Our Story
Fish stories are really just human stories with fish swimming through them. Fly Fish Guanaja is a story of families and friends that have grown together over thousands of days on the water.
Tourism was starting to take off in Guanaja a few years before Hurricane Mitch put a stop to it all in 1998. Hurricane Mitch was so powerful he even destroyed the mangrove system. Every hotel blew down or shut down and the island sat quite for 10 years. In 2008 A pack of Colorado fly-fishing guides led by Steven Brown first set foot on Guanaja to explore the fishery a few weeks before the first clients arrived.
Destiny led Steven to Guanaja through back-packing in Central America with a fly rod in between guiding and teaching in Colorado. Steven teamed up with Scotty Duncan who had a passion for re-foresting Guanaja's mangrove system. Together they brought the first glimmer of hope to bring back tourism and help regrow the mangroves with Fly Fish Guanaja.
Steve and Scotty collected deposits from the first guests and built the first flats panga, No Problema. Scotty's connection to the little volcanic island on the north side of Guanaja called Black Rock led to renting our first lodge. Black Rock had comfortable cabanas and came with our first guides and cooks who still work for Fly Fish Guanaja today.
Pablo's famous question, "Sure I would like a job as a fly-fishing guide, what's fly-fishing?"
So began the wonder years of Fly Fish Guanaja, exploring the fishery, naming flats, engineering flies, training guides, and learning how to run a fly-fishing lodge in the Caribbean. Our story mirrored Herman Woulk's "Don't Stop the Carnival" and Jimmy Buffet's "A Salty Piece of Land." Essential reading for Caribbean adventures.
Nothing was easy, not even the fishing. Guanaja bonefish are bigger than average, live in varied terrain, and eat particular prey, all ingredients for challenging, and rewarding fishing. Permit in Guanaja are also bigger than average, and they are permit, so by nature they were difficult to catch. Trails, tribulations and great times rolled through like mooncycles and tide became their mantra.
3rd season Fly Fish Guanaja moved operations to a private island on the south side of Guanaja called Jones Caye. Large schools of bonefish circle Jones Caye and permit cruise by daily. Private island life pulsed through Fly Fish Guanaja.
Our 4th season President Jimmy Carter came to Fly Fish Guanaja to fish bonefish and permit. He wrote and article about his trip in Fly Fisherman Magazine and put Guanaja on the map. He is the only US president to visit Guanaja. His article can be read in the media section of this website.
The Fly Fish Guanaja team grew every year and the guides have over a decade experience poling boats and hunting fish. Rankin, Deron, Edwin, Pablo, Kendall, Patrick, Tito, Brian, and Walter make up a guide team that competes with any in the world and they are all dedicated to lifetime career in fly-fishing.
After 9 years of private island life at Jones Caye, Fly Fish Guanaja had the opportunity to move into a 30 acre jungle beach property back on the north side of Guanaja, near Mangrove Bight where the staff lives. Community projects, Fish for Change, and the relationships formed between the guests and staff make the new location perfect for Fly Fish Guanaja. The private island became to isolated to the community they connected with.
Tourism was starting to take off in Guanaja a few years before Hurricane Mitch put a stop to it all in 1998. Hurricane Mitch was so powerful he even destroyed the mangrove system. Every hotel blew down or shut down and the island sat quite for 10 years. In 2008 A pack of Colorado fly-fishing guides led by Steven Brown first set foot on Guanaja to explore the fishery a few weeks before the first clients arrived.
Destiny led Steven to Guanaja through back-packing in Central America with a fly rod in between guiding and teaching in Colorado. Steven teamed up with Scotty Duncan who had a passion for re-foresting Guanaja's mangrove system. Together they brought the first glimmer of hope to bring back tourism and help regrow the mangroves with Fly Fish Guanaja.
Steve and Scotty collected deposits from the first guests and built the first flats panga, No Problema. Scotty's connection to the little volcanic island on the north side of Guanaja called Black Rock led to renting our first lodge. Black Rock had comfortable cabanas and came with our first guides and cooks who still work for Fly Fish Guanaja today.
Pablo's famous question, "Sure I would like a job as a fly-fishing guide, what's fly-fishing?"
So began the wonder years of Fly Fish Guanaja, exploring the fishery, naming flats, engineering flies, training guides, and learning how to run a fly-fishing lodge in the Caribbean. Our story mirrored Herman Woulk's "Don't Stop the Carnival" and Jimmy Buffet's "A Salty Piece of Land." Essential reading for Caribbean adventures.
Nothing was easy, not even the fishing. Guanaja bonefish are bigger than average, live in varied terrain, and eat particular prey, all ingredients for challenging, and rewarding fishing. Permit in Guanaja are also bigger than average, and they are permit, so by nature they were difficult to catch. Trails, tribulations and great times rolled through like mooncycles and tide became their mantra.
3rd season Fly Fish Guanaja moved operations to a private island on the south side of Guanaja called Jones Caye. Large schools of bonefish circle Jones Caye and permit cruise by daily. Private island life pulsed through Fly Fish Guanaja.
Our 4th season President Jimmy Carter came to Fly Fish Guanaja to fish bonefish and permit. He wrote and article about his trip in Fly Fisherman Magazine and put Guanaja on the map. He is the only US president to visit Guanaja. His article can be read in the media section of this website.
The Fly Fish Guanaja team grew every year and the guides have over a decade experience poling boats and hunting fish. Rankin, Deron, Edwin, Pablo, Kendall, Patrick, Tito, Brian, and Walter make up a guide team that competes with any in the world and they are all dedicated to lifetime career in fly-fishing.
After 9 years of private island life at Jones Caye, Fly Fish Guanaja had the opportunity to move into a 30 acre jungle beach property back on the north side of Guanaja, near Mangrove Bight where the staff lives. Community projects, Fish for Change, and the relationships formed between the guests and staff make the new location perfect for Fly Fish Guanaja. The private island became to isolated to the community they connected with.
Fly Fish Guanaja pushed the boundaries again by developing the worlds newest permit and bone-fishery, the Faraway Cayes. 160 nautical miles to the east of Guanaja lie the unchartered Faraway Cayes off the Mosquito Coast. Fly Fish Guanaja is bringing the first tourists in history to the wildest stretches of the Caribbean. Guests have been flying a Bell 407 helicopter to the Faraway Cayes for some of the most prolific flats fishing in history.
The story of Fly Fish Guanaja is an adventurous tale of friends and family joining together in a project that allows them to make a living while following the dreams.