Destination Seclusion

The sun was not up yet, but the pale morning light coming through the curtains suggested it wasn’t far off. Belize serves up some of the finest sunrises and sunsets to be seen anywhere, with orange and red hues that can’t be duplicated. After grabbing a cup of coffee from the galley, I groggily made my way to the aft-deck. The colorful horizon was certainly enough to clear my sleep-clouded vision.

Destination Seclusion

Spend a week aboard Meca and see what life is really all about.

The sun was not up yet, but the pale morning light coming through the curtains suggested it wasn’t far off. Belize serves up some of the finest sunrises and sunsets to be seen anywhere, with orange and red hues that can’t be duplicated. After grabbing a cup of coffee from the galley, I groggily made my way to the aft-deck. The colorful horizon was certainly enough to clear my sleep-clouded vision.

As I settled down with coffee in hand, I absorbed my surroundings. We were aboard the Meca, a wide-beamed 45-foot custom-built craft chartered out of Belize City. Meca is our mobile base of operations for the week and on this morning; we were comfortably anchored in a mangrove cove near Hicks Cay.

Two 22 foot pangas, used for our daily excursions, were tied off the stern. Dean Myers, the captain of the Meca and a native Belizean, was swabbing down one of the pangas. He is a meticulous captain and an outstanding fly-fishing guide. On this trip, Dean was assisted by Noel, an exceptional fishing guide in his own right. Carol, our chef and steward, rounded out the crew of three. She prepared our daily meals from scratch, spanning Belizean, Mexican and American cuisines.

Fishing Belize via mothership is a relaxing yet intense experience. You are living on the water without a concern, breathing the open ocean air, having all your needs met by a capable crew. Which day of the week it is becomes irrelevant. However, it is action packed in its fishing possibilities. Should you desire, you can tangle with local quarry from sunrise to sunset and beyond, and fishing from a mobile base allows for maximum efficiency and maximum ‘catchability!’

The long boat rides often experienced from land-based lodges are virtually negated, and you have the option of fishing a wide variety of coastal waters. There are shallow flats holding bonefish, permit and large tarpon. The roots of mangrove islands and channels provide cover for snook, snapper and juvenile tarpon, along with a wide array of species that thrive in the reef environment. The standard week aboard the Meca is what you make it; custom designed by you to meet your personal objectives.

This particular trip was a family vacation. While my dad and I had fishing as our top priority, my mom and sister had other ideas; snorkeling, beach combing and comfortable, sun-baked lounging topped their list. The barrier reef, which runs parallel to the coast, is the second largest in the world and provides a spectacular setting for aquatic activities.

As the family gathered around the breakfast table, we discussed our possibilities for the morning. The ladies opted for snorkeling at Gallows Point Reef, while my dad and I sought the big tarpon lurking on the flats near Hicks Cay. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find exactly what we were looking for.

“Tarpon!” shouted Dean. The vibrant exclamation caught my dad and I off-guard as we had just arrived on the flat and had yet to even stand up. “Twelve o’clock…One hundred feet…Quickly!”

As my dad prepared to cast, my eyes quickly found three dark shapes off the bow moving slowly, directly at the boat. It was an adrenaline-pumping sight. My father’s cast landed no more than five feet short of the lead fish. The tarpon tensed and then surged forward, inhaling the fly. After a hard hook-set, the fish embarked on one of the fastest runs I had ever witnessed, complete with the expected but always breathtaking acrobatics.

The reel howled in resistance and every element of his equipment was tested to its limits. Regardless, everything held true and 45 minutes later, he had boated about a 90-pound fish. No sooner had the fish been released than Dean proclaimed, “Let’s get another!”

It sounded easy, and I was confident. But three hours later, I was still standing in the bow holding the fly rod in one hand and my fly in the other waiting for something to shoot at. Sometimes it seems so easy; usually it is not. We decided to head back to Meca for lunch.

As Carol served some delectable tostadas, we shared our stories from the morning’s events. My mom and sister made an attempt at counting the various types of reef fish they saw, only to determine there were too many to figure. They also managed to catch two large barracuda trolling back from the reef and had collected some beautiful shells.