Isla Holbox Mexico- heaven on earth

shoefish · 06-04-2007, 11:19 AM

I just wanted to post up a report of a place that anyone who enjoys old world Mexico needs to put on their list of places to go. Nansy and I just got back from a week on Isla Holbox, a small sandbar on the northern-most point of the Yucatan penninsula. This island, literally nothing more than a sandbar, is home to a small community of fishermen, and supports a small amount of tourism. Everyone on the island is very friendly, and will bend over backward to make sure that you have a good time. At no point did we feel like we were being prayed upon or feel unsafe- in fact, people wouldn't except money a lot of times for helping out. Truly an exceptional place.

Our plan had been to get down there and go offshore for some of the best giant tarpon and giant cobia fishing anywhere. Tarpon regularly reach 150+ pounds, with "good ones" in the 200# range. The cobia apparently are in the 80-100# range regularly as well. Unfortunately for us, we were greeted with a 25kt northeast wind that persisted for the entire trip- not the kind of weather to be offshore in a small panga trying to sight cast.

We made the best of it though, and fished the shoreline and rivers with light tackle. It ended up being a blast. Nansy, who usually comes fishing with me once in a while, got truly stung by the fishing bug, and wanted to go every day. I was happy to oblige. She did well, too, learning the subtleties of casting in a breeze with trees all around as well as learning the "feel" to a successful hook set. By the end of the trip she was identifying fish by the way that they fought- truly unbelieveable.

Here are some pictures of the island and the trip. I have a ton of footage that I'm trying to make time to edit, and will post that up as soon as it's done.

For now... here are the pics...

Arriving at Xaloc Hotel...

We were shown to our ocean-side hut. What a view!

Now to grab a rental....golf cart. The island is so small, cars are not needed. Instead everyone gets around in these...notice the shirts...Thermz and SFC, what a combination...

Time to hit the shallows at the mouth of the river...

A little DOA artificial shrimp in clear tricked this nice Corvina...

After that it was time to get into the golf cart and do some exploring. After jeeping throught the scrub brush and around the mangroves, we found this beach... completely uninhabited...and decided to do some more casting...nothing was home though... oho well...

At the end of every day, exhausted from all the casting and from fighting all of the fish, it was time for refreshments...

And to watch the sunset...

What a great trip, and what a great island. Isla Holbox is a fishy place. It is also a great place to go to get away from it all. We didn't see a tv or hear a phone ring the entire week. We would go down to the river and be greeted by gigantic schools of mullet and pilchards. And the shallows glowed green every day. This is the place to go if you want to have some adventure (they do daily trips to snorkel with whale sharks in the summer) or to relax and do nothing. I can't wait to get back.

Shoe

slip slidin · 06-04-2007, 08:40 PM

Awesome looking place Shoe. Looks like you all had a great time. Thanks for sharing with us. Look forward to the rest. Slip.

Squidnation · 06-04-2007, 08:55 PM

sounds like a great place shoe. bring on the other pics

brandon558 · 06-04-2007, 09:44 PM

Looks to be a very beautiful place..great pictures!

Thanks for sharing

Brandon

Lets see more

hotrodmarlin · 06-04-2007, 10:29 PM

Dude you're killing me with those pics!

Looks like y'all had a great time. How did you ever find that place? I'm definately putting it on my list.

WAHOONBOX · 06-04-2007, 10:32 PM

I AIN'T......I MEAN WE AIN'T WORTHY!!!!

HOLEY CRAPOLA SHOE ~~~~~~~

I JUST SLICED MY FINGER OPEN WHILE CARVING ON A PEAR!

O-SEA-D · 06-05-2007, 07:42 AM

Thanks for sharing Shoe.

Awesome pictures man. Looks like you guys had a wonderful time.

SeaBiscuit · 06-05-2007, 08:18 AM

Looks like a very special place Danny. Thanks for the pictures.
Where in Mexico did you fly in and out of? Cancun?
SeaBiscuit

shoefish · 06-05-2007, 09:07 AM

Thank you all for the nice comments. It was truly an incredible place, unique in every way.

Biscoto-
To get there we flew into cancun (through Charleston to avoid dealing with the Atlanta airport), and took a van ride for two hours to a town called Chiquilla where we boarded a ferry for the 20 minute boat ride to the island. I should have known that we were in for a unique experience when half way over to the island there were a half dozen dolphins that came up to the boat to say hello. Another note that I forgot to mention that you would be interested in is that the snapper and grouper fishing is supposed to be great as well- apparently you can take an hour boat ride to a place called Cabo Catoche where you will find coral heads that harbor grouper in the 50# range. I had brought down my new biscoto inspired Saltiga 40 all ready to do battle, but the wind gods had other ideas. Oho well, maybe next time. So I guess I still need to break in the 40...

Shoe

SeaBiscuit · 06-05-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoefish

. So I guess I still need to break in the 40...

