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Here’s something we really like at Le Mouching, our readers adventure’s !! Here, non of the less, here our friend Marc Boesch in the land of Palometas ! So, if like him you want to drop a few lines and some pictures of your advnetures, we’ll be pleased (if not thrilled) to publish them !

The date was reserved months ago, this year would be an exotic one.  On the plane, I met up with my friend Enguerrand, we were wearing our famous le Mouching caps, and we were ready to roll at the Punta Allen Fishing Club !

We set out early with our guide Juanito, who was convinced that he would introduce me to my first Palometa… Since it would be a first for me, I let my buddy start since he already had some experience in saltwater flyfishing (owing to a previous trip in 2011 with a guy from a website called Le Muchtink or Ze Mizichkink with some dude called Cyril Kashmir or Viril Casimir…I don’t remember). So there I was, comfortably seated in the panga boat. After  a few minutes of deadly silence, an overwhelming feeling of pressure had taken us all. It defied description. I remember all the stories of the hardcore Permit anglers and their insistence that there was no place for imprecise casts.

A half an hour later, I realized that it was my turn to go upfront. I’m not that confident. I’m like a heron who stands up on the bow, gripped by fear and hesitation. Juanito pushed the boat with his pole. As we were gently gliding on the bay, I tried to scan all around the boat to spot a fish, but since it was my first day, I had a hard time seing the difference between a rock and a ray. I started to get anxious. I feared the moment when Juanito would ask me to cast my crab. [slideshow]

My thoughts and fears came to a screeching halt when I suddenly heard a scary sound at the rear of the boat. I turned around and saw Juanito in the water looking at me, saying: “Wading ! Wading ! Palometa !”. One thing and one thing only came to my mind “Holly shit !”. Was he really talking to me? I could not think of jumping into  the water. But I did. Luckily my feet reached the bottom first. I was so relieved! It could have been my head! Then I rushed to join Juanito, the water reaching up to my belly button. I felt like I was running in slow motion, pulling a 2 ton weight..

 “STOP “! Juanito didn’t even look at me. Instead he raied his hand “Wait, don’t move”. He was pointing out a fish to me, a few feet away from where we were. After blinking my eyes several times (of course only because of the salt… and the sun..), I finally SAW that fish !! IT WAS THERE !!! At a casting distance no less. Following Juanito’s advice, I managed to make a good  cast and I waited for my guide’s orders.” Wait… Strip… Strip… Stop…”.
My heart was beating so fast. The permit changed direction and he was now aiming for my crab !!! He stopped, looked at the crab as a grayling would look at a dry fly and then give you the finger with its fin as he would swim away… I felt so bad to see it’s two fins, going away.

You get the point. No picture of me holding the Palometa that day.  For the rest of the trip, the weather conditions allowed us to catch many bones, some baby tarpon and other species that are all found in Ascension Bay… there are so many !!

I can’t wait for my next trip…