Larry Acord with a rooster fish of a lifetime, landed on fly in the Sea of Cortez. This fish was estimated at 70 pounds. He was on one of our old friend, Gary Bulla’s Baja Fly fishing excursions.

All I can say is our buddy Larry Acord has become an all-star student of the FlyZone (a fly fishing program my buddy, Jim Solomon and I have developed to holistically up the level of skills in any fly fishing situation). We have been coaching and fishing with Larry over the past few years and we have watched him grow to the next level and beyond, he has become quite the accomplished fly caster and angler. I personally have fished with him in Christmas Island, New Orleans and Campeche and we have crushed it in every place we have been. We are all very excited of Larry’s fishing accomplishments of late and especially proud to call him a good friend. WTG pal! Congrats on a fish of a lifetime!

in Larry’s words:

“La Ventana.  The “Giants usually roam in April but the Sea of Cortez was 3 degerees C. warmer than usual and Gary and the boys were seeing and catching  60+ lb’ers.  I got this bad boy at 8:27 in the morning close to shore on the last day.  Sight cast around him with a curve cast at 60 to 70 feet ala Jim Solomon. He sucked the fly in as it passed in front on my first strip…two hip check strip sets ala  Al Q  and 3 waters, 2 chocolate chip cookies and a Gatorade later  (1 hour 15 minutes) he was on board. “

I remember Nicky Vu when he was a little kid casting his fly rod over the waves at the One Surf Fly with his dad back in Huntington Beach and San Diego. Well, Nicky grew up, and has turned into a fine young man and angler. He just sent me a few pics of this monster Corbina he just landed in San Diego that ate a large sand crab in four inches of water. The fish measured at 26 inches and he estimated this fish at close to 7 pounds. WTG Nicky, we are all very proud of you.

Campeche is located on the west end of the Yucatan peninsula. The temperatures during the mid-summer are warm, tropical and humid, ranging in the nineties with similar ranges in humidity. I never felt it was unbearable, there was always a breeze and in the afternoon, thunderstorms always cooled it off. The rains usually last ten minutes, cooling off the city, making the nights very pleasant to stroll through the city streets, grab dinner, shop and relax.

We stayed at the Ocean View hotel located directly across from the gulf where our flats skiffs awaited us in the early am. The hotel was air-conditioned, clean and served a really great buffet-style breakfast each morning.

The prime area we fished while we were there was the Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve located to the north of the city along the coast. The reserve is approximately 120 miles of pristine mangrove coastline. It would take us anywhere from a half an hour to 1.5 hour boat ride to get to the specific areas our guides wanted to fish for tarpon in early morning. The early morning bite was best. In low light, I loved throwing a surface popper, gurgles or slider and watching the tarpon explode on it.

The Petenes Reserve is one hundred and twenty miles of pristine mangroves. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

We would start our day fly fishing early around 6am, sometimes earlier, around 5am, if our guides wanted to make a longer run deeper into the reserve. We would quit around 1pm and be back at the dock at 2pm. Freshen up at the air-conditioned hotel, grab a few beers, then get picked up at the hotel by our tour guide Felix, who was Mayan and spoke perfect english. Felix was a historian, actor, musician, singer, and radio personality; it seemed like everyone knew him. I endearly called him the Godfather of Campeche, LOL

Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Felix, “The Godfather of Campeche” our fearless tour guide. photo by Al Quattrocchi

Photo by Al Quattrocchi

We visited Mayan ruins, learned about the diverse history and culture of Campeche, had walking and bus tours through the city and visited museums and many churches. There is so much to see in this old seaside European colonial city, it can make your head spin. The pirate history alone is dark and fascinating. Campeche is a walled off city, with five outposts that once fended off the pirates in the late 1600 to 1700s. Its a beautiful, colorful city, a true photographer’s paradise.

Etzna, Mayan ruin, 600 BC. Only one hour drive from town. Worth seeing. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

The early morning sunrise over the mangroves. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Tacos al Pastor. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

A local favorite, lime soup. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Alejandro Jr. and his dad, Alejandro Hernandez were such wonderful hosts of our trip. Treated us all like family. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

After our touring we would meet up with Alejandro from Campeche Tarpon and we would all eat at a different restaurant. The food in Campeche is incredible. We ate at five star restaurants and small mom and pops, all equally delicious.

A common sight in the early am are flocks of cormorants which leave land towards the mangroves for feeding. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Then we would get back to the hotel around 8:30 and hit the sack for early tarpon fishing the following day. It all worked and I never felt like i was missing anything, the fishing and the culture were blended into one fantastic experience of people, place, great food and fly fishing. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Tarpon in the morning light. Photo by Larry Acord

His face says it all! A beautiful colored baby tarpon landed by my good friend Larry Acord. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Ruth, aka Navajo Flyfisher with a beautiful baby tarpon. photo by Tomas Nava Benitez

The acrobatics of baby tarpon are insane. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Campeche Tarpon has state of the art flats skiffs that can get you deep into skinny water. Photo by Al Quattrocchi

Visit Campeche Tarpon and ask for Alejandro, he was a wonderful host and made us all feel like we were family. Tackle: EP peanut butter, black and purple & olive and white worked best for us. Size 2, small flies.  sliders, gurgles, black, red/white, and tan, size 1/0. I took 2, 8 wt & one 10 wt rod (for bigger migratory tarpon) I fished the new Rio flats pro lines, loved them. I up lined by one, so a 9wt line for an 8 weight rod seems to work really good for me. Leaders: straight epic of 40# to a shock tippet of 50#, 9 foot total. These fish abraid leaders easily, always check your leader, even if you just jump a fish and not land it. Always cast your setups before going to any destination, get your equipment dialed in, and bring extra lines and reel in case something happens. The last thing is have fun!