Fly Fishing Permit Turneffe Flats Belize

Trip Report: Turneffe Flats, Belize (April 12-19th, 2025)

April 24, 2025

I recently returned from another hosted trip to one of the Caribbean’s most unique and diverse fisheries: Turneffe Flats on Turneffe Atoll, Belize. Whether or not it’s true that Peter Pan’s Neverland was based off of Turneffe Atoll, I can certainly see its potential connection. Roughly 20 miles off the coast of Belize City, it gives you the feeling of being completely disconnected from the real world.

A complex network of cayes, lagoons, deep channels, flats, mangroves/littoral forests, and coral reefs, this marine park holds habitat and nurseries for everything from fish to sea turtles, conch, crocodiles and over 60 species of birds. Whether you are there to fish, snorkel, SCUBA dive, or bird watch, you’ll likely never get bored. 30 miles long by 10 miles wide, this is not my first time on the atoll and there is still much that I have not seen.

When I woke up in the morning to catch our 5:30am flight, the weather looked like it might play the same game it did on last year’s Turneffe Flats trip. Snow was in the immediate forecast. Last year, multiple flight delays slowed down our group members across multiple states. Luckily, this morning’s storm wasn’t as forecasted and we were wheels up on our way into Atlanta, then Belize City, without any issue. Although our group this year included a member from Argentina, we all were able to make our connections and successfully onto the dock to meet our boat transfer with ease. The first hurdle was behind us. Now, it was time to head east towards the atoll and begin our week.

(looking back at the lodge and Home Flat from the main dock)

For the first couple of days, I joined one of my group members who had never been saltwater fly fishing before. Bob’s experience in the past has been of smallmouth bass, landlocked salmon, and trout. However, his expectations were exactly as I would hope for anyone in his shoes - he simply wanted to learn, work on his casting, have fun, and hopefully catch some fish.

The first day we started with Bob working some bonefish flats. I helped him with some timing and technique with his cast. We also worked through different bonefish patterns which allowed him to see the contrast in appearance, but primarily: weight and sink rates. This helped him to fish different parts of the water column. The fish we found that morning were holding close to the bottom, so we needed to get down and work where the fish were. With some small changes and tinkering, by noon, Bob not only caught his first bonefish, but added a few more as well!

Fly Fishing Bonefish Turneffe Flats Belize

(Bob's first day out on the flats, ever...)

We combined fishing from the skiff and also wading some of the oceanside flats on the first day. This gave Bob the ability to see bonefishing from different perspectives and use different techniques. Spotting, targeting, and casting to well camouflaged bonefish is never easy at first, especially when a storm comes through and dumps heavy rain on the northern part of the atoll while you wade. Thankfully the system passed quickly (it was the only rain of the trip and was also very isolated as not everyone got drenched that day) and we were able to finish up drying off in the skiff on the way to the final spot for the day.

Magic must have been in the air that first day. As we walked down the dock that evening after fishing, we chatted with two of our other group members Andy and Jake. It wasn’t until Jake and I got to our cabana that he told me he got a Grand Slam! I hear Andy chime in from the cabana next door: “I was wondering when you were going to tell him Jake!” Some laughs and a congrats were followed by some cutting of limes and celebratory rum…Jake was on last year’s trip as well and caught his first and second permit. He told me he wanted to get a GS this year…

Fly Fishing Grand Slam Turneffe Flats Belize

(Jake's tarpon and permit. Unfortunately a pic of the bonefish wasn't managed)

So far, so good…

The second day, we hit rinse n’ repeat. Bob and I continued to work on bonefish and his technique. By the end of that day he had landed 10+ fish and was working out even more line with his casts. He was improving and it was great to see!

On Tuesday (day 3), we mixed things up a little and I matched Bob up with his cabana mate, Andy. Jake and I joined up and had a great time chasing tarpon and permit. We had some good flats action for tarpon that day and each landed some nice fish. The visuals of deceiver-crushing tarpon in skinny water never gets old to me. I even hooked into my first tarpon on a crab fly that day as well while poling for permit. That fish, predictably, broke off. The hot fly that day was a Black and Purple EP “GT” fly per suggestion of our guide Mark Hyde.

