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Taking Care of Business in the Permit Capital of the World

Whether it's the intricacies of a family sport-fishing operation or the determination of an angler settling the score with a life-list species, Mayan permit is the name of the game at Kay Fly Fishing Lodge.

Taking Care of Business in the Permit Capital of the World
(Brian Grossenbacher photo)

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This article appeared in the 2021 Destinations special publication. Click here to purchase the 2024 edition of Destinations.


When it comes to fly fishing anywhere in the world, everyone has a job to do. The guide has to find the fish, the angler has to feed the fish, and the fish has to take the fly. If the goal is to take care of business, everyone must show up to work.

With this in mind, José Ucan and Lily Bertram of Kay Fly Fishing Lodge in Punta Allen, Quintana Roo, Mexico are all business. Not in the dispassionate clock-in-clock-out way stereotypically reserved for banal corporate types, but in the get-it-done-correctly-for-the-love-of-the-game method of legends.

José, a native of Punta Allen, has been in the fishing industry for three decades, having started guiding in the area as a teenager. Lily has been working as a fishing lodge manager in Punta Allen for more than 17 years. They partnered with Fernando Negron in 2012 to build La Pescadora Lodge, which they ran together until 2020, when Negron passed away.

Grieving the loss of their dear friend and faced with a full schedule of anglers on the books with no place to house them, José and Lily rented a hotel for guests in Punta Allen as they purchased and renovated a large, beach-facing house near the town dock and the historic permit statue. Ready in fall 2021 and open year-round, the sustainability-focused Kay Fly Fishing Lodge accommodates ten anglers. There are plans for the lodge to run largely on solar power, and the operation continues to mitigate single-use plastics.

The fishery is located on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula within the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, one of Mexico’s largest protected areas with 1,080 square miles of land, sea, and coastal ecosystems. The area is known globally for its sandy beaches, pristine wetlands, tropical forests, and palm savannas. Among fly fishers, it’s highly regarded for the hundreds of square miles of shallow flats, mangrove islands, and lagoons known as Ascension Bay, where anglers can fish year-round for bonefish, tarpon, barracuda, and above all, permit. This is undeniably the best permit fishing in the world, not just for numbers of fish, but also for true giants.

A illustration/artwork of a map of the Ascension Bay, Mexico area, with a permit and a fly painted near the top.
(David Owens illustration)

Theirs is not the kind of work you leave at the office when you go home at night. The year-round operation has José and Lily in a pattern of perpetual planning and execution. From booking reservations, managing staff, boat maintenance, communicating with fisheries managers, and dialing key conservation initiatives, it’s an around-the-clock labor of love.

“And food is a big part of that,” says Lily. Kay Fly puts care info gathering fresh vegetables, fish, meats, and ingredients for the authentic Yucatecan and classic Mexican meals. “Salbutes and empanadas for breakfast and cochinita pibil for dinner are always big hits,” says Lily. “People don’t come to Mexico to eat continental food.”

The food is an important reminder, says Lily, that while the Mayan culture has changed with modernization, it isn’t dead. “The Mayans are still here, the language is still alive, and the Mayan culture is so important to us,” says Lily. “You’ll hear the guides pepper their conversations with Mayan slang and curse words. There are several small temples in the reserve, and an ancient Mayan road that cuts through a lagoon that we fish.” The lodge itself has a Yucatec-specific name, as Kay means “fish” in Mayan. The pronunciation of Kay is with a long “I” sound . . . rhyming with “eye.”

While Kay Fly is a family-owned and -run company, “family” isn’t limited to Lily, José, and their two young sons, Parker and Romeo. “For starters,” says Lily, “We truly consider our guests our family, and that’s how we approach the business. Plus, the guides are family to us just as the house staff. Guides Nestor and Miguel are brothers, and their brother-in-law Juventino also works with us. José’s brother-in-law Eduardo is on the team too. So, we’re literally and figuratively a family.”

As head guide, José has personally trained most of the guide staff. Nestor, known for his keen sense of humor and sarcasm, has been guiding for close to two decades. Miguel, whose nickname is “the gentleman guide” gives clients the best instruction. “For example,” says Lily, “He’ll calmly say, ‘Sir, will you please be so kind as to cast 40 feet at 10 o’clock?’” Guide William is known as “eagle eyes Willy,” guide Chucho is cool as a cucumber and apprenticed with legendary guide Manual Chac. And the staff of hearty junior guides are heralded as champion partners by their teammates and clients.

