Mexico’s Chetumal Bay has the best saltwater fly fishing you’ve never heard of. Here’s why it’s a hidden gem

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Clockwise from top left: A beautiful permit; battling a double-header; a typical Chetumal bonefish; a mid-sized tarpon & a trophy snook (photos by: Fly Fishing Chetumal, permit, snook; Ron Mayfield, anglers, tarpon; Scott Gardner, bonefish

The rhythmic slap of waves against the panga’s hull falls silent as our guide, Carlos Godoy, cuts the motor and begins to pole the boat, watching intently for the flash or tail of a bonefish, tarpon or permit. So begins another morning in one of sport fishing’s best-kept secrets—a remote corner of Mexico’s Caribbean coast, where the crystalline waters of Chetumal Bay meet the lush mangrove jungles of Quintana Roo.

Unlike the much busier saltwater flats of Ascension Bay to the north, Chetumal Bay offers anglers the pursuit of bonefish, tarpon, permit and snook in relative solitude. Here, where Mexico meets Belize, the ancient Maya once plied these waters in dugout canoes. Today, modern-day adventurers armed with fly rods discover a saltwater paradise that rivals any destination in the Caribbean basin. It also offers a few advantages you won’t find at better-known fishing destinations…

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