Fly Fishing Tarpon Turneffe Flats Belize

Bob must have passed some of his good mojo over to Andy as well. The second Grand Slam of the trip had been sealed that day! A very strong start to the week. Our other group members also were having a great time catching fish as everyone had wonderful stories to tell over drinks in the evening. Federico, from Argentina, who had a lot of experience in freshwater from trout to Golden Dorado, was also new to the saltwater flats. “Fede” and his friend Sergio always had big smiles on their face for the many bonefish landed early in the week. I believe they also danced with some tarpon as well. The fishing seemed hot and heavy for everyone.

(Andy's first permit and Grand Slam)

On Wednesday, and for the remainder of the week, Bob and Andy were able to fish solo. This gave both of them lots of bow time. And for Bob, continuing with his great guide Dion, was then comfortable enough to focus on the development of his eventual trip nickname “Bonefish Bob.”

Mid week, things seemed to slow down a little bit for most. Thick overcast days with little sunlight, plus decent wind, rendered a lot of the flats very tough to fish. This was especially true on Wednesday. Permit fishing was essentially non existent. On these days Jake and I decided to try and find a willing migratory tarpon in some of the many channels spiderwebbing their way throughout the atoll. Jake hooked into a large migratory fish on Monday but unfortunately lost it shortly after the first jump. So, he was ready to get redemption. Unfortunately the fish gods didn’t bless us that day, and that Wednesday, we both got skunked…Thursday, a little bit of a better weather day, Jake was able to wrestle in a bonefish while taking advantage of some good light for permit. But it was still a grind.

Tarpon Fly Fishing Turneffe Flats Belize

(When you don't have a popper, you make one! A little tinkering with a wine bottle cork made it easy enough to stick in front of different patterns. The cork would sit/stick on the loop knot. This was the second version using an EP baitfish as the trailer)

On Friday, it seemed like a light switch had been hit. Most of the clouds cleared out from the past two days and the wind shifted from northerly to the prevailing east. Plus, especially for permit, we were now working with a rising tide for most of the morning and early afternoon. Things were looking promising.

The first time I fished with our guide Mark Hyde I was impressed. I’ve now been lucky to spend a lot of hours in a skiff with him and can say he is one of the most intelligent and skillful flats guides I know. That morning, after hitting a couple of spots early on, we headed to a large flat that showed us some of the most notable permit in both numbers and size in one area that I’ve seen. It wasn’t long into the hunt that I was able to connect with a willing permit in that clear skinny water. Two of them were anxiously attentive to a ray when I was fortunate enough that one of them liked my crab fly. It was a visually great scene and after a fun fight, with a great assist grab from Jake, I held a memorable permit with my heart rate still sky high and shaky hands… Fly Fishing Permit Turneffe Flats Belize That fish was landed before lunch, so after a quick chowing of our chicken salad wraps, I gave the rest of the afternoon to Jake to try and get himself into one as well. Per the (clearly correct) suggestion of Mark, we continued to work this one large flat multiple times, always seeing fresh fish. It was really remarkable. One snapshot that lies firmly in my head is seeing a 35+lb (easy) permit turn sideways on a bright sandy spot showing us its full profile and size in perfect detail. Although Jake, a really great angler, had some good shots at these fish, a second permit wasn’t in the cards that afternoon. Although he might not feel the same way as me (haha), it was pretty awesome to watch. A really good fisherman working, arguably the toughest saltwater fish on the planet to get on a fly rod, was some serious entertainment. And, because the fish kept coming up on the flat, it didn’t stop. I don’t think we saw a permit under 15lbs.

When we got back to the lodge, it seemed that everyone also saw a lot of fish that day. Smiles were all around. Tired, but content, we all recapped our day and week over cold drinks and a great pasta carbonara dinner. Oh, and “Bonefish Bob” ended the week with roughly 80 bonefish!

(Sergio with one of many bonefish that week)

A week at Turneffe Flats exploring Turneffe Atoll holds a special place in my heart. I first visited them about 10 years ago and to be able to continue to share it with others today is really meaningful. It’s also great to see not much has changed there…in the best possible way. The efforts of Turneffe Flats (lead by Craig and Karen Hayes), the Turneffe Atoll Trust, and Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve are clearly working. Their efforts from protecting fish/marine species to fending off destructive land development is a lot of work but has paid off. The atoll continues to be healthy, vibrant, and quiet as it was when I first visited. Turneffe Flats continues to lead by example in this industry. A special thanks goes out to them in many ways and especially in showing my group their world renowned hospitality.