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Joined: Feb 2003
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Well fishing and dining out fans, here's my August report...

To start with, we arrived in San Pedro on August 15th. The weather was picture-perfect... 85-degrees, sun shining, a gentle breeze off the ocean. I had seven glorious days of wonderful weather.

Day One...

Went fishing with the old man of the sea... Captain Pete Grainel. He has been fishing here some 50 years and knows the local waters like the palm of his hand. I do believe has fins and scales on his back. He takes us to the back-bay near Crab Island to one of his secret spots. This is a place that he has placed pimento sticks and old tires to form a man-made reef. He has created a fish habitat that attracts crabs, lobsters, and small fish and has become abundant with sea life, which in turn attracts big schools of fish. We anchor at one of his secret spots in about 5-10 feet of water. The water is crystal clear and we see the fish circling the ramas (this spelling could be wrong but this is what he calls this man-made reef). The fish are swarming around the boat. By the time we throw our live sardines into the water and fish are around the boat and everyone is catching fish one after the other. We think we have died and gone to fisherman's heaven. We keep only one in four and release the small fish back. This is non-stop action with every once in awhile a big fish runoff, so big we can't land it. We lose a few fish to some barracuda who are hanging around for a free meal, but the fish never stop biting. After 2-1/2 hours we are beat up, worn out and plum tired. We move from this fantastic spot and try another spot to try and get some big fish. As we sail away we have just realized we were in Utopia, the perfect spot! We move off to another one of Captain Pete's spots, a coral cave on the sea bottom. We look down and there are huge fish, huge gray snapper, 5, 10 and 15lb fish circling the opening of the cave. We have hit the mother lode as we look down and see hundreds of big fish. My palms are sweating, my mouth is salivating, my heart is racing. This is it guys... cover me... I'm going in! I throw a huge live sardine to the biggest fish in the bunch. It lands right on the snout of the fish and it turns its head and swims away. I try again, another cast, and the same thing happens... nothing, nada, zilch. Not a bite. Have I offended the Mayan Fish Gods? What's the deal Senor? Captain Pete's laughing, I'm crying, he says, "sometimes the big fish in the summer feed on crab and small fish at night and during the summer months in the summer heat of the water they do nothing but what fish do, swim around and avoid being eaten themselves." We do manage to catch a few fish and their stomachs are loaded with crab they've eaten earlier. This shows he really knows his stuff. This is why fishing is not always catching. We had a taste of the ecstasy, and the agony. I look down in the water at a huge 25lb snapper, he looks up at me and says, "not today Gringo, manana, maybe." We call it a day as I like to be back at the dock no later than 12 o'clock for a cold beer and a shrimp burrito. I like to spend my afternoons relaxing around the pool with the sea breeze from the ocean. I take a quick dip or two in the pool and many naps thinking about life and living the dream!

Day Two and Three...

Repeats of the first day... non-stop snapper action, catching mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, and a few small cuda. We catch fish for 2-3 hours and then the fishing slows down with the heat of the day which is a perfect balance for me. The first three days we used spinning tackle, 10-12lb test line and no wire. used a 2/0 or 3 hook , We fished light with a small shot just to cast the sardine out. We use small live sardines or cut up big sardines and filled a cooler every day, which we ate for dinner and gave the rest to the locals who could not afford fish.

Day Four...

We fished with Captain Dilzon as we were tired of the fabulous reef fishing, believe it or not... how could you get tired of great fishing... we just wanted to try some different type of fishing. Captain Dilzon has a 28-ft wide perfectly rigged fishing machine with two fighting chairs, two 115-outboards, the perfect boat to go offshore with. As you remember in my past posts I am not an offshore guy as I am one big sissy fisherman in rough water. But on this particular day the ocean was as flat as a lake and I yearned for some different type of fishing. Captain Dilzon took the task and gave me an experience second to none. He took us to the other side of the reef. The birds were working, diving in, eating scrap that the football sized tuna were chomping into. We trolled into the outskirts of the school of tuna and were catching football sized tuna one after the other. We kept chasing the schools for 1-1/2 to 2 hours using yellow feather with yellow jig heads... casting and trolling, lots of work for the big guy. The school started to go way, way off shore and we decided not to chase them we left and moved closer inshore , and started to troll close to the reef for some big yellowtail and some cuda which produced nice catches. Another fabulous day on the water in San Pedro! All fishing was booked with Steve DeMaio, my close friend and buddy... to know him is to love him! He has the website... fishingsanpedro.com... he is a broker for seven local fishing guides and books Pete Grainel, Dilzon, Captain Poncho Verde, Clifford & Eric, and other famous San Pedro captains. The best thing about fishingsanpedro.com, tel in 011-501-2262835 must ask for steve .. no deposit is required to book in advance. You get the name of the captain who is going to take you, not a pickup guy off the street. You can use a credit card to pay and if the weather is bad or you get a sunburn the previous day and cannot go, you can cancel with no penalty. A win-win! These guys are great guides and cater to kids and families and use only the best of tackle and nice clean comfortable boats. The prices are less than half of stateside prices, staring from only $200-US, a real steal. It includes bait, new tackle, soda and water, and they will clean your fish for you take back to your resort of condo to enjoy for the rest of the week. I think this is the best experience and will enhance your vacation. It is great enjoyment to see the ocean life with dolphin jumping out of the water, the sun shining. It makes for "living the dream" days! Try it, the memories will be priceless!

