Best place on the planet to catch a permit on a fly! Located in lobster fishing village of Punta Allen. Fairly remote, 3½-hour drive from Cancun, final 20 miles on sand road often rough after a storm. Lodge basic but modern, service exceptional, food fantastic. Guides simply the best. Within Sian Ka’an BioPreserve, lots of exotic birds, marine wildlife, Mayan ruins. Fish Ascension Bay from boat and by easy wading, 8- to 10-weight rods, one-to-one angler-to-guide ratio.
Click on image to enlarge.
Ascension Bay sits in the middle of the Sian Ka'an and is completley surrounded by the Reserve. The Bay is roughly 80 square miles in size and much of that is fishable flats punctuated by hundreds of mangrove islands. This type of shallow, protective environment is perfect for growing young fish and the area can only be described as a "flats fish nursery," continually spawning multiple age classes of permit, bonefish, tarpon and snook.
Bonefish in the Bay are quite numerous and eat flies readily making this the perfect destination for beginning saltwater angers, but they tend towards the small size - 2lbs to 4ls on average. Occasional larger fish are caught with the record at the Club in 2011 just topping 8lbs.
Baby tarpon are also common and small ones, 5lb to 10lb, can almost always be found hidden deep within the mangroves. Schools of larger "sabalo" up to 40lbs are occasionally encountered on the flats, and every season it seems more and more fish over 100lbs are stopping off (and being caught!) near the mouth of the Bay.
Snook are quite catchable (particularly in Novemeber and December) in certain parts of the Bay and the area consistently produces large fish from 10lb to 25lbs.
But if Ascension Bay is truly famous for anything in the angling world it would have to be the planet's largest concentration of permit or "palometa." There are simply more fish found here than any other fishery, and by definition that means more shots and hence more hookups for anglers in search of this saltwater Holy Grail. Permit here range for palm size palometas to trophies eclipsing 50lbs. The lodge record is held by owner Dick Cameron, estimated to have been a new World Record on the fly (had they submitted it) at 48lbs!
The infamous jungle road from Tulum to Punta Allen. Click to enlarge.
A week at The Palometa Club begins on a Friday and ends on a Friday. You must arrive in Cancun from your home city no later than 2:30pm on your arrival Friday or plan to come in a day early and spend the first night in Cancun (which is quite easy and relatively inexpensive to do). Be sure and book your departure flight home the following Friday for no earlier than 2:00pm as your return transfer from the lodge will have you back at the airport around noon.
Most anglers will arrive at Terminal 3. Once you are past customs continue through the building towards the outside. Immediately upon exiting the building turn to your left and go through the waist-high metal turnstile-type gates to an open-air cafe with a blue sign extending up from the ground that reads “MEETING POINT.” The lodge's transfer driver will meet you there.
It takes about three-and-a-half to four hours to drive from the Cancun airport south to The Palometa Club in comfortable air-conditioned vans. The first half of the trip is on a modern highway servicing the famed resorts of the Maya Riviera and ending at the legendary ruins of Tulum. Along this section the driver will be happy to stop at a local wine/liquor store if guests wish to procure something special for their week. At Tulum you leave the highway for the final 56-kilometer drive down the infamous “jungle road” of the Punta Allen Peninsula. Depending on the condition of this sand road (storms can wash it out) the driving can be slow on this final stretch, but the scenery is spectacular and anglers are often rewarded with glimpses of exotic birds and wildlife.
The Palometa Club is located in the tiny lobster-fishing village of Punta Allen at the southern tip of the peninsula. To maximize the visual experience and negotiate the jungle road in the most comfortable manner, transfers are timed so that guests arrive at the lodge before sunset (which is why you need to arrive in Cancun no later than 2:30 pm). Upon your arrival at the lodge you will be met by your hosts Dick and Kaye Cameron bearing a tray of frosty margaritas (the best in all of Mexico!). Your luggage will be taken to your room, and a hearty dinner will be served. After dinner Dick will introduce the lodge staff, and will provide a thorough orientation for your upcoming week of adventure.
In the fall of 2005 Wild On The Fly was approached to help consult with, and eventually market and book, a new fly fishing lodge being built in the tiny lobster fishing village of Punta Allen at the mouth of already legendary Ascension Bay in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (a World Heritage Site). "Palometa" is Spanish for permit and right from the start it was the shared vision of operator Dick Cameron (former manager of Ascension Bay Bonefish Club), financier Don MacKenzie, and Wild On The Fly's Joe Daniel to build the operation into the world's first and finest permit lodge. The rest, as they say (often flippantly, but not here) IS HISTORY. A history rife with
challenge and triumph, and in the end total success. Under the superb guidance of Dick and his wife Kaye The Palometa Club is today that true pinnacle of permit pursuit. The Club just landed their 500th permit in March and the 2011 season will break all previous seasonal catch records.
