The Palometa Club
Palometa is the colloquial Spanish term for permit and is the perfect name for a fly fishing operation catering to anglers serious about catching this most challenging of saltwater trophies on the fly. The Palometa Club operates out of a modern six-bedroom lodge located on the picturesque ocean-side beach of the unique lobster fishing village of Punta Allen, Mexico. Anglers can book fully-inclusive, week-long fishing packages (which include transportation from Cancun) in their quest for permit, bonefish, tarpon and snook. Non-anglers can enjoy snorkeling, guided eco-tours and archeological trips as The Palometa Club is situated within the famed Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a 1.3 million acre World Heritage Site known for its rich marine environment, exotic birds and tropical wildlife, and vast array of Mayan ruins.
Your Hosts
The Palometa Club is managed by Dick and Kaye Cameron. As equity shareholders in The Palometa Club they contribute their 20 combined years of experience running fly fishing operations to ensure an unrivaled experience for all their guests. For the past ten years Dick has worked at Ascension Bay learning the secrets of this amazing fishery, and becoming trusted and well-liked by the residents of Punta Allen. His popular status with the townsfolk has allowed him to assemble an elite team of veteran guides and experienced service staff for The Palometa Club.
Accommodations
There’s a saying in the fishing lodge business that goes like this: “When the fishing’s good nothing else matters, when the fishing’s bad, everything else matters.” At Ascension Bay good fishing is often a combination of guides, weather, tides, visibility, angler skill, and frankly a bit of luck, and we do everything in our power to line up the best of each of these. But when it comes to “everything else” we’re definitely in control and guarantee you total satisfaction with your food and lodging experience.
The Palometa Club operates out of a 5,000 square foot building situated directly on the ocean-side beach and boasting such amenities as air conditioning, 24-hour power, mosquito control, broadband wireless Internet, satellite phone and a fully-outfitted fly tying station. The beautifully-appointed lodge can accommodate 12 guests in six large bedrooms, each with an adjoining full bathroom with hot-water shower. The lodge also features a common great room, modern kitchen and dining facility, and popular outside beach bar.
The Region
The Palometa Club is located south of the glamorous stretch of Caribbean resorts known to travelers the world over as the Maya Riviera. Highlighted by the popular all-night party town and cruise ship port of Cancun, the area encompasses the golf and diving destination of Cozumel, the sun sports hideaway of Playa del Carmen and the dramatic Mayan ruins of Tulum. But beyond there the pavement ends and the real adventure begins. As you leave the glitter of nightlife, the throngs of tourists, the jet skis, the tour buses, the cheap souvenirs… peace returns and the lush coastal jungle closes in. Completely protected from development by the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a 1.3 million acre World Heritage Site, this is the real Yucatan, authentic Mayan Mexico at its best. The Palometa Club and the Mayan lobster fishing village of Punta Allen lie 30 miles south of Tulum at the end of a long, narrow peninsula of dense jungle and wild beach that forms the northeastern edge of the famed Ascension Bay. This is where you’re going !
Getting There
It’s simple! Fly to Cancun and we’ll pick you up, either at your hotel or directly from the airport. Transportation to the lodge is on Friday only, so when booking air travel plan to arrive in Cancun before 2:00 pm (or come in the day before) and arrange your departure flight for after 12:00 noon the following Friday. Our comfortable, air-conditioned 6-person van will transport you and your traveling companions south, along the Riviera to Tulum where the road splits to bypass the northern edge of Ascension Bay. At that point, depending on road and weather conditions, we either take the jungle road down the Punta Allen Peninsula directly to the lodge or the main road along the bay to a boat launch across from the peninsula for a short boat ride to Punta Allen. The drive takes about three hours and is very scenic and interesting. The cost for this transportation to and from Cancun is included in all weekly packages. Transfers on any day other than Friday will incur an additional charge.
The Fishing
Seemingly endless miles of easy-to-wade, hard-packed white sand flats and rich expanses of turtle grass are the canvas for the world-class fishery that is Ascension Bay. Whether this is your first time flats fishing or you’re a seasoned veteran, our professional, highly-skilled, English-speaking guides will make your trip extraordinary. Our fishing program is second to none because of our one-to-one angler to guide formula. This system provides two sets of trained eyes to search the crystal clear water for the fish of your choice. If you are wading, stalking a school of bonefish or hunting permit you have the security of knowing you have a skilled guide coaching you at all times. Noticing a palometa “flash” or a bonefish tailing is something you may not always see, but your guides will. Experienced anglers have often told us that The Palometa Club guides are the “best of the best.”
