Campeche Tarpon Fishing - Mexico

Tarpon Town Anglers

The Biosphere Reserve of Los Petenes is a vast system of mangroves and wetlands. This environment brings constant streams of freshwater into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the perfect brackish water (saltwater and freshwater mixed) for baby and juvenile tarpon, and barracuda. The town of Campeche is located on the Western Yucatan, looking toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Campeche Baby Tarpon Fishing:

The brackish waters of the Mayan Peninsula are perfect for baby and juvenile tarpon, ranging from 5-to 30-pounds; plus snappers, jacks, barracuda and some snook. The tarpon are in depths ranging from one to ten feet. Even though it is a good place for light tackle fishing, fly fishing is widely practiced, and baby tarpon are the main target. Tarpon Town Anglers have five 23' Mexican panga-style boats, fully equipped with casting decks, and newer 60 to 75 HP Yamaha motors and stocked coolers. It’s best to use 8-weight fly rods with floating lines. Native guides read the water and pole the boats. Two anglers per guide and boat.
You'll cast to the mangrove edges of the coastline, and in the small creeks and rivers that drain the area. You should hook many tarpon during the day that are between 5-to 20-pounds. During Brad Staples's hosted weeks, a good day was over 12 per boat, and a bad day was two per boat. On the days that they didn’t land many tarpon, there was still a lot of action.

Brad Staples' Hosted Week Recap:

"I've hosted numerous baby tarpon fishing trips at Campeche, a wonderful historic city in Mexico. Campeche is located on the Gulf of Mexico, about six hours SW of Cancun. The people are very friendly. The city is clean. And, the baby tarpon fishing is amazing. I had never been to a city in Mexico before where people are out jogging and exercising at nine and 10 o’clock at night. Campeche is recognized as a World Heritage Site with a population of about 400,000 people.
Once our group reaches Campeche, everything is included except for dinners and gratuities. Our group goes out each night for fantastic local cuisine. Dinners are priced comparable to the states. If you don’t want to walk to the restaurants, the hotel shuttle van or a taxi can drive us. We stay at the Ocean View, a modern, air-conditioned hotel that has a swimming pool, gym, free Wi-Fi, and a hot breakfast for anglers each day at 5:30 a.m. Following breakfast, we walk across the road and get into the boats." - Brad Staples

Campeche - Scorpion Atoll Combo

Baby Tarpon Fishing & Liveaboard Bonefishing
"I first visited the Yucatan Peninsula in December of 2016, and I also hosted trips here in May of 2017 and 2018. Scorpion Reef (Spanish: Arrecife Alacranes) is a Marine Reserve Park. Sea turtles and exotic birds nest on the five islands in this area. There are only a couple of buildings on the main island, and the few people who live here oversee the lighthouse. This trip involves a lot of walking, but the size and numbers of the bonefish are worth it." - Brad Staples
Click Here to go to our Scorpion Atoll page.

Campeche baby tarpon Campeche Tarpon Flies: Each guide carries an assortment of flies to use in case you do not bring enough.
"Baby tarpon can be caught on a variety of flies. They should not be tied on a hook larger than 2/0, need to be tied on quality hooks and kept very sharp. Both synthetic and natural materials will work. Most synthetic flies will not hold water and will make for easier casting. Rabbit strip flies have good movement, but they will retain water, marabou is very good, it casts and moves well in the water. Most of the tarpon flies are streamers and will sink below the surface. Baby tarpon can also be caught on floating flies that are stripped slowly, making small wakes, either long strips or short strips, but slow is important for the babies. Foam-body flies work well and will continue to float without getting waterlogged. The color of baby tarpon fly patterns are endless, white, tans, yellow, black-and-red, black-and-purple, and chartreuse." - Brad Staples.

Getting to the Ocean View Hotel:

There are several options to get to Merida outlined in our information packet. We feel it’s best to fly from Dallas, Houston, or Miami to Merida, MX (MID). From Merida, it’s only about a 90-minute drive to the Ocean View Hotel in Campeche. If you fly into Cancun, there is an extra charge for a private shuttle, and the driving time is five to six hours.

About the Ocean View Hotel

You'll stay at the Ocean View Hotel which has sixty air-conditioned rooms, 24-hour coffee, pool, tennis court, spa, gym, free wired/wireless internet service and serves an excellent continental breakfast. It’s only a 12-minute walk from downtown on an oceanfront walkway (malecon) and located 150-feet from boarding point. The hotel does not have a restaurant, but next to it you’ll find a VIPS franchise fast served food restaurant, or you can go downtown for seafood or regional dishes. There is also a free shuttle to the downtown area and restaurants.
Campeche, a quaint town with Mayan and Spanish history, receives as many tourists in one year as Cancun gets in a day. Non-angling options include: City tour, visit Mayan Ruins, jungle horseback riding, beach and snorkel boating tour, handcrafts excursion . . .

2020 USD Rates:

7-nights at Hotel
and 6-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides:
$3,650.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides:
$4,450.00 per person
6-nights at Hotel
and 5-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides:
$3,190.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides:
$4,100.00 per person
5-nights at Hotel
and 4-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides:
$2,650.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides:
$3,400.00 per person
4-nights at Hotel
and 3-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides:
$2,150.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides:
$2,950.00 per person

Non-angler companion:
$150.00 per night
7-nights is $1,050.00
6-nights is $900.00
5-nights is $750.00
4-nights is $600.00
Note: The angler rate needs to match the fishing occupancy. For example, if two anglers are fishing together for 5-nights 4-days and one brings a non-angler companion, one angler pays double-occupancy and the other double-occupancy + $500.00. This will allow a separate room for the couple and the other angler will have his own room. For a single-occupancy angler with companion, add $80.00 per night for the non-angler.

Packages Include:

Hotel accommodations, ground transfer to/from airport at selected airports CME-MID-CPE (a surcharge will apply to the CUN airport), welcome seafood dinner, breakfast at the hotel, guided fishing, onboard lunch, fishing license, daily cooler (stocked with ice, water, soda, beer, and snacks), flies and lures if needed, use of satellite phone if needed, Los Petenes Reserve entrance and usage fee, and service and sales taxes.

Non-angler companion rate includes: Lodging, breakfast, transportation to/from airport with matched angler companion, and taxes.

Packages Do Not Include:

Airfare, gratuities for guides and hotel staff, any meal other than breakfast and lunch the days of your fishing charters and the welcome seafood dinner, departure tax, and anything not specified in inclusions.

Departure Tax:

All passengers departing from Mexico on international flights must pay a departure tax (approx. USD $65.00). Many airlines include this as a prepaid part of your ticket. If not, it is payable at the airport when leaving Mexico.

Don's Recap:

"You could not ask for a better host that Raul. He is very attentive to all your needs. He always kept us up to date on what was happening and what was planned. He met us on our late arrival and explained what we would be doing in the morning. He met us every morning for breakfast and explained what the day would be like. His restaurant recommendations (within walking distance) were excellent and we enjoyed all our meals. The hotel in Campeche was very good and the breakfast buffet was very good.
The hotel in Merida was something out of the Colonial days of Mexico. It was a pleasure to have stayed there. The town of Campeche was a delight. Very clean, very lively, very pretty and the “old walled city” is not to be missed. The guides were very friendly and very knowledgeable. Their knowledge of the area and techniques to catch tarpon is excellent. There are a lot of juvenile tarpon in the area. We had some weather problems but overall the fishing was good. When the weather cooperated the fishing was excellent.
As you can see I really enjoyed myself. My thanks to Raul for such an enjoyable experience."
- Don Arthur