Healing Waters of Belize
Guys in my line of work never get “lost.” So let’s just say I was disoriented. Away from home, down in Alabama driving on a road that was decidedly “off the beaten path” looking for a house that the Army said was there, but that I really didn’t think existed. As disoriented as I was driving, the last thing I needed was a phone call…when of course my phone started ringing. My night and my luck was about to change a bit when I saw it was Dave from Project Healing Waters.
Growing up in New England, you don’t hear too much about bonefish. Maybe on a snowy Sunday morning you might watch an older episode of the Walkers Caye Chronicles, but more often striped bass, bluefish, tuna and swordfish took center stage in the salt. The turquoise waters of the Caribbean bonefish flats were something that most of us only saw on TV or in magazines…yet here was Dave on the phone with an amazing opportunity, bonefishing in Belize.
I was introduced to Project Healing Waters in February 2008 while recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from a blast injury to my hand that I suffered while deployed to Afghanistan. Although a fly-fisherman since a teenager, casting a fly rod was one of the last things on my mind at the hospital.
An amputated finger and nerve damage to my hand had me hoping just to be able to recover enough to stay in the service and lead a normal life again. At the insistence of a fellow wounded warrior, I started attending the weekly PHW meetings and found that holding and casting a fly rod not only helped to restore the grip strength and range of motion in my hand and wrist; but was much more enjoyable than the Occupational Therapy clinic. I guess some would say that I was ‘hooked,’ and I was.
More than being physically therapeutic, PHW rekindled a passion for the simplicity of fly-fishing I had held as a youth. The peace and the quiet on the water let you mentally decompress the stresses of recovery. The beauty of the outdoors replaces the imagery of the battlefield. It is a very true saying that “Trout don’t live in ugly places”—the same holds true for bonefish, as I was about to discover.
The weeks after Dave’s phone call were busy. The trip to Belize had been very generously donated to PHW at the last minute by Alex and Amy Gray, and as soon as I returned home I began sorting my gear and reading up on bonefishing.
The week before the trip was spent online looking up bonefish flies and tying as many as I could with a vise PHW had donated to me. I tied about two-dozen flies hoping to have enough that my fishing partner on the trip Mr. Russell Doughty and I could use. Russ is a Vietnam veteran from Missouri who not only is a volunteer with PHW; but is a wounded combat veteran as well. Russ and I introduced ourselves via e-mail and began a friendship that will last both of our lives.
I rendezvoused with Russ at the ticket counter at Dallas Fort Worth Airport. He was pretty easy to pick out of the crowd, proudly wearing his Vietnam Combat Infantry Badge ballcap. The conversation on the flight flowed back and forth from family, the service, fishing, PHW and finally to our shared excitement for the coming days fishing.
The flight from Dallas to Belize was short, flying over the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. Circling in toward the Belize airport, we caught our first true views of the Belize barrier reef and the green cayes that dotted the ocean.
We boarded the Tropic Air flight for the 20-minute trip to Ambergris Caye shortly before sunset, and watched as the skies over Belize melted into pink and purple hues as the sun set to the west. Landing in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, we gathered our bags and rods and hopped in a waiting taxi for the drive around the corner to the water taxi. The seas were calm cruising over the black water, with anticipation building as we turned in towards the dock.
We were met dockside by Bob (our fishing host) and Steve (the general manager) who greeted us with heartfelt smiles and a friendly handshake to the El Pescador Lodge. We were finally there!
Our room at the lodge was clean and comfortable and we quickly settled in before dinner. Meals at the lodge are served family-style, with all guests seated together to enjoy the meal and share the day’s fishing successes. The meal was excellent as were all the meals prepared by the lodge staff. We sat with Bob, who gave us an overview of the trips activities and time schedules. After the days travels we both slept soundly with dreams of rising trout replaced with visions of bonefish tailing on the flats.
Waking on our first morning, views of white sand, palm trees, and the clear blue waters of the Caribbean beyond welcomed us through the door. Fly rods in tow we assembled on the dock to meet our guide for the trip. Bob had paired us up with Carlos, his most veteran guide, and a wealth of knowledge both on where to find the fish, and how to catch them.
The boat trip to the fishing grounds each day took about 30 to 35 minutes on Carlos’s boat motoring down the length of southern Ambergris Caye to the smaller Cangrejo Caye (Crab Key). Cangrejo provided calmer water and better protection from the tropical winds brought on by a lingering cold front in the area.
The sights each day were incredible! The water was crystal clear. The Belize barrier reef visible in the distance as a white line of surf the only differentiation between where the turquoise waters ended and sky began.
The first fish came by luck much more than skill. The fish was small, not much more than 10 inches, but to me none of that mattered. It was a bonefish, not on TV or in a magazine, but bending the tip of my 8-weight on a short run. Personally, I would’ve enjoyed the remainder of the trip if that was the only Bonefish I caught; fortunately for Russ and I that was not the case.
The first day fishing was a learning experience. Carlos gave me a few pointers to help with my double-haul casting, and how I should present the fly to the fish. With two of us in the boat, Russ and I took turns casting, I’d catch two then it was Russ’ turn to catch a few. Our little fishing rotation worked out well for the entire trip, one guy fishing while the other relaxed, grabbed a bite to eat, a glass of Russ’s favorite limeade, or taking photos. We both landed more than a half-dozen bonefish on the first day, the largest being a 4 ½ pound torpedo that I landed on a fly Russ tied.
The flats and coves of the cayes are an amazing place to nature watch. Eagle rays, spotted rays, nurse sharks, reef sharks, barracuda, dolphins, flying fish, osprey, pelicans, cormorants, the list could go on and on. Viewing the abundant wildlife was great if it was your turn to relax and rest your casting arm, though not so great standing on the bow casting platform watching a ’cuda spook off all the fish. We left the shelter of Cangrejo Caye around 2:30 for the boat trip back to the lodge. It had been a fantastic start to the trip.
Bob was there to greet us with his customary smile as we pulled up to El Pescador’s dock. We shuffled our gear to our room and took a few minutes to let it fully sink in that we were in fly-fishing in Belize. Shortly before dinner that evening, Bob gave both Russ and I some one-on-one casting instruction out on the dock. The dock at El Pescador had been specifically build with an instructors casting platform at the end of an offshoot from the main dock. Without much effort Russ was throwing 60 to 70 feet of line, casting from the dock all the way to the beach. Bob’s experience and pointers to me would prove to help improve my casting each day.
The dinner table conversations that night swirled from fishing to reading, from family to outright humor. We adjourned to the lounge after dinner for a celebratory 1st Bonefish Drink, a native Belize Belikin beer for me, and a homemade from scratch El Pescador Limeade for Russ. It is probably a very good thing that Russ didn’t realized his passionate thirst for the home made El Pescador Limeade until now. If discovered as a youth, I’m convinced that the enamel on his teeth would have been gone decades ago.
In the morning, Russ was up and out a few minutes before I shook off the morning cobwebs. The sunrise was just cresting the eastern horizon as I slipped into the dining room for a cup of coffee and a breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs and pancakes. Carlos was waiting patiently for us at the dock and as we stowed our fly rods onboard, and we discussed the plan for the days fishing…
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