A typical day fishing at The Palometa Club begins with early morning coffee being served at 6:30am and breakfast at 7:00am. The guides start gathering outside around 7:30am to help any anglers who might need assistance with gear or flies and by 8:00am everyone is loaded in their boats (two anglers to two guides per boat) and headed into the bay to fish. If the wind is low and conditions good the guides will often take a long run to the southern end of the bay and then spend the day working their way back northeast and then northwest across the 80 square miles of fishable flats of this amazing fishery.
Although The Palometa Club is all about permit, Ascension Bay is a veritable fish nursery with multiple species and age-classes available to the ambitious angler. From snappers to groupers to barracuda, if it swims here it'll usually take a fly, but for the initiated this is Grand Slam or even Super Grand Slam Mecca! Bonefish are plentiful year-round, easy to catch, and an excellent target for those new to the salt. They tend to be smallish in size, averaging 2- to 4-pounds, although double-digit fish have been caught. Baby tarpon can often be found in the mangroves with bigger fish upwards of 100-pounds occasionally encountered laid-up on the open flats. Snook are also quite common and the Bay has a healthy population of truly trophy size fish. And then there are the palometa, from palm-size to car door-size, this is the best permit fishery on the planet. Period. A couple years back Dick Cameron landed what is probably the largest permit ever caught on a fly estimated at nearly 50-pounds (read about it
here), and every year we boat fish well over 30-pounds.
As good as the fishery can be, The Palometa Club is ultimately defined by its guides, arguably the best in Mexico. It is important to understand that in Ascension Bay a guide must have a permit from one of the cooperativas to legally fish, and those permits are strictly controlled. The Palometa Club has had the same six permits for as many years, owned by the same captains and jr. guides. The result is a guide corps of exceptional quality who share an uncompromising commitment to quality and service with the rest of the staff and management at the Club. And this is what you pay for when deciding between The Palometa Club and other lower-priced, often discounted, and sometimes un-permited fishing operations in the area.
Be sure and tell your guide what you wish to fish for each day as that will help determine where you go in the Bay. Lunch is served on onboard your boat usually at a small island and then fishing continues throughout the afternoon until around 4:00pm. Gear for a week of fishing at The Palometa Club should include an 8-weight and 10-weight rod and good quality reels with adequate backing and floating lines. Standard saltwater flats flies work well, including Crazy Charlies and Gotchas for bonefish, traditional tarpon flies and streamers for tarpon and snook, and merkin, velcro and raghead crab patterns, all in various sizes and colors with lead eyes and bead chain eyes for various water depths. Dress for total sun protection and be sure to bring adequate footwear for wading. A great deal of fishing is from the bow of the boat but it is very common to wade and stalk fish on foot.
And don't forget your camera! Besides the hero shots you're sure to get, Ascension Bay is a rookery area for beautiful birds like rosette spoonbills, frigate birds and wood storks, and exotic marine animals like saltwater crocodiles and manatees.
Upon your return to the lodge at the end of the day you'll enjoy icy cold margaritas and delicious appetizers at Kaye's Bar before an incredible dinner of fresh seafood and local Mayan specialties. Then it's early to bed for most exhausted anglers in one of the Club's six spacious bedrooms, each with two large beds and private bath. Eat, sleep, repeat!
Early morning at The Palometa Club lodge. Click to enlarge.
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Typical dinner of paella and achiote red snapper. Click to enlarge.
The generated Lorem Ipsum is therefore always free from repetition, injected humour, or non-characteristic words etc.
The Palometa Club is actually not a great destination for families. It is relatively small and geared towards serious fly fishers. Most of the guests during any given week will be pairs of anglers who are there primarily to fish. They fish hard and often party hard at the end of the day so it is not a conducive atmosphere for young children. Father/son (daughter) pairs are great as long as both are fishing. Non-angling spouse or partners are also okay but be aware that there is very little in the way of other tourist activities in Punta Allen beyond taking an eco- or archeological-tour (which are excellent). There is no pool and while the lodge is situated on the town beach there are no conventional beach amenities or structured activities. Non-anglers must be content to spend their days reading, walking, exploring Punta Allen (very small but charming, and quite safe) or otherwise entertaining themselves. Traveling back up the jungle road to Tulum or Playa for a day of sightseeing or shopping can be done but transportation is very expensive and time consuming.
