Trip Report: Isla Holbox Fall 2024

Trip Report: Holbox with Tarpon Club Isla Holbox

October 2024

Isla Holbox is an island located north of Cancun where the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico meet. Holbox is a unique destination full of wonderful people – and plenty of fish. After hearing about decades of trips that Mike has taken to Holbox, I had to go see it for myself, and it lived up to the hype. Holbox offers incredible tarpon fishing, amongst shots at permit, bonefish, jacks and the occasional snook. It is not your typical lodge experience as you book a hotel and then meet the guides each morning. However, this means getting to experience the town which has plenty of lodging options, a euro-mexican inspired food scene, lively bars, and not to mention a 5-mile, white sand beach perfect for swimming!

One of the most standout things about Holbox is Sandflea, a world-renowned tarpon guide and permit angler as well as one of the kindest humans you will ever meet. Sandflea and the rest of his guide staff’s knowledge of the area is unmatched. They are all extremely friendly, hardworking and some of the fishiest people I have ever met. Known for the abundance of baby and juvenile tarpon, Holbox is a great destination for saltwater anglers of all experience levels. There is also a strong migration of adult tarpon in the July-September months, and even some large resident, adult tarpon that live in the surrounding waters of Holbox. Though the area is not known for its permit fishing–they have seen a steady return of permit on the flats in recent years.

Back to what Holbox is known for… Tarpon. There are vast flats, lagoons, and mangrove systems that hold tons of juvenile tarpon. The right conditions lined up for us to experience something quite unique–tarpon on floating flies/poppers. As we rounded this mangrove corner, there were tarpon rolling for as far as we could see. After catching a couple on traditional tarpon toads, I tied on a floating fly. Sight fishing to tarpon and getting explosive eats left and right was about the most fun I had ever had fly fishing–a memory that will not soon be forgotten. We lost count and our stomachs hurt from laughter by the end of the day. Though this is not something that always lines up, it just might! Regardless, this destination offers action packed tarpon fishing. In fact, this might be the only place I’ve ever been where you can use “action packed” to describe saltwater fishing.

I would say it is always good to go to Mexico with a range of rod weights. We mostly fished to the juveniles with 8 weight rods with floating lines. 9wt or 10wt rods are the go to permit rods. And a 12 weight with a sinking line for the adult tarpon is preferred by the guides in Holbox.

All in all, Holbox is a great place to visit with friends, as a family, or even couples. There are plenty of experiences for the nonfishing folk and options for everyone from the seasoned saltwater pro to newer saltwater anglers.