June 5, 2003 I had my first experience salt water flyfishing and had a great time. I'm only 1 year into flyfishing so this is a real test for a guide. Juan was a great teacher and taught me how to deal with wind, how to play the fish and how to see the buggers. On a day with high wind (not very good for bonefishing), he got me to 7 hook ups and 3 landed bonefish. A number of ladyfish hookups and one landed. One baby Jack Crevalle. I can hardly wait to go back on a good fishing day. A caution: the road from Tulum to Boca Paila is 40+ minutes of very rough road in a jeep and longer if you drive slowly. The sign says 20 km but it feels far. I did a day trip from Playa del Carmen and had a good 50 peso breakfast with them at 7 AM for an 8 AM departure. Juan sells his own flies at 350 pesos (about $3.50) so it's not too horrible compared to fly shops and you don't need to worry about buying the wrong kind for the day. Boca Paila also sells flies and rents rods if you didn't plan ahead.

Well I've been at Boca Paila two times in the past two years. Both have been in the fall months - late October/November which is ok but the weather is VERY unpredictable. First the accomodations are the best. Mrs. Gonzalez serves up the best, well prepared menu of the Yucatan. Francisco is perfection and Jose Luis rounds out the package perfectly. Ricky is unfortunately trying to turn the place into a playboy pen. Nothing around for miles accept Ricky's M5 BMW and his new Fountain off-shore boat. Plus he built 4 new "houses" that look more like jail cells than the traditional thatch roof houses they've had for 30 years. On a scale of 1 - 10 the fishing is a five. Grand Bahama has MUCH larger bonefish with the minimum being 5 pounds up to 12lbs. Boca bones average 3 lbs. As for the most important part...the guides vary tremendously. Victor is an ***, Gregorio is lazy and Mario is fantastic. I have fished with them all and while some days are better than others the guide makes or breaks the trip.