Cozumel Fly Fishing – 23' 

This was my first experience fly fishing in salt water. Alex made me the process easy throughout. He was very responsive in the lead up to the trip, including details about what we would target and what flies we would use. We did motor on the boat from the coleta up to the north end of the island, where he brought us to some grass flats near mangroves, where we were targeting juvenile tarpon. While we did not catch any there, we had a couple shots. Alex then brought us to some sand flats, where we had so many shots to cast to bonefish, easily visible from the elevated front portion of his boat. We saw bone fish cruising through in groups from 2 - 6. I missed several opportunities, but caught one on the fly and hooked up another but broke it off, due to inexperience. We also saw barracuda and a couple permit. Alex was well prepared and offered good advice for a novice fly fisherman. I could have caught more fish with a bit more experience.

This was our second trip with Alex. The mangroves are a beautiful spot even if you’re not fishing. i caught a bonefish and Darren was over the moon with his barracuda

Alex met me at the ferry pier, where we hopped in his truck and drove to the North end of Cozumel. Alex speaks fluent English so communication was easy. We got in his boat and headed up the coast and up into a tidal water area with some mangroves and flats. The weather started off overcast and windy, which makes spotting fish a challenge. Despite the difficult spotting conditions, he was able to put me on some bonefish. Some were caught blind casting into areas that he knew typically held fish, and some were caught when he would spot them and call out a direction to cast in. If you are staying in Playa Del Carmen, or Cozumel, and looking to hook some fish on a fly, then Alex is a great option. Highly recommend!

Alex showed up right on time and took us to a great bay with flats inside the mangroves for our 6 hour trip. We caught 8 bonefish from 2.5 to around 5 pounds along with small barracuda, snapper and blue runner. He brought water, soda and beer and even had sandwiches, cookies and chips. My wife and I could not have been happier and would recommend this to anyone.

If you’re a serious fly fisherman Alex will put you on fish! Four shots at permit today with two hookups but none landed :(. My fault. My permit struggle continues. More than a dozen shots at bonefish with around 8 hookups and five landed including this beast in the photo (@7lbs). Alex felt so bad about the permit (I told him I’ve been trying for 25 years to get one) we stayed an extra hour (9 hour day!) and I think if I hadn’t called it, we’d still be out there. His English is passable and he uses hand signals and actually has the clock directions stenciled on the front of the boat in case you go to pieces like I do casting at permit and can’t remember which side 11 o’clock is. If you’re an accomplished saltwater fly caster, even in the wind, he’s your guy. Refreshments where great also.

We we’re staying in playa del carmen so couldn’t get across until 9:35 but Alex gladly made an exception for us and met us off the ferry. A bit of a drive to the boat and then a journey across to what I would describe as paradise. We we’re the only people there so it was serene. Worth the trip to see the fishing spot itself. Alex was very knowledgeable and instructed us well. Thoroughly enjoyable day plus he provided lunch that we weren’t expecting ( amazing sandwiches). Highly recommend

I fully understand that fishing is called fishing instead of catching for a reason, the day started at 6 when he picked us up at our hotel (Meliá at the north end of the island) we drove approximately 20 minutes to make it to the water and the captain took around 10 to get the boat ready then we were underway, it took around half an hour to get to the fishing grounds. He(guide)took his first cast and hooked up he handed the rod to my father and my father proceeded to loose it, we dished for a good 2 hours with no more action then I caught 2 decent mojarra, we moved spots after about half an hour of nothing else, after no luck at the new spot we stoped for a little and just caught small mangrove snapper but quickly got bored of that, we moved on again into the lagoon and no more luck so we began heading back to the dock but the guide stopped near the dock one more time and I caught another mojarra but this time my father also caught one, me move a little again and hooked close to 10 bonefish but only caught 6, my father also hooked into a large snook but lost it overall it was a great trip definitely recommend you take if you want to do some flats fishing I would say do not book less than a 6 hour trip as it takes about an hour to get out to the fishing grounds. I definitely had some higher expectations for fish but none the less it was fun.

I got interrupted when writing my review last time and was surprised it was processed as I had not finished it. Not only do I give Capt Alex 5 Stars on each category but would like to add what a great 3 days I had out on the water with him. I had previous experience in bonefishing with a fly rod and going out with Alex I felt honed my skills, particularly fish spotting and approach. If you are a serious flyfisher and want to get the best out of your day(s) let Alex take you out on the water he knows so well. His good humor, patience along with his smooth polling techniques put me on fish. His supply of victuals, cool water backed up by the odd beer at lunch kept the energy levels up to do battle with hard fighting fish.

My wife and I had a great time fishing with Alex. We ended up catching plenty of bonefish along with a few other species of fish mixed in. His boat was clean and his cooler was well stocked with drinks and snacks for the trip. I would definitely recommend a trip with him.