Ascension Bay begins about 90 miles south of Cancun, just below the small town of Tulum, about one-third of the way down the Yucatan Peninsula's Caribbean coast. To the north of the bay lies Boca Paila lagoon, a large, calm lagoon that connects to the sea at the northern end, and flows into Ascension Bay at the southern end. When winds are strong, the lagoon is much more sheltered than the bay, due to its separation from the sea by a strip of land, lined with palm trees that help to block the wind, and it is also protected from west winds by the mainland, to the west.
The Southwest Corner of Ascension Bay
The bay itself is a large indentation in the coast of the Yucatan, which is littered with structure to the west. Mangrove channels and vast flats are everywhere along the southwestern shore of the bay, holding tarpon and snook just feet from the flats that bonefish and permit cruise, searching for shrimp, crabs, and minnows. There is a small peninsula which reaches out into the bay in the southwestern corner, and along the back side of that, snook are as plentiful as they are anywhere in the world. Snook of thirty pounds swim between the small mangrove islands, just feet from the soft muddy flat that serves as a cafeteria for bonefish. Permit may be found just out to the south from this shallow, mangrove-littered area, in the deeper water that also holds tarpon, snapper, jacks, and barracuda.
Bonefish in Northern Ascension Bay
When heading south from Cancun, turning left at Tulum and then veering right where the road forms a "T" will lead travelers south, along a bumpy road that winds through the narrow peninsula which is pinned between Boca Paila Lagoon and the Caribbean Sea. The road, most of which is unpaved (and features large ropes which were laid across it, acting as speed bumps at the northern end) culminates in the town of Punta Allen, at the southern end of the narrow peninsula. This town is at the north of Ascension Bay, and just west, across the narrow stretch of water that is the northern part of the bay, lies a flat known as Paraiso, which, although many fly fishers dispute their Caribbean presence anywhere aside from the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, holds bonefish that, when they swim as singles or in small groups, average four pounds.
Fishing in Southern Ascension Bay
Directly south from the bay's northern mouth at the southern end of Boca Paila (not to the southwest, where Chabon and the peninsula that attracts tremendous snook are found) are countless sandy islands located in the midst of white sand flats. These areas are perfect for wading fishermen, and just south of the flats, small channels, which seem to represent tidal rivers and inlets, feed smaller ponds, many of which are landlocked at low tide. Though the fish are smaller in this area, bonefish will sit in these channels as the tide changes, like smallmouth bass below riffles, waiting for the current to bring them food. And at high tide, the fish congregate in these small ponds, but because the water is often less than one foot deep, they are very finicky.
All in all, Ascension Bay is likely the best place on earth to get a saltwater fly fishing grand slam (catching bonefish, permit, and tarpon in the same day) or a super slam (a grand slam with the addition of the snook). There are several lodges and fishing camps in this area, and the waters are clear and beautiful, and the most exciting species of saltwater fish thrive in Bahia de la Ascension.
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