Somethins Fishy

Tailwaters Travel awarded U.S. Booking Office for The Palometa Club

Posted on July 18, 2011 by David Leake

From: David Leake – Tailwaters Travel

Dear Fly Angler,

I am proud to announce Tailwaters Travel has recently been named the Lead Sales and Marketing Office for The Palometa Club, located on the Yucatan Peninsula. This is a tremendous honor for me personally and professionally. I could not be more excited about the challenge and incredible opportunity.

Our exclusive booking relationship with The Palometa Club has evolved over the last year. What began with a handful of meetings in Texas and a few inspection visits to the lodge this season, has since progressed to a full scale partnership. In keeping with it’s mom & pop charm and character, The Palometa Club has not “sold out” to the large commercial fly fishing travel agencies. By selecting Tailwaters as their U.S. booking office, The Club has remained true to their reputation and brand – genuine, unique, sincere and professional. We are a perfect match.

The Club is located in the sleepy lobster fishing village of Punta Allen, Mexico on the northeastern tip of Ascension Bay. The Palometa Club offers what we feel is the ultimate Caribbean fly fishing experience. The Club has also become recognized as the world’s premier lodge for anglers aspiring to catch the most coveted of all saltwater flats species – Permit (Palometa in Spanish). Their unique approach and the techniques used for targeting permit are unlike anything I have witnessed. The proof is in the numbers. If you want to catch a permit, this is the place.

Why The Palometa Club?
•     Most impressive roster of guides we have seen in the Caribbean. Period.
•     Local Punta Allen guides speak good English and are on the water 300+ days a year.
•     1:1 Guide to Angler Ratio. 2 anglers and 2 experienced guides per boat.
•     60% Repeat Booking Rate. Some guests have visited 8+ times. The ultimate testimonial.
•     500th Permit landed in only five seasons (lodge only open January-June).
•     159 Permit landed this season alone.
•     Diversity of other species in Ascension Bay – bonefish, tarpon, snook, jacks, barracuda, reef species.
•     The Yucatan Peninsula is completely safe for foreign visitors!

A “Club” for a Reason.
Owner/operators, Dick and Kaye Cameron, after 11 years in Punta Allen, are completely woven into the community. The culture created by the Camerons; true passion for flats fishing and first class service shines through the guides and house staff all season. Their comfortable and newly constructed building is vibrant with energy, excellent service, and a sense of family very unique to the traditional saltwater fly fishing lodge. Just ask the thirty plus clients we sent there this season. With few exceptions, they are all committed to going back in 2012!

Our relationship with The Palometa Club is indicative of the hard work and expanding horizons we are enjoying here at Tailwaters Fly Fishing Company. I hope you will consider joining us next season at The Palometa Club or to one of our other worldwide angling venues. Stay tuned for more big news coming soon and please come see us at the shop!

Sincerely,

David Leake

Learn More about The Palometa Club

For more information about The Palometa Club you can also check out several online resources as follows:

Download the Digital Brochure:

Click HERE or on the image below to download our digital brochure for the Club.

The Tailwaters Web Site:
www.tailwatersflyfishing.com
The Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co. web site offers the most detail oriented travel presentation in the industry. Make sure to download our online brochure for The Club to enjoy the full presentation. Our online brochures are rich with information and stunning photography.

The Tailwaters Blog:
www.tailwatersflyfishing.com/blog
Our blog is a resource for articles and news about everything at Tailwaters and the fly fishing universe in general. Several trip reports (including our 2011 exploratory visits and our June hosted trip), news and articles related to The Palometa Club, the Yucatan and several other destinations are currently posted.

The Palometa Club Web Site:
www.palometaclub.com
We have recently taken over management of The Palometa Club’s web site and are in the process of giving it a facelift.

Posted in Bonefish, Fly Fishing, Grand Slam, Mexico/Yucatan, Permit, Saltwater, The Palometa Club, Travel | Tagged Ascension Bay, Bonefish, Flats, Fly Fishing, Permit, Saltwater, tailwaters fly fishing, Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co., tailwaters travel, The Palometa Club, Travel, Yucatan | Leave a comment

New Tailwaters Logo!

