Rio Lagartos is part of a National Park that holds huge populations of baby tarpon 2-50 pounds.  Good clean accommodations are paired with the best guides in the preserve.

The trip starts with your arrival in Cancun.  You will make your way through customs and find our driver holding a sign with your name.  From there it is about a 4 hour drive on smooth roads through flat terrain.  Every so often you will slow down for a small village .  These villages are usually made up of Mayan descent.

After reading this page you may want some more details by using the links found up and to the right of this text, they will overlay a specific detail page. For more pictures try out our new photo gallery topics also on the right, a little further down the page.

You will be driving to the little village of San Felipe on the northwestern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula. There is one hotel in town and it is the San Felipe Hotel.  This is your headquarters for the trip.  You will get meals there daily and depart for the days fishing directly from the hotel.  The hotel is nothing fancy,  just clean comfortable rooms.  It is not the Ritz! Breakfast is usually very early to make sure we get some good time in just as the light is coming up.  Tarpon are more active at night and in low light than during the heat of the day.  We still find fish all day long it is just prime time very early.  The hotel will prepare a lunch for us to enjoy out on the water.  There is plenty of water and cervesa  supplied with lunch as well.

It takes 20-30 minute to reach the prime water.  The guides know the tides and winds very well so they will direct the days fishing taking you to where the tides and wind conditions are most favorable.  If it is nice and calm you might look for some of the bigger fish out in the open flats.  If it is a bit windy you will head directly into the sheltered ares of the Rio Lagartos preserve.  There are hundreds on miles of mangrove lined lagoons a creeks to choose from.  All of them harboring baby tarpon.  After returning to the hotel there will be some time to explore the little town, tie some flies and relax.   This area has more baby tarpon than we have seen any where in the world.  During spring and summer there is also an influx of large tarpon.