The Fish
Take your pick – permit, bonefish, tarpon, snook. This is Super Slam territory (all four species caught in one day)! If it lives in saltwater, will eat a fly, and can leave your reel smoking like the brakes on a runaway semi, you can probably catch it at The Palometa Club. Ascension Bay is a vast, nutrient rich, fish factory that serves up a daily smorgasbord of piscatorial possibilities, from the “big four” of the flats to knuckle bustin’ barracuda and grouper inside the reef, sailfish, dorado and tuna in the bluewater just on the other side. If it’s saltwater fish on the fly that you’re after, this is the Promised Land!
A Word or Two about Permit
For the saltwater angler the ultimate quarry is undoubtedly permit. For the same reasons steelhead or Atlantic salmon haunt the dreams of the fresh water fly rodder, permit consume the attention of the serious flats fisherman. Earning the same “fish of a thousand
casts” reputation as those anadromous legends to the north, permit are rare, spooky, unpredictable, and have a nasty habit of snubbing your fly no matter how good the cast or how perfect the retrieve. That said, permit are actually far more “catchable” than most anglers realize. And The Palometa Club is simply the best place on the planet to get it done. Ascension Bay provides the optimal eco-system for permit to thrive and the population of fish that swim these rich waters is unequalled anywhere else on earth. From schools of pan-sized baby permit to fish eclipsing 30-, even 40-pounds (including several line-class records), Ascension Bay is to permit what the Skeena in British Columbia is to steelhead, or the Kola Peninsula in Russia is to Atlantic salmon... Mecca!
The Palometa Club is just that – a club devoted to fishing for permit. We’re experts at it, we prefer to do it over all other forms of fishing, and we’ll give you the best opportunity possible to claim bragging rights to one of the toughest, most sought after fly fishing trophies. If you’ve always wanted to catch a permit on a fly what are you waiting for? You won’t have a better chance than at The Palometa Club.
Saltwater Fly Fishing School
If you’ve ever REALLY wanted to learn how to fly fish in the salt, sign up for an amazing week of sensational fishing and invaluable instruction at The Palometa Club. Be one of only a handful of lucky anglers who will garner years of flats fishing experience in four intense days of instruction. From tying knots to casting in the wind to learning how to truly fight a fish, our unrivaled instructors and guides will teach you everything you need to know to catch the legendary game fish of Ascension Bay. Whether you’re a traditional trout angler on your first trip to the salt or an intermediate flats fisherman wishing to elevate your skills to a higher level, welcome to Saltwater Fly Fishing University! Forget just sitting in a classroom, this is hands-on, total-immersion instruction in one of the best places to saltwater fly fish in the world. You will eat, drink and sleep flats fishing, and then apply what you learned throughout the day in real angling situations. The first four days are divided into specific instructional sessions followed by on-the-water application. The last two days are all fishing with continued “tune-ups” from your instructors. The cost is just an additional $400 per person added on to the normal weekly rate. The Saltwater Fly Fishing School Week is limited to a total of only 10 anglers so reserve your space today! Call 866-723-7776 for dates of school weeks.
EcoTours & Other Activities
The village of Punta Allen is isolated, rustic, and laid-back; the beaches empty and palm-studded. Don’t come here expecting resort activities and nightlife, this is a tropical wilderness, yet untarnished by the hand of man. What makes our backyard so unique and enticing is that the Punta Allen Peninsula lies on the edge and within the confines of the 1.3 million acre Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a large protected swath of natural ecosystems designated as a World Heritage Site. Within the area nearly two-dozen remarkable Mayan ruins have been discovered, some dating back thousands of years. If you want a break from fishing or you’ve come to The Palometa Club as a non-angler, let us show you the exotic flora and fauna of our reefs, lagoons, marshes, remote islands and jungle hideaways, or the hidden archeological treasures of an earlier civilization that built a dynasty along these wild, sublime shores.
Prices & Season
The Palometa Club is open each year from mid-November to early June. The lodge operates on a weekly schedule with guests arriving each Friday evening in time for dinner and departing the following Friday morning shortly after breakfast. Visits shorter than one week may be booked on a space available basis, are billed at a daily rate, and may incur an additional transportation fee.
Weekly Rate: $3,200 Daily Rate: $535 (2 night minimum)
Non-fishing partner: $1,800 Eco Tours: $300 – $500 per group
Rates based on double occupancy. Weekly rate includes roundtrip transportation from Cancun, six full days of fishing with guide and boat (2 anglers per boat), room with two beds, all meals, hosted happy hour with drinks and appetizers. Does not include gratuities.
Get serious about saltwater fly fishing!
Join us for a week of incredible food,
superior service and unrivaled fishing.
