Chasing bucket-list fish in Roatan

WHILE MANY COME TO ROATAN'S EAST END for the laid-back atmosphere and the authentic Caribbean lifestyle they can enjoy — even for just a few days at a time — others come for the area’s noted diving opportunities. But we’re seeing more and more visitors coming to Ocean Breeze Villa to take on the inshore fish of Roatan. 

Here, they can chase the wily bonefish, the brutish tarpon and the penultimate game fish of the tropics: the incomparable permit. 

In July, guest Paul Jones, a 30-year fishing guide from the States, came down to experience the Villa and to check out our area’s permit fishing. A seasoned fly fisher, Jones had been told of our permit fisheries by some previous visitors, and he wanted to see it for himself. 

And he did. With local fly fishing guides at his side, Paul ventured into the East End’s hinterlands where schools of permit frequent the turtle grass flats of Roatan. And by the time he left a week later, Paul brought six permit to hand. He was very impressed.

Permit are notoriously hard to catch — some fly fishers go their entire lives without catching one. They are very picky and quick to refuse flies that don’t look just right. They also travel in schools, sometimes hundreds strong. And when something doesn’t look right to one permit in the school, all the fish will spook and disappear off the flats. 

They leave many an angler at wit’s end. But, that challenge keeps calling fly fishers back to the tropics, and we’re here to tell you that, if you absolutely must check the permit off of your life list of tropical game fish, there may be no better place to do it than here in Roatan. 

In fact, there may be no better place to experience high-quality inshore fly fishing for permit, bonefish and tarpon, which congregate in the mangrove creeks and in the boat basins of the island that’s been home on the colonial map for more than 500 years. 

And, from the Villa, a fishing guide is a phone call away — we keep a guide on retainer all year long so our clients don’t have to wait for someone to show up on “island time.” Our guide works with others in the community, so if more than one guide is needed, we can make it happen on a moment’s notice. 

If you’re more of a DIY fly fisher, our water taxis can transport you to a number of local flats that teem with bonefish, or you can simply walk out on the beach in front of the Villa and fish the flats right off the beach. Here, bonefish and triggerfish frolic in the soft, protected surf of the East End, and anglers can spend hours putting flies in front of feeding fish. 

If fly fishing is on your “to do” list in Roatan, let us know. We can arrange anything from a laid-back afternoon on the flats to a full week spent chasing world-class flats fish.

It’s just part of the way we do things here at the Villa, where your vacation is on your schedule. The only itinerary is the one that pops up when you take that first sip of morning coffee. Come see us, and we’ll show how to fish, East End style.