Holbox Island Fishing

Holbox Island - Mexico

Tarpon Club Isla Holbox

Tarpon, Bonefish, and Permit

• Warm water fly or spin fishing on the Yucatan Peninsula
• Holbox is pronounced holl-bosch.
• Trophy-sized Tarpon are found May through September.
• Daily guided tarpon fishing trips. You’ll book your hotels separately.
• Holbox's remote island beaches are listed among several top ten world's best beaches.


Tarpon Club Isla Holbox

Two Guides Holding Tarpon Over the Side of Boat

Isla Holbox is a small remote island located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo on the northernmost tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Holbox Island is approximately twenty miles long, with vast inland flats and mangrove-lined lagoons—the perfect habitat for juvenile tarpon and snook.


Sandflea with Large Permit

Sandflea with Large Permit

Holbox's Tarpon Club has guided anglers here since 1996. Sandflea, the head guide, is a legend.
Tarpon exceed 100 pounds from May to September, and there are five to 40 pounders available year-round. Trophy tarpon destroy most tackle, and battles of over an hour are the norm, not the exception. Catch-and-release only. Plentiful barracuda, snook, and some permit are also available year-round.
Holbox is ideal for anglers looking for world-class, clear, warm-water fishing. You'll target big tarpon, baby tarpon, snook, barracuda, cobia, sea trout, and even permit on occasion. Fly-fish from flats-style pangas. Present your Black Death fly to schools of giant tarpon in clear, shallow water. Each battle can last 45 minutes or more. Depending on water conditions in the afternoon, you may move into the mangrove lagoons, where the guide will pole your boat in search of baby tarpon and snook.

Young Angler and Sandflea with Baby Tarpon

Young Angler and Sandflea Baby Tarpon Fishing

Sample Fishing Day:
After breakfast, you'll depart for fishing at about 6:00 a.m. with another angler and your guide for the fishing grounds. Based on the weather, your guide will determine if you'll fish offshore or in the lagoons. You'll have a boxed lunch on the boat and then return to the island/your hotel at 2:00. Dinner is on your own at restaurants in the village.

Fishing Facts:

Holbox Lodge

The cage (pictured above on the right) goes on for June and giant tarpon.
Season:  Year-round tarpon fishery.
Peak Season:  The best time for big tarpon is May through September. The Summer Season focuses on the big migrating tarpon and the resident baby and juvenile population. During the summer, most fishing will be for the big tarpon offshore as the big bruisers migrate along the island.
Low Season:  October to April. In the winter months, you'll target the baby tarpon in the Mangroves of the upper Island, fly casting in beautiful 2-5 foot deep flat. You'll be looking for baby tarpon, barracuda, Jack Crevalle, Snook, and a few other exotics marauding the shallows, looking for baitfish to fill their bellies.
Methods:  While most of their guests target tarpon with flies, spinning tackle is also an effective method.
Boats:  You’ll fish from 18 or 23 ft. flats-style pangas with 50-HP motors. One to two anglers per panga and guide.
Guides:   English-speaking guides. Sandflea, the head guide, has been training the guides. Sandflea is a legend and has guided in the area for over 30 years.
Equipment:  is not included in the package. You may rent spin or fly-fishing gear—a rod, reel, leaders, and flies for $50.00 per day, with a $100.00 breakage fee. A comprehensive tackle-and-gear list is included in our confirmation packet.
Fishing License:  A license is not included, $25.00 per week.

Holbox Tarpon Fishing

Two Guides Holding Tarpon Over the Side of the Boat

Lodging, Meals, and More

Golf Cart at Holbox Island

Golf carts and your own two feet are the only transportation on the island.
Hotels:  Hotel nights are on your own and not included in the package. Hotel recommendations are listed in our information packet.
Meals:  Boxed lunches are provided on the boat. Breakfast will most likely be at your hotel, and dinner is on your own, with many interesting restaurants in the village.
Non-Anglers: Will enjoy the luxury of laying on the beach, reading, whale viewing, Mayan ruins tours, and the charming shops of this quaint, little island paradise.

Getting to Holbox Island:

You’ll fly to Cancun, Mexico. The international airport is serviced by all major U.S. airlines. You'll take a ground transfer from the airport to Chicquila, about a two-hour and 30-minute drive through the Yucatan jungle. (The ground transfer is about $300.00 roundtrip for one to two guests.) In Chicquila, you'll purchase a $12.00 ticket for the 30-minute ferry ride to Holbox Island. If your hotel does not offer a shuttle, you may hire a taxi for the short ride to your accommodations.

2024 USD Rates

Design Your Package:
• $500.00 per day for guided fishing in an 18 to 23-foot panga-style boat (1 to 2 anglers).
• $50.00 per day fishing equipment rental per person
• $25.00 fishing license for the week
• $300.00 for the roundtrip ground transfer from
  Cancun Airport to Chicquila, for one to two guests.

The Fishing Packages Include:

• Guided Fishing
• Soft drinks and purified water on the boat
• A boxed lunch on the boat

The Packages Do Not Include:

• International airfare to Cancun, Mexico, and return
• Ground transfers between the Cancun Airport and Chicquila
  ($300.00 roundtrip for 1 to 2 guests)
• Ferry boat transfer between Chicquila and Holbox Island
  ($24.00 roundtrip per person)
• Ground transfers between the ferry boat and your hotel
• Lodging on Holbox Island
• Golf cart rentals on Holbox Island
• Breakfasts and dinners
• Gratuities to guides and staff
• Fishing License, $25.00 per week
• Fishing equipment rental, $50.00 per person per day
• Alcoholic beverages
• Global Rescue
• Travel Insurance
• Anything not mentioned under inclusions

Fishing Travel Experts


Guy Schoenborn

1-800-205-3474 ext. 1

MT Office:  406-322-5709

Email:  guy@fishingwithlarry.com

Brad Staples

1-800-205-3474 ext. 3

Cell (503) 250-0558

Email:  brad@fishingwithlarry.com