Welcome to your Fly Water Travel trip guide. We’re excited to help you prepare for your upcoming adventure! Inside, you’ll find everything you need: your to-do list, travel logistics, destination notes, and a curated tackle guide tailored to your trip.

To-Do List:

✓  Arrange flights to/from Mérida (MID), Mexico

✓  Arrange hotel in Mérida at Fiesta Americana Hotel on night before arrival to lodge

✓  Complete your personal online guest registration form

We always travel with at least two to three set-ups for this trip. A 9ft 8-weight paired with a tropical tarpon floating line is the standard go-to setup. A 9ft 9-weight paired with a tropical tarpon floating line is great to have if there happens to be windy conditions and you need a little more rod to punch through the wind. Lastly, having either a 9ft 8- or 9-weight paired with a tropical intermediate line to get you below the surface if floating grass happens to be present.

Isla del Sabalo Lodge - Provided Equipment:

• Rods/Reels/Lines: Included. As a Sage Experiences Outfitter, Isla del Sabalo Lodge provides guests with first-class Sage rods, reels, and RIO lines curated specifically for their fishery.
  
• Flies: Not included. We suggest packing a thoughtful mix of shrimp and baitfish imitations, to cover a variety of conditions for tarpon.
  
• Leader/Tippet: Not included. We suggest either bringing spools of tippet to build your own or purchase pre-tied leaders.

This is the go-to setup for baby tarpon at Isla del Sabalo Lodge. The 8-weight is the most versatile rod for baby tarpon as it provides a great balance between presentation and power, making it a dependable choice for most situations. It has enough backbone to punch a fly through light winds and cast accurately at distance.

Recommended Terminal Tackle:

• Medium to fast action 9-foot, 8-weight 4-piece fly rod
• Reliable corrosion resistant reel
• Weight forward tropical floating line

This is the go-to setup for those times when Mother Nature decides to throw some wind at you. The 9-weight is also a great tool for when larger juvenile tarpon in the 40+ pound range are present on the flats too. This weight rod will help you make the shots you need when you need it most.

Recommended Terminal Tackle:

• Medium to fast action 9-foot, 9-weight 4-piece fly rod
• Reliable corrosion resistant reel
• Weight forward tropical floating line

This setup is one of those things that you may not necessarily need, but you’ll be glad you did if the conditions dictate otherwise. There are times throughout the season that floating grass can be found on the water around the flats of Isla del Sabalo. This grass becomes dislodged from the bottom and in turn floats to the surface of the water. As you can imagine, the grass presents a fouling hazard on your flies, so having an intermediate line at the ready can be a gamechanger when this happens. Another option to consider is, if you happen to have a spare spool for one of your other setups, you could simply carry an intermediate line with you on a spool and swap it out on the water if needed.

Recommended Terminal Tackle:

• Medium to fast action 9-foot, 8- or 9-weight 4-piece fly rod
• Reliable corrosion resistant reel
• Weight forward tropical intermediate line

There are many options when it comes to rigging baby tarpon leaders. These fish have highly abrasive mouths and can chafe through leaders rather quickly. We believe the best casting option is the Simple Three-Piece Leader + Shock System listed below, but RIO also has commercially tied Light Saltwater Shock Leader in a 10ft/45lb option that works well for those that want the easiest option.
Simple Three-Piece Leader + Shock System: Here is the formula for building a simple, but effective leader system. We like to use the offering from RIO Products, but feel free to substitute other brands as you see fit. The tapered butt section consists of 3 feet of hard mono 30 lb., 3 feet of hard mono 25 lb., and a 3 feet of hard mono 20 lb. Tie all connections up to this point using a standard Blood Knot. Lastly, connect a 2-foot section of 50 lb. hard mono or fluorocarbon as your shock tippet using an Improved Blood Knot. Due to the diameter of the 20 lb. versus the 50 lb., the doubled over section of the 20 lb. section on the Improved Blood Knot, helps that knot seat best. When choosing your shock tippet material, you’ll want to base this on whether you are fishing topwater (mono) or subsurface (fluorocarbon).

Recommended Terminal Tackle:

• Spools of Saltwater Hard Mono
• Spool of Saltwater Fluorocarbon
• Commercially tied tarpon leaders (shock tippet should be a minimum of 45 lb.)
  
  

Isla del Sabalo Lodge Tarpon Flies

Most tarpon flies are pretty straight forward as they imitate both shrimp and baitfish. Having a variety of colors is generally the most important at Isla del Sabalo, as fish can key in on certain color combinations at any given moment. Having a mix of floating and variations of sinking density can also be beneficial. Some of the deeper flats outside of the mangroves can benefit from a fly that has a little more weight to get it down when fish are swimming towards the bottom.

Tarpon Flies - Subsurface

• RIO’s Black Death (Size 1/0) 
• Megalopsicle (Tan/Orange, Black/Purple – Size 1/0) 
• RIO’s Dread Pirate (Rust/Olive, Tan, Yellow/Chartreuse – Size 1/0)
• RIO’s King Slayer (Black/Purple, Coyote – Size 1) 
• Tarpon Toads (Tan, Black/Purple – Size 1/0-1)
• RIO’s Old Salt (Black/Red, Tan, Black/Purple, Chartreuse/Yellow – Size 1)
• Umpqua’s Tarpon Tapas (tan/brown, tan/chartreuse, tan/orange)
• Enrico Puglisi Tarpon Streamer (Everglades Special, brown/tan, yellow/orange)

Tarpon Flies - Floating

• RIO’s Guido Shrimp (Black, Tan, White – Size 1/0) 
• RIO’s Gurgler Alarm (Black, Olive, Sunburst – Size 1/0)

We understand packing for an adventure is not easy. On a trip like this it is very important to have everything you need and nothing you do not. 

Note: Mexico limits a total of four rods allowed in your baggage when entering the country and you may incur a tariff fee if you exceed 4 rods. It’s also worth noting that when leaving the Mérida airport, you must check your rods/reels/lines/etc. They have a strict policy of having fishing gear checked on the plane before departure.