Posted on July 18, 2011 by David Leake

We are proud to unveil our new logo! Thanks to Jose Canales in Austin for this creative design. Jose is a graphic artist who works for many Texas based companies including Shiner Beer. We highly recommend him. You will see our new logo slowly integrated into our promotional material – and ultimately new hats and sign on the building coming soon.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Palometa Club Hosted Trip Report

Posted on July 17, 2011 by David Leake

19 Permit. Los Mavs. A New Partnership
June 4-10, 2011

We recently returned from another epic week at The Palometa Club on Ascension Bay. Eleven of us shut down the 2011 season at The Club with one of the most memorable hosted trips I have ever experienced.

PC 3511 1 Palometa Club Hosted Trip Report

Clay Guest with one of his FOUR permit for the week.

After a quick and uneventful flight from Dallas Love to Cancun we were greeted by lodge co-owner / operator, Dick Cameron. Once the handshakes and greeting formalities have been overcome, the first questions about fishing conditions began to surface. As with any flats trip (especially one with permit as the focus) one of the first that arises is always, “How is the weather?”. Dick’s cautious and honest one word response…. “Squirrelly”. Nonetheless, we loaded up the pickups and the van and headed south down the Mayan Riviera bound for the coastal lobster fishing village of Punta Allen – and the world famous fishing grounds of Ascension Bay.

The ominous weather forecast did nothing to extinguish the group’s enthusiasm – nor the interest in ensuring the bar was properly stocked. Our only pit stop was at the Sam’s Club in Playa del Carmen for libations. Rain or shine we were not going to run out of booze.

PC 06 11 0240 1 Palometa Club Hosted Trip Report

The beach in Punta Allen in front of the Palometa Club

Anyone who has made this journey down from Tulum to Punta Allen knows all about “the road”. The Mexican government does a poor job of maintaining it and rain storms can wash it out. It is often a bumpy affair, but part of the adventure and romance of visiting perhaps the planet’s greatest permit fishery. The road sucks, but the locals will tell you Ascension Bay would be ruined with tourists and condos if not for this minor deterrent. The road is not always in poor shape, but when it is (which it was) the drill is to hop in the guide’s pangas at a designated meeting point not long after exiting the blacktop from Tulum. This is a smooth running alternative to the land based route for some folks – and is slated to become standard operating procedure for the 2012 campaign at TPC.

Our first day of fishing started out with gray skies that eventually turned to a full-on rain storm. You would think this would shut down any hope of sight casting, right? Not so much with the guides at The Palometa Club. We managed to find tailing permit on the flats during a real downpour. Never seen anything like it, and Bob Burlingame and Kyle Shatzer each landed a permit in the lousy conditions. Incredible.

PC 2273 1 Palometa Club Hosted Trip Report

Ascension Bay Baby Tarpon.

19 Permit
The weather improved the following day and we enjoyed perfect conditions for the 4 remaining days we had on Ascension Bay. Using the word “epic” is kind of lame, but the group collectively landed 19 permit, a few dozen tarpon and snook, loads of bonefish, as well as the odd shark and barracuda. There is not a finer group of guides in the Caribbean, and the model instated by the Camerons has proven to be a total home run. By hiring only local, English speaking, independent contractors to do their guiding, The Palometa Club has built a loyal guide staff that pridefully run their own boats/equipment, tie their own flies, and are fabulous casters and professional, patient instructors. I would take Charlie and Koreano, Rafael and Julio, Jorge and Jonathan or any of the rest of the guide teams over the most seasoned Captains in the Florida Keys. They are the real equity in the Club – and the proof is in the numbers of their success… 159 permit landed from January – June 2011. Totally unheard of.

IMG 9044 4309 1 Palometa Club Hosted Trip Report

Amateur Angler and someone else's trophy permit.

NBA Champion Mavericks
Another highlight of the week was the fact that the Mavericks / Heat NBA Finals series was happening during our trip. Watching the games at the local cantina in Punta Allen with a group of rowdy Texans was very entertaining. Greg Almond’s Dirk Nowitski impression, “Take Dat Wid You” still makes me chuckle thinking about it.

PC 3201 1 Palometa Club Hosted Trip Report

Take Dat Wid You, Lebron. Greg Almond Sports the Los Mavs Jersey in Punta Allen.