Shoe

I can help you with that!
You and Johny hop on a plane and come see us. Time for a workout!
Biscuit

06-04-2007, 11:19 AM	#1
shoefish Chum Nuts Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portsmouth NH Posts: 4,188 Credits: 1,156.6	Isla Holbox Mexico- heaven on earth I just wanted to post up a report of a place that anyone who enjoys old world Mexico needs to put on their list of places to go. Nansy and I just got back from a week on Isla Holbox, a small sandbar on the northern-most point of the Yucatan penninsula. This island, literally nothing more than a sandbar, is home to a small community of fishermen, and supports a small amount of tourism. Everyone on the island is very friendly, and will bend over backward to make sure that you have a good time. At no point did we feel like we were being prayed upon or feel unsafe- in fact, people wouldn't except money a lot of times for helping out. Truly an exceptional place. Our plan had been to get down there and go offshore for some of the best giant tarpon and giant cobia fishing anywhere. Tarpon regularly reach 150+ pounds, with "good ones" in the 200# range. The cobia apparently are in the 80-100# range regularly as well. Unfortunately for us, we were greeted with a 25kt northeast wind that persisted for the entire trip- not the kind of weather to be offshore in a small panga trying to sight cast. We made the best of it though, and fished the shoreline and rivers with light tackle. It ended up being a blast. Nansy, who usually comes fishing with me once in a while, got truly stung by the fishing bug, and wanted to go every day. I was happy to oblige. She did well, too, learning the subtleties of casting in a breeze with trees all around as well as learning the "feel" to a successful hook set. By the end of the trip she was identifying fish by the way that they fought- truly unbelieveable. Here are some pictures of the island and the trip. I have a ton of footage that I'm trying to make time to edit, and will post that up as soon as it's done. For now... here are the pics... Arriving at Xaloc Hotel... We were shown to our ocean-side hut. What a view! Now to grab a rental....golf cart. The island is so small, cars are not needed. Instead everyone gets around in these...notice the shirts...Thermz and SFC, what a combination... Time to hit the shallows at the mouth of the river... A little DOA artificial shrimp in clear tricked this nice Corvina... After that it was time to get into the golf cart and do some exploring. After jeeping throught the scrub brush and around the mangroves, we found this beach... completely uninhabited...and decided to do some more casting...nothing was home though... oho well... At the end of every day, exhausted from all the casting and from fighting all of the fish, it was time for refreshments... And to watch the sunset... What a great trip, and what a great island. Isla Holbox is a fishy place. It is also a great place to go to get away from it all. We didn't see a tv or hear a phone ring the entire week. We would go down to the river and be greeted by gigantic schools of mullet and pilchards. And the shallows glowed green every day. This is the place to go if you want to have some adventure (they do daily trips to snorkel with whale sharks in the summer) or to relax and do nothing. I can't wait to get back. Shoe

06-04-2007, 10:32 PM	#6
WAHOONBOX I'M SPEECHLESS Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: MOREHEAD CITY NC 28557 Posts: 14,026 Credits: 17,897.0 Boat: I AM A FREELANCER Home Port: MOREHEAD CITY, NC Best Catch: PONEYTAIL Occupation: OFFSHORE MATE VIDEOGRAPHER	I AIN'T......I MEAN WE AIN'T WORTHY!!!! HOLEY CRAPOLA SHOE ~~~~~~~ I JUST SLICED MY FINGER OPEN WHILE CARVING ON A PEAR! __________________

06-05-2007, 07:42 AM	#7
O-SEA-D I think Admin is going to let me have this space Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Newport, NC Posts: 2,854 Credits: 799.9 Boat: 2000 26 Hydra Sports Home Port: MHC, NC Occupation: Telecomm Technician, Freelance Mate	Thanks for sharing Shoe. Awesome pictures man. Looks like you guys had a wonderful time. __________________ RUN-OFF Sportfishing Charters Extreme Measures Charters Offshore Innovations Draggin Eyes Lures SQUIDNATION THERMZ Performance Wear Get your RUN-OFF Sportfishing T-Shirts here!!! John McGinty O-SEA-D 26' Hydra Sports

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06-04-2007, 08:40 PM	#2
slip slidin Crab mustard is good Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 859 Credits: 3,422.9	Awesome looking place Shoe. Looks like you all had a great time. Thanks for sharing with us. Look forward to the rest. Slip.

06-04-2007, 09:44 PM	#4
brandon558 I think Admin is going to let me have this space Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 1,973 Credits: 824.2 Boat: Triton Bay Boat Home Port: Wrightsville Beach Best Catch: Family Occupation: School	Looks to be a very beautiful place..great pictures! Thanks for sharing Brandon Lets see more

06-04-2007, 10:29 PM	#5
hotrodmarlin I think Admin is going to let me have this space Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Belews Creek, NC Posts: 1,143 Credits: 643.5 Occupation: Guaranteed Supply Company	Dude you're killing me with those pics! Looks like y'all had a great time. How did you ever find that place? I'm definately putting it on my list.

06-05-2007, 08:18 AM	#8
SeaBiscuit I think Admin is going to let me have this space Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 2,902 Credits: 2,932.2	Looks like a very special place Danny. Thanks for the pictures. Where in Mexico did you fly in and out of? Cancun? SeaBiscuit

06-05-2007, 09:07 AM	#9
shoefish Chum Nuts Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portsmouth NH Posts: 4,188 Credits: 1,156.6	Thank you all for the nice comments. It was truly an incredible place, unique in every way. Biscoto- To get there we flew into cancun (through Charleston to avoid dealing with the Atlanta airport), and took a van ride for two hours to a town called Chiquilla where we boarded a ferry for the 20 minute boat ride to the island. I should have known that we were in for a unique experience when half way over to the island there were a half dozen dolphins that came up to the boat to say hello. Another note that I forgot to mention that you would be interested in is that the snapper and grouper fishing is supposed to be great as well- apparently you can take an hour boat ride to a place called Cabo Catoche where you will find coral heads that harbor grouper in the 50# range. I had brought down my new biscoto inspired Saltiga 40 all ready to do battle, but the wind gods had other ideas. Oho well, maybe next time. So I guess I still need to break in the 40... Shoe