Recommended


Mayan ruins below a partly cloudy blue sky with palm trees mixed in.
The Mayan ruins at Tulum sit along the road on the drive to Punta Allen, and the entire region was once part of an ancient, sophisticated civilization. All the fly-fishing guides in Punta Allen are of Mayan descent, and they are famous for their keen eyesight, stealth, and understanding of permit behavior. (Photo 159548374 / Maya © Sorin Colac | Dreamstime.com)

The youngest family members, José and Lily’s nine- and six-year-old sons, Parker and Romeo, are also involved in the business, often running errands on foot or pedaling their bikes around town to pick up ingredients for a recipe. Parker is a brand ambassador for Thomas & Thomas fly rods and the youngest youth ambassador for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. Being raised in a global fly-fishing destination, the children are constantly learning from people from all walks of life, different professions, backgrounds, cultures, and customs, says Lily. And Lily says the best part is that the boys spend most of their time outdoors. “They get more freedom than most children get nowadays.”

Permit Capital of the World

The sleepy fishing village of Punta Allen is a three-hour drive from Cancun along a road that is nothing more than a muddy track through the jungle in the last 10 miles. It sits at the southern terminus of the Boca Paila Peninsula that stretches along the mainland like a sickle.

Punta Allen is the only town in the 1.3-million acre Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, one of Mexico’s most important and pristine national parks, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mayan temples in the area, and a 1,000-year-old canal system used for irrigation, show that the Mayans have been living in the Punta Allen area for at least a millennium.

Through most of modern history, Punta Allen has been a fishing village that exports spiny lobster to the mainland, and for the last 30 years, this little village of fewer than 500 people has been the top producer of spiny lobster in the province of Quintana Roo. The fishermen here are part of the Vigía Chico fishing cooperative, a well-known model of a sustainable artisanal fishery where the locals set and enforce all their own rules, including territorial fishing rights, minimum and maximum size limits, seasons, quotas, and a prohibition on harvesting egg-carrying females. It’s a non-invasive fishery, which means there are no traps. The fishermen here dive for the lobster and size and cull each one by hand. This cooperative was created by the locals here for their own benefit, and without any type of federal decree or enforcement, and the cooperative sells the lobster to the outside world at set prices so one neighbor can’t undercut another. They all get the same market value for their lobster, and it’s a global example of how to maintain a sustainable fishery that’s also an economic success for the working families who live here.

A group of anglers and fishing guides posing below a large silver permit statue.
In 2015 the Punta Allen Fishing Club and Grand Slam Fishing Lodge commissioned the Italian artist Alberto Coppini to create this steel permit sculpture. (Photography by Brian Grossenbacher & Jim Klug)

It’s not just the lobster they care about. Most of the Mayan men who live in Punta Allen either are or aspire to be fly-fishing guides, and they take a great deal of care to protect the fish through careful catch-and-release fishing. They also take great pride in maintaining a high level of professional guiding. This is the only place in the world where every boat that goes out, from every lodge, has two guides—one apprentice and one captain. This way the economic benefit of the trip gets spread across more families, and also ensures that every lead guide has years of experience and training before they ever become the head honcho. It’s a huge benefit for guests as well, since you’ve got two sets of eyes. Often the head guide will slip into the water with you to cast at a permit, while the apprentice stays up on the platform watching the fish, helping to direct casts, and also watching for incoming targets. It ensures a high-quality experience for everyone who visits the area, regardless of which lodge they’re at.

There are incredible numbers of small bonefish in Ascension Bay that are easy to catch, some tarpon and snook in the jungle, but the permit fishing is what the lodge guides are truly proud of—and they should be. When if comes to actually landing a permit on a fly—one of the most difficult challenges in all of fly fishing—your chances of success are better here than anywhere else in the world.

The fishery here supports dozens of fly-fishing lodges. Palometa Club, Pesca Maya, and Ascension Bay Lodge are all located here. In 2015, the Punta Allen Fishing Club and Grand Slam Fishing Lodge commissioned a permit sculpture, created by the Italian sculptor Alberto Coppini, and with the help of a government decree, declared Punta Allen “The Permit Capital of the World.” The steel statue is 4 meters long, 3.5 meters high and sits conspicuously in the village park as a constant reminder of what makes this place tick.