End of Season Fiesta
We also closed the lodge for the year with a monster end of season party with the entire lodge and guide staff along with their families. More than 100 people and their small children overwhelmed the lodge with a huge buffet and no less than 12 marine coolers of cold beer and margaritas. The owners of the lodge, Dick and Kaye Cameron, gave Abel pliers to the guide staff as an end of season gift, and Kaye emotionally and publically thanked the house staff for another season of dutiful hard work keeping guests of the Club happy, comfortable, and well fed. I have not seen such a sincere showing of love and teamwork at a fishing lodge before.

PC 3880 1 Palometa Club Hosted Trip Report

End of Season Fiesta. Looking forward to 2012.

Exclusive Booking Relationship & New TPC Web Site
On a business note, Tailwaters Travel formalized agreements with the Palometa Club to represent them as their exclusive sales and marketing office in the USA. Check out the new web site we just launched for the Palometa Club: www.palometaclub.com We look forward to exposing you further to this wonderful fishery and first-class operation – and welcome your inquiries for the 2012 campaign!

To learn more about the Palometa Club, please visit the Palometa Club web site: www.palometaclub.com or check out our digital brochure by clicking below.

Posted in Fly Fishing, Mexico/Yucatan, News & Events, Permit, The Palometa Club, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged Ascension Bay, Fly Fishing, Saltwater, Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co., tailwaters travel, The Palometa Club, Travel, Yucatan | Leave a comment

Life is Good in Permit Land – Brochure Cover Photo

Posted on May 20, 2011 by David Leake

Here at Tailwaters Fly Fishing Company, we are inundated with hero shot grip and grin photos on a daily basis. Emails containing images of happy anglers and unhappy fish come across the wire by the zillions. This image is definitely in the top 10.

DICK AND THE GIRLS2 blog Life is Good in Permit Land – Brochure Cover Photo

Another scenic landscape shot from Ascension Bay.

The happy angler is this particular photo is Dick Cameron. Dick and his wife, Kaye, are the owner / operators of the Palometa Club on Ascension Bay in Mexico. Also in the photo is Kaye (left), Kaye’s daughter (middle) and Kaye’s daughter’s buddy (right) on holiday last week. Dick landed this 15 pounder at the moment the bikini clad threesome cruised past returning from a snorkel trip. Couldn’t this be used somehow in a Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” commercial?

Posted in Fly Fishing, Mexico/Yucatan, Permit, Saltwater, The Palometa Club, Travel | Tagged Ascension Bay, Fly Fishing, Permit, Saltwater, tailwaters fly fishing, Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co., tailwaters travel, The Palometa Club, Travel, Yucatan | Leave a comment

Simms Rip Rap Shoe Review

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Tex Moore

The following review was sent in by one of our customers….

For Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co.,
Regarding the new Simms’ “Rip Rap” fishing shoe:

I bought these a week ago and immediately took them fishing on the Guadalupe River, south of Austin, Tx. The river was low due to recent lack of rainfall so we knew we’d be walking the river, rather than boating it. Walking the river is my favorite thing in the world, and I’ve done it in more states and on more streams and rivers than I can count, but I’ve yet to find the perfect shoe for this…perhaps that is until now. I typically give up comfort for protection, wearing something way too heavy, to make sure I don’t bash my feet and toes all over the rocks as I hunt fish. The lightweight shoes I’ve tried in the past just don’t have a real hiking sole, or the protection over the toes and heels, made to attack the rough terrain I always run into on the river, as well as gripping the often slippery surfaces I inevitably encounter.
This shoe seems to do everything I could ask of it for this type of fishing. It hugs your foot closely, like most real shoes, yet it is so light and stretchy that it feels more like a very firm sock than a shoe. On the upper foot that is. Underneath your foot is a low profile Vibram sole. Anyone who’s ever hiked anywhere understands that this is the best sole in the world to protect your feet from hard stones in the river and on the river’s edge, while still providing a good grip for slippery surfaces, found in and around all rivers and streams. I have to say, I’ve never worried less about slipping and falling, than I did hiking the river in these. I was cautious at first of course, but I quickly learned that I could just relax and enjoy the hike. No matter what surface I encountered, these shoes just took it in stride. And they drained as quickly as they were submerged, keeping them lightweight and allowing my feet to feel dry as soon as I stepped out of the river each time.
One thing to think about; though the shoe has a very cushioned feel to it underneath your foot as you walk, it does not have much arch support, (its pretty flat inside). I solved this problem like I do with a lot of my favorite outdoor footwear; I placed a $10 insole inside the shoe and away I went.
In closing I’ll say this; I would recommend these shoes to ANY fisherman. I can’t wait to get them wet again; which I’ll be doing as I head to West Virginia in 2 weeks to walk those streams and rivers; some of the most beautiful in the world. I do this trip every year around Memorial Day and every year I get excited about trying out some new hiking/fishing shoe, hoping THIS one will be the one that works. I guess this year I can just focus on what their biting on…my feet will be “covered”.

