Belize Bait Help!

**Billy Boy** · 25-11-2007, 13:21

Hi folks

In case you didnt know i am off to Cuba ans Belize next year to fish my self stupid. At the resort I fish in Cuba (cayo Guillermo) unless you're using rapalas n poppers etc, you obviously need bait but it is harder each year to blag shrimp from the hotel staff. Shrimp catches the grunts that ctach the snappers and so on! How do i catch small baith fish from the pedalos and bridges etc? Do i use nano course hooks and bread? Do I use fruit? I was thinking the little sabbiki feather rigs we use back hear for sandeels etc might work. The only other source of bait there are sausage sized lugworm that the locals suck out of the sand with their mouths and I aint doing that!

I lost a whole rod and reel of a causeway once coz a didnt put the baitrunner on - the bait was a whole sardine. Can fish such as these (maybe mullet, needles etc) be caught near the sure? I dont want to have to take one of those huge cast nets in the luggage.

Any help much gracias! Have tried Berkley gulp from moving pedalos with great success but rubish when fished staticly.

Thanks all

Will H

p.s anyone know how to make a transportable landing net for causeways?

manchester

**marktheshark** · 25-11-2007, 16:54

Ullo matey
Put some words in the Caribbean forum ... hope it's of use
Mark

**Sue Harris** · 09-01-2008, 00:35

Hi there, you don't say what you are fishing for. Here in Belize, your guide will usually provide bait if he knows in advance that you need it. Our guides will get up at 3am to catch bait. We use mullet, sardinas, and for permit, little crabs which are the devil to catch. We also use flappers of barracuda with a Sea Witch type skirt to catch cuda. We use conch and shrimp too, conch is an excellent bait it they are available and in season. Both shrimp and conch work from forzen and so we keep a supply here at Steppingstones as backup just in case.

Hope that helps. Where are you fishing in Belize?

**Billy Boy** · 09-01-2008, 12:56

Hi Sue

Happy New Year!

I will be fishing Ambergris Caye which I appreciate is mostly guided fishing but I dont believe enough people have tried DIYing there so I want to have a go and naturally there are times when bait will take fish when artificals wont.

Do you know if the cayes have fish markets at all?

Kind regards

Will H
manchester

**Chris Harris** · 05-08-2008, 14:52

Hi Billie boy. Bait in Belize. There will be informal fish markets in most places, or you might catch an early morning fisherman returning. The cast net is the most reliable way although a problem for visitors carrying one. failing that Sabiki rigs will catch all the bait you need IF you find the right spot. sabikis seem to work best in deep water fished vertically. from the shore much harder.
Lure fishing with topwater lures or shallow running lures (Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow is easily the most reliable we find) can be excellent from the shore, especially early and late.
We beach most of our shore caught fish. getting them onto a dock is difficult, and in the case of sting rays, dangerous.
hope that helps.
cheers
chris

**PanamaJack** · 06-08-2008, 16:49

Will
I've only ever fly fished in Belize on Turneffe Atoll. However I noticed the locals do commercially dive for Conch out on the reef. So they'll obviously be available at the markets.

It's a tough bait cut into small chunks and it's something I've successfully used sight casting for Bonefish in the Bahamas fished on a baitholder hook with a lead shot for casting on a light spin rod. So I'm fairly certain it will work on Ambergris. Try casting up current, not too close, and they should hone in on the scent trail it creates.
Dave

**Sue Harris** · 20-08-2008, 23:23

Conch (pronounce it Conk or the locals won't understand) is a great bait, fairly readily obtainable (ask the cook at the hotel) and will catch bonefish and even permit - although not up north in Ambergris where it is shoulder to shoulder angling in the season. Down here in the empty, barely fished south it is a winner - and we have lots more bones and permit of course.

**Billy Boy** · 21-08-2008, 12:51

Well thanks for all your help.

Have been a couple of months late posting my report so here goes.

The island of Ambergris was not crowded by anglers by any means. Went there at end of June. Sure the hotels ran guided trips (flats, reef etc) every day but there was still some good DIY opportunities from the shore where I was the only guy I saw fishing! Fishing from the hotel dock with whole sardines accounted for many a scarp with small jacks (looked like small amberjacks dark stripe along the side of the head??) but they would keep tearing under the dock and busting me off. Neddles n cudas would slice shads n chase lures but did not comply. The best st fun I had for the whole holiday was catching a mojarra and putting a chink on my 2/20 hook attached to a pike trace. Unfortunately a huge stingray swan underneath the dock and grabbed by bait. I had to hang on for dear life for nearly two hours. My Shimano beastmast spinning gear couldnt control the beast you had to garb the spool to stop any line pealing off. Well eventually it snapped my 35lb braid mainline on the guide ropes. Next time - 50lb mono.

I fished the flats with a guide which saw me catch cudas n my first horse eye jack all fell to the holographic maria chase lure. Guide insisted I try a cast of a fly. My first cast ever produced a 3lb bone.

We didnt see any lemons sharks unfortunately.

There were plenty of baby tarpon (protected from fishing even c & r) but know big residents about. Fishing the drop off of the reefs produced superb sport - mangrove snapper to 7lbs, Cuda to 30lb and various grouper. An absolute monster grabbed a fish 300ft down and but my 120lb braid n broomstick combo! All fsh on live sardines. One canadian chap caught a sail fish on the drop off - on a spinning rod. His hands were all blistered.

All in all a fantastic place would like to go back to mainland Belize but that depends on the old credit crunch!

Fantastic fishing, fantastic people, fantastic new wife on a fantastic honeymoon.

Will H

manchester

**marktheshark** · 21-08-2008, 23:45

Hi Will,
Thanks for the report. I've never had any luck using Chinese people for bait but will make sure I try next time I'm in the area!!!! Thanks for the tip.
Mark