pause was all that was needed.
As the sun warmed up the water, we moved to deeper waters, where we looked for clouds of mud in the water. That cloudy water meant that a school of bonefish were feeding. Seeing flashes from bonefish in that cloudy water meant it was time to cast! The same technique; cast, let the fly settle to the bottom, 3 quick strips, then pause was very effective.
At the end of the day, everyone in the group caught at least 4 bonefish!
We had most of our bites on flies that imitate a shrimp, tied on a size 6 hook.
These flies are available from DiscountFlies Online Fly Shop:
If you want to book a bonefishing trip in Cozumel with Nacho Jr. and/or Albert, contact them through their facebook account. While they have a website, it is not dependable, and their facebook account is very active.
We hope to cross paths with you in Cozumel!