Woodie,
Dallas, Texas

Simms Rip Rap Shoe

Posted in Fly Fishing, Gear, Texas, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Spring 2011 – New Gear Has Arrived!

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Matt Jones

While Spring brings us out of our winter hibernation, the sales floor is filling up with new gear – lots of it. It’s an exciting season for us as we are bringing in new footwear, apparel and wading equipment from Simms and Patagonia. It’s all worth checking out. For product information, please download our April Newsletter Click Here

$Pursuit-GORE-TEX-Shoe-Low_1$

$Pursuit-GORE-TEX-Shoe-Mid$

Posted in Gear | Tagged new fly fishing gear, Patagonia, simms footwear, simms gear, tailwaters fly fishing | Leave a comment

Palometa Club Lands 500th Permit! (And Counting)

Posted on April 25, 2011 by David Leake

April 9, 2011: Punta Allen, Mexico – Ascension Bay

The Atlantic Permit is my personal favorite fish to target. His
beautiful shape, large eyes, rubbery lips, and black sickle tail are
totally unique – but it is his excessive lack of cooperation that
keeps me and so many other addicts coming back for more punishment.
Permit fishing is certainly not a numbers game, but when you do
finally land one there is no greater since of accomplishment to be had
with a fly rod in hand.

It may not appear a wise business decision to commit a large segment
of our April newsletter promoting an operation that is focused on such
a highly specialized species. There are only so many traveling
anglers out there to begin with? Why would our travel department want
to further shrink our pool of prospects by trying to sell a style of
fishing that, on the surface, should not appeal to the masses?

You will discover in our editorial article on the following pages, A
Fishery Reinvented – Ascension Bay and the Palometa Club, we
want to set ourselves apart from our competition by offering something
truly different to our traveling clients. With that said, I believe
that The Palometa Club has done an incredible job of leveling the
playing field with permit fishing for even the more novice of anglers.
After a day on the water with the mentoring of their guides, you
will realize the permit is still a fish with a very small brain ? and
odds are you will catch one! It is still a niche game, but we have
jumped on the TPC bandwagon because they have actually made it
possible for the average fly rodder to have frequent success with the
most coveted of all saltwater trophies. Permit fishing does not have
to be only for the die hards, or reserved for the guys who can bomb it
out there 90 feet into the wind. TPC has proved it CAN be a game for
the masses. Who else can legitimately make this claim?

It is also worth mentioning that Ascension Bay is also a world-class
tarpon, snook, and bonefish fishery with perhaps unrivaled other
species diversity (barracuda, jack crevalle, ect) for those anglers
wanting to mix it up a bit. You are by no means niched into just
chasing permit.

Most of all, we understand the significance of their most recent
milestone – and think it is worth the press time. In a little over
five seasons of operation (only open 6 months a season), The Palometa
Club on Ascension Bay landed their 500th Permit! This landmark fish
was caught by Mr. Steve Davenport, a repeat patron of TPC on Saturday,
April 9th. Not only does Steve enjoy this notoriety but also is the
lucky winner of a FREE trip back to the Club in 2012!

Eizo and Davenport 500th f Palometa Club Lands 500th Permit! (And Counting)

Owner, Dick Cameron, congratulating Steve Davenport on #500.

