Is there good fishing in and around Cayo, Belize, including San Ignacio and Belmopan?
Jonathan Lohr - Ceiba Realty Ltd.
Fishing in the Cayo District around San Ignacio in Belize is okay, but I wouldn’t say it is good fishing because you will not get any major fish. They are small fish; maybe a foot to a foot and a half in length if you are really lucky. Every now and then, you will catch a tarpon in the river. I have hooked some 4 or 5-foot tarpon in the river here, which is 188 miles from the sea by river, but you don’t expect to hook them, so they usually get away from you.You can...
Fishing in the Cayo District around San Ignacio in Belize is okay, but I wouldn’t say it is good fishing because you will not get any major fish. They are small fish; maybe a foot to a foot and a half in length if you are really lucky. Every now and then, you will catch a tarpon in the river. I have hooked some 4 or 5-foot tarpon in the river here, which is 188 miles from the sea by river, but you don’t expect to hook them, so they usually get away from you.You can catch Peacock Bass, some other types of local fish in the river, and you also have tilapia but they are not that easy to catch on a fishing line. You would usually have to jump in the river, spear them, or net them.
Fishing in the lakes here in Cayo are just about the same as fishing in the river since there are no major lakes in the Cayo. You catch same types of fish in the lakes as you would in the rivers. I like to go to the one that’s close to the town of Spanish Lookout called Aguacate Lagoon. I go fishing there but it is similar fishing to what you get in the rivers. Aguacate is about 45 minutes away from town by car and there is some bird watching, fishing, paddling, and it’s nice area. It’s a nice little reserve for the community of Spanish Lookout.
(River outside of San Ignacio, Belize, pcitured.)
Posted July 23, 2015
Wilana Oldham - Hot Mama's Belize Limited
I wouldn’t recommend fishing in the river here around the Cayo District. Unfortunately, people in Guatemala are not as eco-conscious as we Belizeans are so they tend to dump stuff in the Mopan River, flows into the Belize River, and the Belize River, flows all the way to the coast. There are some sections of that river where I wouldn’t even bother go into. There are other rivers, like the Macal, which is very clean because it comes from a different direction (not from...I wouldn’t recommend fishing in the river here around the Cayo District. Unfortunately, people in Guatemala are not as eco-conscious as we Belizeans are so they tend to dump stuff in the Mopan River, flows into the Belize River, and the Belize River, flows all the way to the coast. There are some sections of that river where I wouldn’t even bother go into. There are other rivers, like the Macal, which is very clean because it comes from a different direction (not from Guatemala) so it is very clean, it’s wonderful to swim in and do stuff in. For fishing, I would go to the coast, toward the north, into Orange Walk, and go fishing in the river there, or I will go to the coast or to the island to go salt-water fishing. When you go fishing at the river in Orange Walk, you could catch some perch, bass, and even tarpon. Tarpon is more like a game fish and people go after that. Tarpon can get very large but the other ones that I’ve mentioned are fairly small. All of them are really good eating.
When we go fishing in the sea, we look for snapper, grouper, etc. When we go fishing, we hire a guide to go with us. They have a boat and they bring everything. We want to just show up, go fishing, and come back. They clean the fish, and we eat it. We don’t deal with the difficult stuff. I am the typical woman. We don’t want to get ourselves all messy, while the guys want to get dirty and all. I like catching the fish, and I like eating them, too!
(Sarteneja, a fishing village forty miles from Orange Walk, Belize, pictured.)
Posted November 10, 2015