Belize River Lodge (www.belizeriverlodge.com)
May 2009
We had five anglers on this trip, and everyone had a fantastic time. Despite the weather – rain, then wind, then rain and wind – we managed to catch a bunch of fish. And since this trip marked the beginning of the Caribbean Bonefish Research Program in Belize, we trained the Belize River Lodge guides to tag bonefish and take fin clips for genetic analysis. We tagged 12 bonefish during the trip, and left the tagging kits and extra data sheets and 2,000 total tags with lodge owner Mike Heusner. To goal is to get these tags in fish over the next couple years, so this makes Belize River Lodge a great place to go if you are an angler who wants to take part in research. We also tried, without luck, to put a satellite tag in a large tarpon. The tarpon just weren’t in an eating mood during our visit. After our time at Belize River Lodge, Mike Larkin (University of Miami, Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science) traveled to El Pescador lodge and trained the guides to tag bonefish and collect fin flip tissue samples. El Pescador will also work to tag 2,000 bonefish over the next two years.
One of the great things about fishing at Belize River Lodge is the variety. On every day an angler has a realistic chance at catching tarpon, bonefish, permit, and snook. While there I think two people caught slams (three species), and there was one almost grand slam (4 species). The slams were bonefish, tarpon, snook. You can fish out on the flats, around the cays, along the mangrove-lined coastline, or up the Belize River. The ride up the river is great – monkeys, iguanas, parrots and countless other birds are common sites during the ride up and down the river. And then there’s the fishing – tarpon, snook, and some wild looking local freshwater species.
The trip in 2009 was fun, and we hope to plan another trip to Belize River Lodge in spring 2010. For information contact
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