The weeks and days leading up to last Sunday were nuts. Owners, Kaye
and Dick Cameron, called me and revealed that after doing a little
record keeping, they realized the Club was only twenty some odd fish
away from numero 500. A frantic promotional campaign ensued to
announce this noteworthy event, fill a few empty spots on the
schedule, and try to get a Tailwaters client down to the Club last
minute to have a shot at making history.

As part of the promo, and in addition to the FREE return trip to the
Club, Tailwaters was able to secure extremely generous donations from
Hatch Outdoors, Sage Fly Rods, Kaenon Optics, and Patagonia Clothing
Company. Thanks to the spontaneity of great friend and client, Ken
Carr from Austin (who booked his trip to the Club three days in
advance), we had not only a vehicle to deliver the reward gear to the
Club from the shop, but also a Tailwaters presence during this special
week.

Steve Davenport, the lucky gent who landed the 500th is the proud new
owner of a Sage Xi3 nine weight and a matching Hatch 7+ Reel. He is
also sporting a new set of Kaenon shades and already sharpening his
hooks for his return trip to the Club next year. Also caught this
week were fish #499 and #501 by Sam Benedict and Pete Carlucci
respectively.

Sage Rod blog Palometa Club Lands 500th Permit! (And Counting)

Personalized Sage Rod commemorating #500. Photo by: Kaye Cameron

It took the most innovative of all permit anglers, Del Brown, and the
best of all permit guides, Captain Steve Huff, over twenty years to
land 514 permit – an individual record that will likely never fall.
Had Mr. Brown been a regular of the Palometa Club, perhaps he could
have gotten to 1000?

Congratulations to The Club crew for this incredible accomplishment.
We are very proud to be a part of your team and look forward to
sending many Tailwaters clients down your way as we set our sights on
the next 500.

For more information on The Palometa Club, please view our web page
and make sure to download our digital brochure. CLICK HERE to navigate to our web page for The Palometa Club or contact David Leake (david@tailwatersflyfishing.com).

Now is the time to book for the 2011-2012 campaign at the Palometa
Club! There is still plenty of space available for large groups
during the peak season weeks. With a 75% repeat clientele, this
availability surely won?t last long. We have the calendar in hand and
look forward to hearing from you!

Brochure Cover Palometa Club Lands 500th Permit! (And Counting)

CLICK HERE to view web page and brochure for The Palometa Club.

Posted in Mexico/Yucatan, Permit, The Palometa Club, Travel | Tagged Ascension Bay, Bonefish, Flats, Fly Fishing, Saltwater, tailwaters fly fishing, Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co., tailwaters travel, The Palometa Club, Travel, Yucatan | Leave a comment

Tailwaters Spring Bass School

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Tex Moore

Recently, Tailwaters hosted its first Bass Fishing School at Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, Texas. The all day event covered a wide variety of topics and skill sets, and was designed to accommodate anglers of all skill levels. The school was attended by 13 eager students whose ability ranged from having never touched a fly rod to a few who had fished all over the globe. The youngest participant was 8 years old and our oldest was – well I won’t go there…

We kicked off the day’s festivities in one of the state-of-the-art conference rooms that overlook Mallard Lake, the largest of the 4 bodies of water on the Rough Creek Property. We began with a multimedia presentation that covered the basics of fly fishing and fundamentals of casting. After getting everyone up to speed on some core principals, we went down to the lake for some hands on casting work. Travis took the group of beginners, Jeff Jackson from TFO, took the intermediate casters, and Ron Foster, another Tailwaters’ instructor, watched over the seasoned veterans. A stiff breeze kicked up and presented a challenge for all of the casters, but everyone seemed to rise to the occasion.

After braving the wind, we went back into the conference room and began an in-depth look at Largemouth Bass. We explored bass anatomy, habitat, spawning behavior, feeding strategies and environmental factors like seasonal changes and lunar phases. Basically, everything you would ever want to know about a fish without having to get a degree in ichthyology.

We were treated to a mouthwatering spread in the Rough Creek Dining Hall for lunch. The class enjoyed getting to know each other and swapping fishing stories over a chef-prepared meal.

Once everyone had finished lunch, we headed back to the conference room for our last classroom session. The goal of the final presentation was to get everyone ready for the challenges that they would face on the water. We covered knots and rigging, different types of bass flies, and of course, how to fish those big, nasty flies. Then, the instructors opened up their tackle bags and strung up their bass rods while they fielded questions about their favorite gear.

