Ascension Bay is the perfect flats destination if you'd like to learn to catch many bonefish or if you are a serious permit angler. Yucatan bonefish are small, but this 90-square-mile bay is filled with hard white-sand flats where you can cast to schools of bonefish all day if you can make 30- to 50-foot casts.

Featured Locations: 1) Boca Pila; 2) Pesca Maya; 3) Ascension Bay Bonefish Club, Bonefish Bum, Cuzan Guesthouse, Fly Fish the Flats, Let It Be Inn; 4) Casa Blanca, Playa Blanca.

Ascension permit range from small (2- to 5-pound) schoolies to heavyweights weighing from 20 to 40 pounds. The walls of Ascension Bay Bonefish Club are adorned with photos of large permit and some of them would qualify for line-class records had they been killed to meet IGFA rules.

There are baby tarpon ranging from 3 to 50 pounds and snook ranging from 5 to 20 pounds in the mangrove lagoons in and around Ascension Bay, but there is no flats fishing for large tarpon.

The Boca Paila lagoon system north of Ascension Bay has small tarpon and snook in and around the mangroves and bonefish and permit on the flats.

Ascension Bay sits in the middle of the Sian Ka'an natural preserve, a 1.3- million-acre biosphere named by the United Nations as a World Heritage and Cultural Site. As a protected area, the preserve is relatively undeveloped and wild. There are no nightclubs, fancy hotels, or shopping centers in Sian Ka'an.

Ascension Bay lodges are located either on the north or south side of Ascension Bay. On the north side in the Punta Allen area you'll find Bonefish Bum; Fly Fish the Flats; Pesca Maya; and Boca Paila. Pesca Maya has a reef for snorkeling 50 yards off the beach and comfortable private cabanas. Boca Paila is a long boat ride from the flats of Ascension Bay and guests often fish in nearby Laguna Boca Paila. The bonefish there are harder to catch than on the vast flats of Ascension Bay, but at times there are many small schooling permit.

Casa Blanca and Playa Blanca lodges on the south side of Ascension Bay are much closer to the flats than the lodges near Punta Allen. They are also farther from Cancun, so guests arrive from Cancun by plane. Casa Blanca is the best choice if you are there strictly for the fishing. Playa Blanca provides a host of other activities for nonfishing companions and is known internationally as a honeymoon hotspot. Both lodges can be booked through an agent.

Ascenstion Bay Bonefish Club in Punta Allen hosts from 5 to 7 guests per week, and each angler gets his own guide.

While the most comfortable accommodations and the best fishing is provided by lodges in the Yucatan, there is opportunity to mix a few days of guided fishing with a tourist vacation, or to find bonefish and maybe even permit on your own without a boat.

The lodges on the north side of Ascension Bay are accessible by a dirt road that runs south from the Mayan ruins at Tulum to the village of Punta Allen. There are many places to stay on the Maya Riviera south of Tulum before you enter the Sian Ka'an preserve. You can get anything from a campsite or rustic cabana for $10-$40 (USD) per night to an expensive $150-per-night hotel.

Permit are the primary quarry for many guests, although the flats are loaded with schools of small bonefish.

From this area to the Boca Paila bridge is only about an hour's drive in a rental vehicle. The dirt road is in poor condition and should only be attempted when dry or with a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. Near the bridge, on both the ocean and lagoon side, are productive flats that are accessible by wading anglers. The flats border the channel connecting the Boca Paila lagoon system with the ocean and sometimes have good numbers of traveling permit as well as small bonefish. Pontoon boat manufacturer Dave Scadden has taken inflatable boats to this area to get to nearby flats wading anglers can't reach.

Punta Allen is one hour south of Boca Paila, and while there are no nearby flats there, you can hire a guide in Punta Allen without staying at a lodge. Inquire at Cuzan Guesthouse for more information.

Pesca Maya lodge near Punta Allen on Ascension Bay has private cabanas, a wonderful beach, and a pristine reef for snorkeling just 50 yeards offshore.

While in Cancun, consider fishing Nichupte Lagoon in the Hotel District with Capt. Rodman Hunter. There are small tarpon from 5 to 40 pounds, snook, and seasonal bonefish within sight of Cancun's resort hotels, but you need a boat and local knowledge to find them. Hunter speaks fluent English.