Written and photographed by Mary L. Peachin
Vol. 10 No. 3
Pelting rain drenched us as Pedro poled the panga through the muddy channels brushing the black mangroves of Rio Lagartos. Casting a yellow “San Felipe special,” a tarpon took the fly leaping into aerobatic 360s as it exploded from the shallow water. Like lightning, it sped around mangrove roots then under our boat. Sabalito or small tarpon offer challenging hookups, numerous jumps out of the water, and a fight that isn’t an hour-long arm-wrencher. These fish are strong with cunning equal to that of a bone fish. Less than 250 anglers have fished theremote, Yucatan Fly Fishing’s tarpon route, and only a handful have fished Campeche, located in southwestern region in the Gulf of Mexico.