At this point we could tell the students were ready to try their luck on the water. So we ventured down to lake and put their knowledge to the test. Despite the challenging wind, the gang spent the rest of the afternoon casting to the trophy fish living in Mallard Lake. Everyone did well putting their new knowledge into action. We caught tons of fish including a few monster bass!
All in all, the Rough Creek Bass School was a big success. If you were unable to get in on the class – don’t worry, we will be doing it again in the near future. In fact, due to the high demand of the school, we will most likely be expanding our dates and diversifying our education programs. We look forward to adding new destination schools that will be geared toward various salt and freshwater species. Stay tuned as we open up dates for another Rough Creek Bass School, a Louisiana Redfish School, Rocky Mountain Trout School, Bahamas Bonefish School, and the Palometa Club Permit School.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

GOODBYE SHOP DOG

Posted on April 21, 2011 by David Leake

“Ace” Leake – December 1, 1996 – November 28, 2010

Like many pet owners who have lost a great friend – I honestly think I had the best dog there ever was. I suppose there is really no way to judge who has the “best” dog, but anyone who knew my relationship with my Chocolate Labrador, Ace, would agree we had a very special bond –more unique than most.

Ace entered my life as a seven-week-old puppy when I was nineteen years old. His life mirrored my evolution from adolescence to adulthood and eventually, at the time of his death, as a husband and father of two children. He was my companion through the most carefree years of a young man’s life – worrying about not much more than where the mallards were roosting and where the gas money was coming from. As my responsibility with business and family intensified, and the leisure time we once had evaporated, so too did his life wind down.

As a freshman at UT in Austin, Ace received his first swimming lesson when the girls at the Hardin House dropped him, newly weaned, into the pool on a rare subfreezing day (early training for the frozen ponds of Canada). It did not slow him down as a few months later my roommates had him opening the refrigerator and fetching beers – a trick he could still pull off on command late in life. We spent countless carefree hours training, fetching bumpers, water skiing, partying, and enjoying the college lifestyle in Austin. He was a guest at nearly every party and could always be seen with his head out the window of my old Suburban.

There was the time Ace disappeared for more than a week. While he was eventually returned by some greedy Westlake kids seeking a reward, it was not before my poor mother hired “Sherlock Bones – Pet Recovery Service” to help recover him (Not joking). The pet detective and reward money were just the beginning of Ace’s financial burden. Ace’s largest benefactor was actually my mother. He went through the destructive puppy years with particularly expensive behavior, and had 5-6 surgeries to repair athletic and geriatric injuries. My mom says he was priceless as a friend, but was actually valued at over $30,000. “Worth every penny” she always said. Thanks Mom.

After some roughshod estimates from looking at the old hunting logs, I have calculated that Ace picked up more than 2,500 ducks and geese – and we logged more than 200,000 miles on the road together from West Texas to the prairies for Saskatchewan. He was my companion and shadow at home, in the truck, at the office, in the duck blind, on the bass pond or wading the trout stream, and by the baby’s crib. Self-employment allowed Ace to stick around as my wingman as Shop Dog – and not many days have passed without his presence by my side. When I began traveling, he would sit in the driveway waiting reliably for my return. He helped to teach me compassion, care, and the dedication required to be a good parent. He would be most proud to know he will be remembered as an incredible duck dog and a tremendous friend.

Despite all the separation anxiety we both always mutually suffered, Ace gave in to Cancer over Thanksgiving and is no longer following me around. It is strange to not feel his presence at my feet, nor his head wedged between the armrest and the front seat of the truck. It is a feeling like I have forgotten something but not really knowing what it is it is I left behind. Nearly six months since his death I realize that although time helps to heal, the spirit of a best companion never completely vanishes.

My three year old daughter often asks, rhetorically, where Ace is – even though I am certain she understands he is gone. When I tell her he is in heaven, she anxiously responds with the follow up question, “Is he picking up ducks?” I like to think that is the case and we will certainly meet again soon. He is no doubt reliably waiting for me.

Posted in Dogs | Leave a comment

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