Saltwater crocodiles are common in Ascension Bay. Click to enlarge.
Sian Ka'an means "where the sky is born" in Mayan – an apt name for the 1.3 million acres of grass savannas, mangrove lagoons, white sand flats, and 70 miles of the second largest barrier reef in the world. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1986 the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve is home to a variety of rare and spectacular creatures including ocelots, jaguars, manatees, saltwater crocodiles and hundreds of species of exotic birds. Within the depths of the Reserve the mark of the ancient Mayans can still be found. Dramatic temples and hidden tollhouses guard aquatic passageways carved through mangrove lagoons.
Generally the weather is heavenly, hot with light winds from the southeast. But it can shift to rainy squalls and a strong wind out of the north which can definitely have an effect on the fishing. Fortunately that type of weather pattern generally doesn't last for more than a few days. The lodge avoids booking from mid-June to the end of November as that is hurricane season and tends to be the most volatile time weather-wise.,p>
Bugs are occasionally an issue on the small islands the guides like to stop on for lunch. Bring along a small pump spray bottle of Off (no more than 25% Deet) in your boat bag just in case. Also, spray you ankles and exposed skin in the evening while sitting outside at the bar. Sometimes tiny noseeums can be irritating.
Mexico has suffered extensive damage to it's tourism industry from both the Swine Flu outbreak and extreme drug violence along its northern border with the U.S. Fortunately neither of those issues occurred on the Yucatan which is removed enough from the mainland to be almost like a different country. Travel remains very safe in the area which is closely guarded by the government to insure against any threat to the still lucrative Cancun tourism market.
This is of course a personal decision but the lodge suggests 10% ($350) as a base. Show your love further if you feel some member of the staff or guide corps deserves it. There is also an old custom in flats fishing which has found its way to Mexico where anglers slip their guide a sawbuck ($100 bill) if guided successfully to their first permit on a fly. That certainly is not a requirement but the legacy is pretty cool.
The spectacular Mayan ruins at Tulum. Click to enlarge.
The stretch of coastline from Cancun south to Tulum is known as the Mayan Riviera and is a necklace of all-inclusive resorts punctuated by a few tourist enclaves like Playa del Carmen. South of Tulum along the top part of the Punta Allen Peninsula is also a band of wonderful small boutique beach hotels. Visit
Loco Gringo for lots of good contact info. Non-angling activities in the area include exploring Mayan ruins, eco-tours, cave (cenote) diving, snorkeling on the reef, shopping, etc.
Your hosts, lodge owners Dick and Kaye Cameron. Click to enlarge.
The Palometa Club is managed by Dick and Kaye Cameron, former operations managers and hosts of Ascension Bay Bonefish Club. As equity shareholders in The Palometa Club they contribute their 18 combined years of experience running fly fishing operations to ensure an unrivaled experience for all their guests.
Dick is a second generation Alaskan and began his fishing career at age ten aboard his father’s commercial fishing boat. A consummate adventurer with a deep passion for fishing and hunting, he has owned fishing lodges in Alaska and has guided wilderness hunting trips throughout the state. For the past ten years Dick has worked at Ascension Bay learning the secrets of this amazing fishery and becoming a trusted and well-liked friend of the residents of Punta Allen. His popular status with the townsfolk has allowed him to assemble an elite team of veteran guides and experienced service staff for The Palometa Club.
Kaye was born in Seattle to a large, fun-loving family that emigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. Her professionalism and contagious enthusiasm make her the perfect co-host. Dick and Kaye were married in Punta Allen, Mexico in June 2004.
To book a reservation, or for more information contact The Palometa Club directly at 866-723-7776, by email at
info@palometaclub.com, or by visiting their web site at
www.palometaclub.com You can also follow all the permit action on their
blog.
FREE GIFT: And if you book a trip direct with The Palometa Club be sure and call or email usbefore you go, we want to know how useful this page was for you in planning your adventure and anything we can do to improve. In return we'll send you a complimentary sample of flies you'll need, including the "Critical Fly" Palometa Club Rag Head
If you would prefer to have Wild On The Fly Travel arrange the booking for you please join our Travel Club and then contact us toll-free at 1.866.723.7776 or local at 303.898.3084, or by email at
travel@wildonthefly.com. We helped found and develop The Palometa Club in 2005 and handled all of their bookings since then through 2011, and we know it well!
