punta gorda — port honduras marine reserve
Belize's southernmost town, facing the Port Honduras Marine Reserve: mangrove cayes, rivers and lagoons with permit, tarpon and snook.
Punta Gorda is the town in Toledo district, at the far south of Belize. North of it lies the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, which runs from Monkey River past the Rio Grande and extends about 8 km out to sea, with dozens of mangrove cayes, seagrass, fringing reefs and the mouths of several rivers. There, and in the Punta Ycacos lagoon in Payne's Creek National Park, guides trained by TIDE take fly anglers after permit, tarpon and bonefish, the three fish of the grand slam, and snook in the mangroves and rivers. Fishing is by panga, with fly or light casting gear. Farther offshore, at the southern end of the barrier reef, are the Sapodilla Cayes.
best season
Fishing all year. From March to June there is usually less rain and more settled days; Toledo is Belize's rainiest region, with heavy rain from June to November.
Local rules: CZMAI sport fishing license required. Bonefish, permit and tarpon are catch-and-release only in Belize. In the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, co-managed with TIDE, recreational fishing is allowed in the general-use zone (95% of the area), under managed-access rules; the replenishment zones (4%) are for non-extractive activities only, and the preservation zone (1%) is closed. Longlines, gillnets and beach traps are prohibited throughout the reserve. In the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve (SI 50 of 2009) there is a sport-fishing-only zone without extraction and a catch-and-release zone. Confirm local rules.
- getting there
- Via the Southern Highway from Belize City, or on a domestic flight to the Punta Gorda airstrip. Boats connect the town with Puerto Barrios and Livingston in Guatemala.
- facilities
- Simple hotels and inns in Punta Gorda, lodges along the Toledo coast, local fly guides and TIDE Tours trips.
- country
- Distrito de Toledo, Belize
tip
Bring a rain jacket and a dry bag. In windy weather, guides work the mangrove cayes and lagoons, where tarpon and snook are sheltered.
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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 — Port Honduras Marine ReserveEstablished 2000; from Monkey River past the Rio Grande; general-use, replenishment and preservation zones; longlines, gillnets and beach traps prohibited; ranger station on Abalone Caye
- official Belize Fisheries Department — Sapodilla Cayes Marine ReserveSI 50 of 2009; Conservation Zone 1 with sport fishing without extraction and Zone 2 with catch and release
- official Belize Fisheries Department — Fisheries RegulationsBonefish, tarpon and permit catch and release only; possession prohibited; prohibited fishing gear in reserves
- market TIDE — TIDE ToursFly fishing in the Punta Ycacos lagoon (Payne's Creek National Park) for permit, tarpon and bonefish; more than 60 guides trained