Xcalak's MVP

Bringing to you a new part of the flyverse. The MVP's - most valuable patterns- We will do the MVP entries about a whole destination, about a specific specie, watershed, time of the year, etc. Hope you enjoy it.

Xcalak MVP

Am I the only one that gets fly tying stupid right after a fishing trip?? Trying to make sure you are fully covered for the next one with all of your MVP?

There’s always so much about flies you get to learn from a fishing trip, especially when it comes to saltwater flies being a fresh water bred angler. 

You would be lying if you tell me that you've never opened a fly box in front of your guide, sweating anxiety, getting ready for the first fishing session of the week, and he looks at it and starts… ANYTHING LIGHTER? ANYTHING LESS FLASHY? ANYTHING BIGGER? ANY ORANGE RUBBER LEGS? ANY FULL BLACK? 

But the one I love and have been using for the last decade is, “would you mind one of my flies? It's on the house”, just to try and break that thick ice.

But you know what they say, what you give is what you take… Long story short, my first trip to Xcalak was Oct 2022. I've been getting ready for it for months, tying useless flies from previous permit fishing experiences, trying to get every color, profile,  weight, size and materials combinations right. 

This was my 4th try to catch one. The first 2 trips were to Los Roques, Venezuela, where I had countless shots to monster palometas, and couldn't buy a fish... Next time I had to sit down and be humble was guiding in the Seychelles, couldn't guide one or get one myself in 6 solid months on the flats. So i was like, ok next trip is the one, where are the biggest chances? NOBODY NEVER DIDN'T ANSWER, MEXICO! After booking tickets straight away, the fly strappin' began. I eventually tied them all, small and big, light and heavy, crabs and shrimp, rubber legs and chenille legs, with and without weed guard, flash and no flash, tan, olive, white, orange, you call them.

First session out, I'm on the boat with Xtlats guide Pio and Rod W (a friend/guest I had the pleasure to guide some years before that). Rod, being Rod, a gentleman, gives me the first shot, so I hand my box to Pio to pick a fly. Again, that box has been my tying project for a year and it was time to put it to test. I see Pio scroll his eyes and fingers through every single fly, and after maybe a minute (it felt like an hour) he picks his poison. A commercial mass tied crab given to me by a guest some time ago, sort of a Merkin with long orange rubbers, my disappointment was massive. I look at Pio, he looks back and goes ¨ESTAS SON BUENAS¨, so I just grabbed my tippet and tied it on before I turned into what I hate, a client asking for help and not accepting the guide's answer.

As expected, fly worked, gave us 6 hookups that day, OMG. 

So, here are some thoughts, patterns and ideas gathered this may 2026 on our last trip, to save anglers from themselves when it comes to tying for Xcalak. Although, if I'm being fair, making your own mistakes is still half the fun.

First big question, Crabs or Shrimp?

 Definitely crabs, if I had to call a number, would say 85% of the week, guides would rather strip crabs before a shrimp. Seems like that roundy shape with rubbers sticking out triggers permit better over there. No matter if you are fishing the coast line outside Xcalak or you are inside the unique Chetumal bay.

Casa Blanca crab with or without the strong arm was the wooly bugger of the flats. It gave us several connections with permits, schools, paired up fish or even singles. If I had to build a permit box from scratch for Xcalak, this pattern would occupy a significant amount of real estate. In white for sand, tan for mixed terrain and pale olive for turtle grass. Most of them had white rubbers. Cant tell why but guides will always grab the ones with yellow dumbbell eyes, 

Merkins, again, with and without a strong arm and the same colors. Yes, I know they are a pain in the as$ to strap, but EP fibers give you some unique texture and colors combinations that could be lethal. We found that they work better on bigger sizes than Casa Blancas and most of the time, striped faster but with the same kind of rubber legs. Classic patterns are classics for a reason, right? 

Sargasso crabs - the cherry on top -  Definitely some of the most unique phenomena in fly fishing these days, permit on dry flies! Hitting it at the right time of the year could be waaay more effective than letting your crabs sink to the bottom.

That week we had fresh sargasso pushing in from the open ocean and guides would rather show them a floater before a sinking one! The thing is, once you've seen one of this fish come up and inhale one (they are not shy takes), there's no way back… The patterns we had fish rising to, were nothing very particular, as long as they are roundy, yellow, orange, red, with some ruber legs and you strip them as your guide tells you, youll have bigger chances. Though, the one i like to tie and fish the most is Chrstiaan Pretorious Sargasso Crab (Tutorial is on his youtube)

The shots we had to perms wearing shrimp patterns, have been always showing them some kind of Ververka’s Mantis shrimp, in tan or white and not bigger than size #4 in different weights and types of rubber legs. 

Well, bonefish, most people's gateway into flats fishing. The chances and very little time we dedicated to bonefish, they seemed eager to eat, didnt really matter if crab or shrimp. Clasic gotchas, flexos, mantis and all sort of crustacians will do the trick. We did fish some small flies though, #8 very lightly dress for skinny water. 

I can not really talk about tarpon flies on this trip… cause they were not there, a bit too early. We only saw some, had a couple shots but nothing super fishy. Though some of us crashed the baby tarpon in a small hidden lagoon, those guys will hit pretty much any baitfish patter or small popper, gurglers, not really smart fish! 

Anyways... what would you rather, natural or plastic flies?  

Unexpectedly, we also came across a sick amount of barracudas, good cudas! Hungry and horny for flies, willing to eat properly, but not any flies. Some classic bait fish patterns, some pop pop poppers, and the occasional bastard that will break off your permit crabs! Tried out the classic needlefish tied on mylar tube and a trailer hook but they refused to eat it, started trying all sorts of big streamers and tarpon flies till we hit the jackpot! Biggish nyat white streamers with 12 mm 3d eyes and medium size chartreuse porppers tied with the Surface Seducers porpper heads.

Something we discussed along the week with the rest of the group was that permit fishing in Xcalak is not your average permit fishing in terms of fish feeding behaviour and attitude.

Most of your shots along the week will probably be to schooled up fish, we are talking huge schools, countless fish patrolling the flats in erratic swimming lines creating nervous water and bow waves.

We found that these fish are not as picky as a tailing fish, of course. So there is more to the sinking rate, color of fly and of course, your stripping.

In fact, Xcalak has the best chances for people who want to get introduced to permit fishing! Actually, one of us had his first permit on his first shot ever in saltwater, a very good shot by the way. This doesn't mean they come easy, not at all !!

So yes, bring the flies that work. Listen to your guides. Trust the classics. But don't stop tying your own ideas just because somebody told you what the "right" fly is.

At the end of the day, half the fun of fly fishing happens long before you step in your wading boots and put on suncream. It's in those late nights at the tying, convincing yourself that this tiny tweak in color, weight or profile might be the difference. Most of the time it won't be, sometimes it will, but that's not really the point. Tie your own flies, experiment, make mistakes and let the fish decide. Permit won't care how many hours you spent tying them, but when one finally eats a fly you dreamed up at your vise, you'll probably care a lot. That's reason enough to keep investing time at your tying bench and airports. 

Appreciate a lot your reading time, if you have any comment, question you just liked it, leave a comment bellow, we will read you all! 
Cheers, Luciano