Welcome to the forum Will. We have a member or two from Belize, hopefully they'll answer.
I'll offer my two cents in case Hank or the other Belize members don't respond before your trip. I've been to Belize at least a dozen times over the last 10 years, sometimes staying for a couple months at a time. It's where I learned to spearfish. All of my spearfishing experience is near Ambergris Caye, but I've been to several other islands and parts of the mainland.
Shore diving is really not an option, but you can paddle out to the reef in a kayak from Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker. If you're on the mainland, I think you'll need a boat but I'm not 100% sure.
On Ambergris, panga charters are about $350 per day for the whole boat, not per person. That is for a trip to the reef only - I don't know anyone there who does bluewater spearing. Trips offshore/outside the reef are probably more expensive. I've been out spearing several times around Ambergris with a guy named John Murray, and he's a lot of fun. His cell phone # is 501-620-9433. Tell him Wayno referred you.
I haven't been there for two years, but the next time I go back will be to the Glover's Reef Resort. Glover's Atoll Resort, Belize Hank from this board put me in touch with them. Their prices are incredibly reasonable, and I expect the isolated location will make it less overfished than other areas. I almost went there last January, and the prices they quoted me (all in US dollars) were $328 per person for 1 week in a cabin over the water, $274 per person for a beach cabin, and $109 for camping. This includes the boat ride to/from the mainland, and it was the price for a full week's stay. They said the boat would take me out fishing/spearfishing for 3 hours for $125. They also have kayaks available and said the snorkeling from shore is good, with reefs very close. If you go to Glovers, please let me know how it is so I can decide if it's worth a trip.
Lobster season opens today, June 15th, and stays open until February 15th. They have a lot of them and you can take them by any method, so that is one thing you can hunt. You'll find barracuda, snapper, hogfish and maybe a grouper on the reef, but big fish are rare due to the fishing pressure. The reef fish are also very wary due to spearfishing pressure. In the bluewater, I think they get some mahi-mahi this time of year, but not much else. The best time for most pelagics (wahoo, marlin, tuna) is November to March. The lagoons hold bonefish, tarpon and snook, but those are illegal to spear. Permit and parrot fish are also illegal to spear.
Hope that is of some help.
Wayno, that is sweet intel. Thanks for that. I have been trying to plan out a trip (no idea where yet), and this kind of stuff is good to know.
was told years ago that no resident are not allowed to spearfishing there, or?
Inshore get out fished by locals using all kind of technics to harvest reef fish... ? as well as on many other Caribbean spots!
$350/person/day??? Wow, I'm going to quit farming shrimp and start a spearing charter back home. The best way to hunt fish in Belize is in the cuts in the reef. With the tides, the current is too strong to swim against and be able to hold your breath for any good dives. Best to get a boat to drop and pick you up inside or outside, depending on the tide. Tobacco Caye has back packer rates for rooms and going south from there you get below the Southwater Marine Reserve. Below Southwater Caye are at least 7 nice size cuts. There are a couple more even farther south but they're really small and hard to navigate. But there are fish there.
Thank you so much for so much info we have been booking up places over the weekend and are planning on heading to Caye Caulker, potentially Ambergris Caye and near Placencia. Extremely excited, we are hoping to be in the area from the 1st to the 8th/9th of August if anyone fancies coming for a dive.
Just happens that a last minute assignment came in and shortly, I will be off to Roatan, Honduras to shoot some docu video of the freediving WCs. So, was looking at the map and Belize is fairly close to there.
As always, I will be on a bit of a budget, so would like to hear what you did for spearing and what it cost.
Anyone else with leads there? Hank, you moved to Thailand, right?
Sorry for the lare response. I am working in Thailand until maybe early Dec. looking forward to getting back home. The snappers should be bigger and dumb by now :-))
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