Just as Smithers, B.C. is the center of the steelhead universe, and Islamorada, Florida is a gathering place for tarpon fishermen, this is indeed the permit capital of the world. Punta Allen is a model tropical paradise with no crime, no poverty, and world-class multi-species flats fishing.

Double Grand Slam

But the Kay Fly owners and staff aren’t the only ones focused on getting the job done. For some anglers, coming to Ascension Bay is about unfinished business. Kevin Chaney, from Washington, D.C., first visited Ascension Bay in early 2020. In four days of fishing, he caught many bonefish, tarpon, snook, jacks, and barracuda, but no permit. “It eats at you with each passing day,” says Kevin.  “It’s a surreal feeling. I loved each day, and a big reason to come here is that you can fish for multiple species, but not landing a permit . . .well, there was this nagging annoyance. I had shot after shot at permit—two solid follows, a missed hook-set, and one fish that I landed that turned out to be a jack, not a permit. It was tough to leave like that.”

An underwater photo of a large permit being held by the base of the tail by a fly angler.
(Photography by Brian Grossenbacher & Jim Klug)

Kevin joked that it’s job security for José, saying, “When you don’t land a permit, you simply have to book another trip. I wanted redemption. I was determined to come back and sign my name on that wall and eat a scorpion,” says Kevin, referring to the wall in the lodge where first-time permit catchers sign their names with a Sharpie, and follow the tradition of eating a scorpion (dead and stinger-free) to commemorate an inaugural permit.

“And although I could have gone to the Florida Keys or elsewhere to get my permit, Ascension Bay felt like home—the guides, the people, the staff, Lily and José, their children Parker and Romeo running around. So I went back,” he says.

And, for Kevin, it paid off. On day two of the trip, he and his girlfriend, Mitch, went out with José. “It was my first time fishing with José,” says Kevin. “He’s a legend. Every day I was down there before, clients in his boat landed permit. So, the internal head games began as soon as I saw the lineup board that morning: José, Kevin, and Mitch. I imagine that is what being called up to the majors might feel like. I remember glancing over at the signature wall and wondering if today was my day.”

It was. And it happened quickly. José picked an orange spawning shrimp with yellow eyes. Within ten minutes, Eliam, José’s junior guide, pointed to a spot 200 feet from the boat and said softly, “palometa” and José confirmed, “si.”

“We’re going to stalk so we don’t spook,” said José. They slipped off the boat and into thigh-deep water, peeling line off the reel as they walked. “Then suddenly I could see what they had seen—nervous water heading toward us, with several black fins dipping up and down,” remembers Kevin. Kevin recalls José saying, “Once they get 60 feet, start casting and lay it up 40 feet—when I say strip, you strip.” Kevin says he stayed calm, but his cast felt terrible as he laid down the line, with all his nerves apparently in his arms. “But I got it out there and the shrimp was waiting for the fish as the nervous water got closer,” said Kevin. José told him, “Strip, strip, strip, strip, strip, SET!” Kevin set and says he was instantly impressed at the weight. His rod bent, and quickly line started to scream off the reel. “It feels like flying a kite underwater,” he says. “I suddenly realized the mangroves, the coral, the sharks—they’re all wonderful things that can ruin a moment.” But nothing was ruined, and after Kevin released his first permit, José simply said, “Okay, let’s go again.” Before noon that day, José and Eliam had guided Kevin into two permit, two bonefish, and two tarpon—a double grand slam.

A collage of permit fly fishing around Ascension Bay, Mexico.
(Photography by Brian Grossenbacher & Jim Klug)

“The entire lodge celebrated my triumph,” says Kevin. “The group made me a tinfoil crown and scepter. I was king for a day, and I hope everyone gets to feel what I felt. I ate that scorpion, chased it with tequila and lime, and signed my name on the damn wall, finally.”

