Belize Travel Advice

Belize is one of the best places on earth to chase a first permit, if you pick the right tides and the right outfitter.

If you are after your first permit, there is no place on earth like Belize. In one morning you can have more shots at tailing permit than you will in a month almost anywhere else. We are not talking about jumping out of a boat in four feet of water and charging across a muddy bottom trying to keep up with a guide so you can throw a crab at a school of fish fifty feet away. This is the real knee-shaking deal: small schools of permit actively feeding, tails in the air, grubbing so hard you can hear the coral breaking.

You probably will not land a 20-pound permit here, but you may land more 5- to 15-pound permit than anywhere on the planet. The food and lodging, on the other hand, can leave a lot to be desired. This is a fishing-first trip, not a polished resort vacation. There is a good deal of wading, but generally speaking the bottom where permit are feeding is so coral-crunchy that wading can be less effective than expected. While not for the faint of heart, this trip is amazing and relatively easy to get to from the United States.

Who Belize Is For

Belize is for anglers who want real permit chances and are willing to keep the focus on fishing. It is a trip to take with the equally obsessed friend who can never seem to find the right permit crab or relax in the back of the boat. The travel is straightforward, the fishing can be exceptional, and the expectations need to be right from the start.