ambergris caye — san pedro
Belize's largest island, with bonefish and permit flats a few minutes from the village and the blue just past the reef.
San Pedro is the village on Ambergris Caye, at the northern end of Belize's barrier reef. Inside the reef there are shallow flats of sand and seagrass, lagoons and mangroves. Bonefish move in schools and are the everyday fish; permit is the hard trophy; tarpon enter the lagoons and channels. Barracuda, jacks and cubera snapper appear on the reef. Outside the reef, a few minutes by boat, trolling for sailfish, dorado and wahoo is available. Fishing is almost all fly or light casting, from a boat with a guide or wading the shallows.
best season
Bonefish and permit are available year-round. From March to June the weather is usually steadier and migratory tarpon arrive: it is the preferred window to try for the grand slam.
Local rules: CZMAI sport fishing license required (buy online, at the office or through agents). Bonefish, permit and tarpon are catch and release only in Belize, and possession of any specimen is prohibited. Hol Chan Marine Reserve is about 6 km south of San Pedro: there are no-fishing zones (such as the Hol Chan channel and Mexico Rocks), catch-and-release-only zones, and a sport fishing fee of BZ$ 20 per person per day, according to the Fisheries Department. Gillnets, spearguns and scuba spearfishing are prohibited in the reserves. Confirm the local rules.
- getting there
- Domestic flight or boat from Belize City. The flights take about 15 minutes and the boats cross several times a day.
- facilities
- Hotels and inns of all levels, flats guides, boats to the reef and to the blue, fishing shops and a traditional grand slam tournament on the island.
- country
- Distrito de Belize, Belize
tip
On the flat, the first presentation is what counts: cast before the school, let the fly sink, and only move it when the fish is close.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
what you can catch here
before you fish in Belize
The sport fishing license is issued by CZMAI (Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute), under the 2009 sport fishing regulations. It can be bought online on the CZMAI website, at the office in Belize City or from authorized agents (shops and operators). There are daily and weekly licenses; the annual one is only for permanent residents. In the official CZMAI brochure from 2019, the fees were BZ$20 per day, BZ$50 per week and BZ$100 per year: confirm the current price. In marine reserves there may be a separate use fee.
- Bonefish (Albula vulpes), tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) and permit (Trachinotus falcatus) are protected: catch and release only, and it is prohibited for anyone in the country to possess any specimen.
- Lobster closed season from March 1 to June 30; queen conch from July 1 to September 30 (or until the quota is filled); Nassau grouper from December 1 to March 31.
- In marine reserves, it is prohibited to use gillnets, speargun, and scuba gear for fishing; reserves have no-take zones and catch-and-release-only zones (such as Hol Chan, near San Pedro).
The rules and closed seasons in the rest of the app are Brazilian. Outside Brazil, the regulations of the country and province apply: confirm with the official agency.
sources and references
Access, facilities and season information changes: check with the lodge, a local guide or the city hall before you travel.
- official Belize Fisheries Department — Hol Chan Marine ReserveReserve zones, no-fishing areas, catch-and-release zones and sport fishing fee
- official Belize Fisheries Department — Fisheries RegulationsBonefish, tarpon and permit catch and release only; possession prohibited
- official CZMAI — Sport Fishing Program Unit (licença de pesca esportiva)
- official CZMAI — Sport Fishing in Belize (folheto)License per day, week and year; Tres Pescados Slam tournament in Ambergris Caye