Cover Fish

I was lucky enough to be part of the group celebrating Kevin’s double slam. And the good vibes carried me into my own permit experience the next day. An early-morning panga run put José, Eliam, and me on a flat close to town. When José spotted a single fish tailing ahead of us, Eliam and I jumped out of the boat in waist-deep, rough water. We speed-shuffled to the edge of a drop-off where the color changed from sea green to deep blue. The headwind smashed my face and dared me to cast. The fish was feeding on the color change, and we lined up alongside it, about 40 feet away. Trying to keep my footing in the rough waves, I pointed my rod toward the black tail I only kind of glimpsed between whitecaps.

“That’s him . . . now, GO!” said Eliam. I sidearmed a prayer.  Eliam said, “Strip, strip strip . . . he ate it!”

I set solidly and felt the purchase that’s worth every penny. And then I felt nothing. Slack. Suddenly Eliam jumped out of the way to my left, and we watched the fish go darting between us. I started to drop my rod hand, and my shoulders slumped in disappointment. How did it come unbuttoned?! “No, no, no, don’t stop—he’s on!” triumphed Eliam, this time hopping with his hands in the air.

“He ate it, he just ran back at us! He’s on, he’s on! Fish him, fish him!” In that second, the line didn’t just go tight, it absconded.

My toes were nearly to the drop-off, and another step would take me swimming. “Work him back up on the flat!” said Eliam. With the permit now banking to the right, I angled my rod across my body to the left and sidestepped away from the ledge as Eliam encouraged, “Keep moving, keep moving!”

When I felt the fish offer a tiny pause in its terrific pace, I reeled and gained some real estate on the line. It ran again, reclaiming all the footage I’d just collected, and more.

As it veered toward the boat, I knew I’d be in trouble if the boat ended up between us. Eliam ducked under my rod and hustled, splashing, to cut the fish off before it got to the boat. It worked, and the permit changed course. I changed angles and used the opportunity to reel down, steering the fish back up on the flat away from the boat. Together, Eliam and I sidestepped farther from the ledge and away from the boat, until I had the fight on the softer flat instead of the heavy water beyond the ledge. When Eliam tailed the permit and shot his other hand into the air in a celebratory fist pump, I’m certain that he added some gusto to the grab for my benefit, as if my stoke level could get any higher!

As we landed the fish, José brought the boat to us so he could tag the permit with a dart tag that, if it’s recaptured, can inform scientists, fisheries managers, and agencies on its movements, providing data to better protect the species. José has been tagging permit for the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust for more than a decade. Locals say he’s tagged at least 1,000 permit—more than anyone else in the Ascension Bay area and likely anywhere in the world.

Tagging permit is just part of the attention given by Kay Fly to the overall health of the fishery. “It’s important to protect this area for the future generations and for the ecosystem as a whole,” says Lily Bertram. “We’re always trying to improve our fish-handling skills. The culture has progressed slowly here over the years. We’re promoting keeping large fish in the water even for pictures, and trying to minimize the time out of the water for all species. The fact that we’re so isolated here has helped protect the fishery.”

Whether it’s the intricacies of a family sport-fishing operation or the determination of an angler settling the score with a permit, taking care of business is the name of the game at Kay Fly Fishing Lodge. Given, of course, that relaxation, fun, enjoyment and enrichment are in everyone’s job description. No one at Kay Fly takes themselves too seriously, I’ve noticed. They’re quick to laugh, tell stories, and share their talents. And they revel in the fact that providing an excellent fly-fishing experience for guests from around the world is just another day at the office.

Author Hilary Hutcheson holds a large permit while smiling and wading waist deep in some ocean flats.
(Photography by Brian Grossenbacher & Jim Klug)

Book Your Destination

Fly fishers arrive at Cancun International Airport, and a lodge shuttle drives you three hours south, through Tulum, into the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, and to one of the lodges in or near Punta Allen. You can book the lodges directly, or through U.S. agencies like Tailwaters Fly Fishing Company, Fly Water Travel, Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, or Angler Adventures. These agencies organize your trip for you with no additional fees.

Recommended Gear


Hilary Hutcheson started guiding fly-fishing trips as a teenager in West Glacier, Montana. Today she continues to guide the Flathead River system, and owns and operates her fly shop, Lary’s Fly & Supply in Columbia Falls, Montana, where she lives with her daughters Ella and Delaney, her partner Ebon, and their three-legged Labrador Jolene. 




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