What a fantastic trip. It was one of the best fishing trips I have ever experienced. I have fished in many locations and I found the service of the Mango Creek Lodge staff to be superb. Perry (guide), Pam and Graham (managers) and the staff at Mango Creek Lodge were excellent. The fishing was challenging which required good fly casting skills. I would recommend any fisherman to take fly casting lessons suitable for flats fishing. I enjoyed the diversity of fishing; bonefish, permit, tarpon and snook. My fishing guide, Perry, was excellent.

I fished for five days with Perry and I was the only fisherman. It was singular experience not to see another fisherman. My wife and I stayed at the Reef House Diving Resort in Oak Ridge. My wife was getting her diving certification. I wish we would have stayed at Mango Creek Lodge.

As to the fishing, the weather was not cooperative. We had two rainy days and everyday was windy. I thought I could fly cast adequately, but in the wind it was a humbling experience. The first day I had a bunch of missed opportunities. My problem was presenting the fly properly especially in the flats. I think Perry was getting frustrated with me. And when I did hook up, I did not perform the strip strike correctly. By day 3, I was getting better. The other problem was spotting the fish. Perry would tell me to cast and I could not see the fish. Perry actually hooked up the largest bonefish (8lbs) and I landed it. My largest fish was 5 lbs and it was one of those ideal times where I saw a single fish, made the perfect cast and hookup. We bonefished some areas where Perry poled the boat. The spotting and casting was much easier and I could catch more fish.

I did fish for Tarpon with bait (Sprat fish; looks like a minnow) around the docks in St. Helene. I hooked up with four Tarpon, but only landed one fish about 15 lbs. I also caught a Snook and a number of Barracuda. I did not have a heavier fly rod for Tarpon fishing. Also I did not get a chance to go to Guanaja due to bad weather.
I am ready to go back to MCL. I went to Christmas Island twice, traveling with a fly shop in California. By the way, in comparing the two locations, I could catch more bonefish (10-20/day) at Christmas Island, but it was difficult to find larger fish. At Roatan, everyday I had an opportunity to catch fish 5 lbs and up. I also enjoyed the Tarpon fishing.

I liked the remote setting of Mango Creek and dedicated fishing. I love to fish and when I take a fishing vacation I want to fish as much as possible. At Christmas Island, I was limited to the amount of fishing time and the flats open to fish. I can understand their position, since there were 25 - 30 fisherman. Perry and I fished from sun-up to sun-down for five days.
Edward Kim
Feb 06