The Lizards and Tarpon of the Dresden Codex

Crunch chicken and fly fishing in Campeche Mexico

Campeche Tarpon is a great outfitter. This was my fourth time fishing with them and I highly recommend them. We couldn’t fish 3 out of 4 days due to bad weather last January, but Alejandro said they would honor those days - we just had to find an opening on their schedule. So Ryan and I went back in October and had a great trip. We usually book through Yellow Dog, which has been good, but because we weren’t paying for fishing this time, we did our own rental car and AirBnb rather than an airport transfer/hotel/fishing package. Winter is a little risky with the potential for cold fronts which can cause what are essentially small craft advisories and the government shuts down the port. I hate leaving Western New York when the weather’s nice, so it’s a trade off and a risk I was always willing to take, but I have to say that October was awesome.

I’ve included a couple pictures below that support the video - one of the region showing Isla Jaina and one of a Jaina-style figurine, the Pollo Rojo spread including the mildy intimidating baggies of spices and sauces, a picture from dinner at Hacienda Campeche that just starts to capture the courtyard vibes, and Ryan brought some Westvleterens with him to Mexico because of course he did. They go great with Takis. The flats of Isla Jaina are maybe my favorite place to fish in Campeche because it’s really remote and the fishing is great, but it’s over an hour long run in the boat to get there. Also, I’ve included a picture of kind of how I was picturing the man sized lizard, though I was thinking it would be more colorful and the legs would be more realistic, but I have to say the head and upper body on this man sized lizard are pretty spot-on though I was picturing more of an elongated snout. You can buy it, in my size, at Walmart for $34.45. And I really like how they call it a lizard “disguise.”