Tight lines to you, and good fishing! Hope you enjoyed the above fishing report.


My August Food Report...

This will be a short food report as I tried cooking in my own condo for the first time which turned out to be disastrous as I am a good eater but a terrible cook... live and learn. I went to two of my favorite restaurants... see reports from previous posts... one being Rojo Lounge in the Azul Resort... the chef owner Jeff prepared some of the best Caribbean Fusion food one could ever ask for. The glazed pork ribs were to die for and the Captain Jeff Stuffed Lobster was as close to heaven as I'm going to get. We went with a party of ten and they treated us like kings and queens... a must dining experience. I keep repeating this post but it is absolutely one the best restaurants in Central America. The bad news is they are closing for parts of September and October for renovation and much needed vacation, so check to see when they are open. Another one of my favorites is Casa Picasso, another restaurant I highly recommend. Owner's Chris and Chef Jennifer made us killer martinis, wonderful tapas and seafood alfredo, and we finished off with their world renowned cracked coconut dessert. Just thinking about it adds three thousand calories to brainwaves. Another must place to eat in and again call for reservations and to see if they're open as lots of restaurants close at times for vacation in September and parts of October.

The next is wild about Wild Mango's. Captain Jeff is wild about Wild Mango's. Well dining fans, another great restaurant gets added to the list. Yes Captain Jeff is wild about Wild Mango's. This is a new restaurant with new owners and management, executive chef Amy Knox from Victoria House fame. If you remember she was Belize Chef of the Year, 2003 and 2005 and Belize Cake Decorator of the year 2006, so her credentials are second to none! While the ambiance of the place is outdoors and kind of Caribbean funky, this is not candlelights and mood music. This is just outstanding food with a Caribbean-Mayan flair. Some of the dinner items I tried and went crazy for... Guatemalan Roast Chicken, Paella a la Valencia, Caribbean Snapper, Sauteed Coconut Shrimp and Lobster, and Tropical Pork Chops. The Garlic Mashed Potatoes are outstanding. Lunch items like Grouper Club, Mango Burrito (warning, you cannot finish one, find a friend and take them there), absolutely fabulous salads, are all prepared with the freshest ingredients. If it's not available it's not on the menu. She absolutely has her ship together! Promise me, if you go there to save room for dessert like banana chimichanga (banana stuffed with chocolate rolled in a flour tortilla and fried until crispy, served with carmel and chocolate sauce, homemade coconut ice cream topped with roasted cashews). Like My Cousin Vinnie would say... fugetaboutit! I blame Amy for the five pounds I put on that week when I was down. Again I have put this on my top ten list. While it is not air-conditioned or tile-floored, you will love dining here. Again, check to see when they're open as they're also doing renovation to make the place even better.

During the week we dined at some local places. One being El Fogan, a local place for local food, cheap and good. Reef Restaurant... sand floor, no air-conditioning but you can get fried chicken and rice and beans and cole slaw for for $4-US... cheaper than a hotdog at a ballpark. And a must is the new bakery in town around the corner from El Fogan... owned by the same people, called Hicalkiik (it means the two sisters bakery) which is named after the two owners, the Acrero Sisters. Muffins, rolls, breads, homemade lasagna, the best banana bread in the world. I walked in to buy two muffins and came out spending $23-Belize for a shopping bag full of goodies. Just go there to sniff the aroma in the bakery and you'll know why people go back and back and back every day for their homemade baked products. Taste food without preservatives the way it used to be made... I'd like to say like Mom baked but my Mom never baked, my neighbor did. Try to go there when you're full or after you've eaten otherwise this could be an expensive experience and you'll walk out with way too much stuff.

This week I was truly blessed with good friends, great weather, where everything came together to make a great vacation! Ambergris Caye and the town of San Pedro have become my second home with wonderful happy people, great fishing, great weather, great restaurants, a fun place to relax in. If you want to "live the dream" this is the place for you.

rojo lounge party photo colette /maya /bradly wade/travel queen ,and her friend amy /steve from coconet cafe , /sari /clarrissa and of course none other than smiling capt jeff that good looking guy ==with the cell phone around his neck.we had a blast ,with good friends living the dream .

[Linked Image]


Living The Dream Every Day!
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Capt Jeff. Thank you for your excellent fishing and food report. Thank you even more for letting us be part of you living the dream time in Belize. Missing you.


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Joined: Feb 2003
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you and maya are soooooooooooooooooooo cool enjoy taking you fishing ,you help me live the dream ..


Living The Dream Every Day!
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Darn it... I am hungry for SP food and it is cold and rainy in Pennsylvania. Thank you Captain! It is always a joy to read your LTD (living the dream) posts.

Joined: Feb 2003
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Seachange thank you LTD posts just love it..now I have a trade mark captjeff's LTD posts I like the ring ,nice to know I have have some fans out there, I try so hard to tell it like is..and enjoy doing it. have a LTD day love yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.


Living The Dream Every Day!
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Your report was great, captjeff! We are getting drenched here with rains from Ernesto and I needed to hear some San Pedro news!!
161 days 'til I can live the dream again!

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captjeff, your attitude is contagious laugh


Newfoundlanders are the only people in heaven who want to go home.
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hon lets start a epidemic,love ya toooooooooooo


Living The Dream Every Day!
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I'm in.........Hon, great pictures! smile


Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love Truly, Laugh uncontrollably.
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where's Hon's pictures? killa report Jeff!!!!!!!!!!

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