Ascension Bay Fishing Report with Captain Greg Rahe (March 2012)

It’s always a pleasure to welcome a new columnist to the Fishipedia fold. It’s a particular pleasure when that person comes with the pedigree of our latest expert – Captain Greg Rahe is a longtime Florida Keys guide and owner of Club Grand Slam on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. He’ll be reporting on life and fishing at Grand Slam, so you can expect plenty of bonefish, permit and tarpon tales – and, of course, the odd grand slam.

The Ides of March

The Ides of March found the lion becoming a lamb, seemingly overnight. While antes, the winds were a steady 20kts from the SE quadrant (perfect winds for getting close to a wily permit of epic proportions); anglers awoke to high, clear skies, winds of 8kts, a last quarter moon, and a new found resolve to better wrongs inflicted by countless fish the days before.

The permit were having none of it. Anglers of great previous success were met with indifferent refusals, while first timers’ flies were happily being gobbled by that most neurotic of flats-feeding denizen. The month’s final tally was 348 bonefish to 8lbs (a daily average of 6.24 bonefish per angler), 16 permit to 15lbs, 5 tarpon to 6lbs, and a single snook of 12lbs, and no grand slams. What? No Grand Slams? Well, in the anglers’ defense, they all came close to 16 grand slams, were it not for unbuttoned tarpon and snook, due to the dreaded, “Trout Set!”

BTW, there is a lot of old information, highly ranked in a Google search, stating that Ascension Bay, and the pueblo of Punta Allen is hard to get to, because of road conditions (our regular anglers actually like this myth, as it keeps out the riff raff). Well, the roads are in the best shape they have ever been. Just remember our new catch phrase, available on T-shirts. Punta Allen – Too Far – Not Cool – Don’t Come.

Captain Greg Rahe is the co-owner of Club Grand Slam in Punta Allen, on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Click here to find out more about the lodge