Belize Vacation - Day 7 Fishing Trip

Friday, June 13th 

We have not been on a fishing boat since our 2016 summer vacation in Cozumel. The guys were looking forward to fishing. I am not a fan of fishing but thought being on a boat would be a great way to spend the day. Oscar, Eddie, and Gene picked us up at our dock at 9 am.

The weather was gorgeous, not too windy or hot. It was a great day to be on a boat.

Boogs and J2 managed to catch barracudas almost at the same time.

Good thing they were catching fish. Whatever they caught was what we were going to have for lunch.

When my husband was a kid, his family would camp every summer. He would spend hours at the dock fishing.

He was having a great time catching fish.

I gave it a try for a little while. Gene baited the fish for me many times. I hooked a few but lost them before I was able to pull them in. Everyone else caught several fish. Good thing I did not have to catch any for us to eat.

We were very grateful to have Eddie on the boat. Oscar, the tour owner, was a mess. We quickly realized he had been drinking before he picked us up and kept drinking throughout the day. We were looking forward to a calm day. He was loud and kept trying to hype up a party atmosphere and offering drinks even after we said we did not want any. While we were fishing, Oscar was not paying attention to how he was driving the boat and caused the fishing line to get wrapped around the motor. We had learned earlier in the week that islanders speak to each other in Creole and it was considered disrespectful to speak to each other in proper English, that was for tourists and work. Eddie yelled at Oscar in Creole and then switched over to yelling at him in English. 

Eddie was able to cut off all of the line and then he took over driving the boat and running the entire tour. We had to go back in towards the shore to catch more bait fish. It was neat to see Eddie skillfully throw the net. I imagine if I tried to throw that net, I would have fallen in. We went back out after Eddie caught more bait fish.

Eddie took the time to give Boogs detailed instructions on how to handle reeling in the fish and giving it the right amount of line. Boogs was interested in learning about it and was able to catch the most fish.

J2 was not as interested as Boogs but he said he was having a good time.

My husband caught several fish during our three hours of fishing. 

I love this picture of my husband and Boogs. They both look so relaxed and were really enjoying the day.

It was a successful fishing trip. The guys caught barracuda and red snapper. We posed with these four fish, I didn't want to touch it. There were a lot more fish in the cooler box.

Eddie got every thing ready to prepare the fish for lunch while we explored Caye Caulker. Look how beautiful the water is around the island.

The island is known for its laid back atmosphere. It is much quieter and less developed than Ambergris Caye.

We wandered around for about an hour. Then sat at the Lazy Lizard and people watched for a bit.

When we returned to the boat, Eddie had red snapper ceviche and tortilla chips for us to snack on. It was delicious.

We took the boat over to the other side of The Split. In 1961, Hurricane Hattie split Caye Caulker into two pieces. The south side of the split is more developed. The north side is less developed. Oscar has a friend who owns the resort on the north side, Koko King. They told us the resort has been in decline since covid shut it down for over two years and the owner is trying to sell it. Oscar has an arrangement to bring tours over. The beach area is beautiful. 

We were the only ones on the resort. The swings over the water were a perfect place to relax while we waited for Eddie to fix lunch. 

The swings were facing two gorgeous views. 

We also swam for a bit before lunch was ready.

Wow! This was the best meal we ate during our vacation. The barracuda was cooked with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Eddie told us he used "secret spices", mayo and barbecue sauce on the fish. There was also seasoned rice, pasta salad, and the rest of the red snapper ceviche. We ate until we were stuffed. It was delicious!!!

Eddie told us to enjoy our meal and walked away. Oscar decided it would be a great time to be loud and talk and talk and talk. He finally walked away and we enjoyed the rest of our meal in peace.

We wandered the beach for awhile after lunch before we headed to our next stop. 

We left Koko King and headed back over to the south side of the split to a cove to feed tarpons.

It was really cool and a bit unnerving. The tarpons have such large mouths. It was hard not to flinch away from them. You have to hold the fish in between your thumb and pointer finger and hover your hand over the water. You never know which fish is going to jump up and grab your fish. Here are the videos of each of us feeding them.

Boogs went first.

Then J2 took a turn.

My husband went next.

I don't know if the fish were not as hungry because it took a while for one to get my fish. I was nervous about flinching away so I held my right arm steady with my left had to keep from jerking back.

Our last stop, before heading back to our rental house, was at Sting Ray Beach. The Iguana Reef Inn feeds a group of rays every afternoon. The rays hang around waiting to be fed. They will come right up to you and skim across your feet and brush up against your legs. They feel so soft.

It was a little funny that Boogs was getting annoyed. The rays swam right up to me, my husband, and J2. They kept avoiding Boogs. 

They repeatedly swam right around him and went to whoever was next to him. Finally, right before we left, they swept across his feet. I did not get a picture of that moment.

This one brushed against my feet five times. It kept circling back. Maybe I had a fishy smell on my feet?

We truly enjoyed our fishing day. It was a great adventure to have on our last full day in Belize.

I did not feel like cooking, so we took the golf cart into town for dinner.

We ate at The Blue Water Grille. It was right on the beach with a beautiful view.

There were lights on several trees right outside the restaurant. I had to take this picture to send to my mom. Whenever I travel, I send her pictures of trees with the caption - "Look Mom, a tree. Isn't that... interesting?"

The moon did not disappoint on our last night in Belize. It looked very yellow in person. The lines of light in the sand were from the balcony railing. 

What a great day of adventure, relaxation, learning, and making memories!

We came back home to Texas the next day. It was a really good trip.