Fishing Cruises:

The M.V. Blue Yonder, is a 52' Chris Craft motoryacht. This Air Conditioned Vessel features two bedrooms with two single beds in each. It has two bathrooms, one with a freshwater, hot and cold shower. A large salon/dining area to relax in offers a radio/cassette/cd player. An open air aft deck, with table and chairs, is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy cocktails. The fly bridge offers a great place to watch sunrises and sunsets.

On your Belize fishing vacation, the M.V. Blue Yonder is the most successful and versatile way to fish or cruise in Belize. While Belize has been discovered, the live-aboard can access locations that are least fished and traveled. Your floating fishing lodge is not really about distance or moving often to different places as much as being only a few minutes away from the fishing grounds and having flexibility during your fishing day.

With the live-aboard, anglers can get up early, have a cup of coffee or juice and head out and fish. They blind cast channels known to have tarpon as this is usually before sunrise and return to the boat about 8:00 am, have breakfast, and then go back out and sight fish the FLATS, mangrove channels, coral reefs and cayes of Belize for PERMIT, BONEFISH, TARPON, SNOOK, JACKS, SNAPPER, BARRACUDA and many other species of game fish.

Anglers return to their live-aboard around 1:00 pm and have lunch and usually take a siesta. Depending on the tides and fishing conditions, this is usually when the captain may decide to move the boat to another location (if they are changing locations - just as a note, on a typical live-aboard trip, the boat only moves to other locations 2 to 3 times). Then they go back out to fish around 3:30 pm and return to the boat around 6:45 pm. Sunset is about 6:15 pm and during sunset and after dark, anglers blind cast the channels again for tarpon. GRAND SLAMS are common on these trips.

While aboard the M.V. Blue Yonder, fishing is from comfortable 23’ Panga flats skiffs, the only skiff that can truly handle the waters of Belize. Experienced, hard working and licensed guides assist you in spin or fly fishing flats, channels etc at your own pace - early or late. No long runs in the skiff, since your captain has anchored your mothership in a calm protected area near the fishing. Unbelievably good snorkeling is usually close.

At the end of the day, retire to your luxurious floating resort to relax and enjoy one of the spectacular sunsets which are only available in the tropics. Enjoy refreshments in the fully air-conditioned comfort of your yacht. You will easily forget about diets this week as you enjoy excellent meals prepared by our on-board chef. This is truly the ultimate get-away-from-it-all fishing vacation with no schedules to keep. We take care of all the details, you fish and relax!

The M.V. Blue Yonder, while not a new vessel, is extremely sea worthy and is insured in Belize and licensed by Belize Port Authority. Due to the other fishing lodges in the areas of Turneffe or Ambergris Caye the M.V. Blue Yonder does not fish in these areas. In order to maximize your fishing time, on normal trips of 7 nights/6 days, we do not fish farther than "Blue Field range" when going south. Longer trips can be arranged that include flats farther south than Blue Field range, please let us know when you confirm your booking.

Vacation Cruises

A Typical Live-Aboard Cruise

On your arrival day, you will board the vessel at approximately 4:00 PM. After boarding your live-aboard and meeting your crew, you and your fishing mate can settle into your room, unpack, and sort gear with a cocktail. Meanwhile the captain will be setting sail for one of the nearby cayes, approximately two hours, where you will anchor for the night. Upon setting anchor, your chef will serve an appetizing dinner. After dinner, you can sit on the aft deck or fly bridge, enjoying the evening and discussing the upcoming week.

This is where your options begin:

1st Option, Early Bird:
A day could start early at sunrise with coffee, tea, or juice, and then fish, usually blind casting in deep channels for tarpon, near the boat for one to two hours. Then return to the boat for breakfast. After breakfast, you can head back out to fish until midday, then return to the boat for a nice relaxing lunch in air conditioning. After a leisurely lunch, and maybe a siesta, you can head back out for an afternoon of fishing. Return to the boat for cocktails, dinner, and a nice relaxing evening.

2nd Option:
A day could start with sleeping in and forgetting the stress of the outside world. Have a mid morning breakfast, and then head out to fish until lunch. Return to the boat for a nice relaxing lunch in air conditioning. After lunch, resume fishing, and then return to the boat for an enjoyable dinner and watch the sunset.

Note: Both of these options are 8 to 10 hours of fishing per day. Whatever you choose to do, plan it with your guide and let your captain and chef know, so they can plan for your day. Just remember, you, along with your captain and crew, are in control of your trip.

Below are some frequently asked questions and answers regarding the live-aboard trips:

1. Can you tell me more about how the fishing works on a day to day basis from the live-aboard?
   You can sleep in anytime you want and any time of the day. Typically the sun comes up around 5:00 - 5:30 am and most groups have a cup of coffee or tea and fish till about 8:30 am, and then return to the live-aboard for breakfast, which is approximately one hour. After breakfast, groups fish again until lunch (about noon to 2:00 - depending on tides). After lunch some groups take an afternoon nap in the air-conditioned live-aboard and some groups go snorkeling or swimming for an hour or so and then back to fishing until dinner.
2. How many skiffs, how many guides?
   For a group of 4 people, we pull 2 skiffs. The captain and mate are the guides on board. There is a person on board who takes care of cooking and housekeeping, so it is a crew of 3 people on board plus 4 guests.
3. Who gets to fish when etc?
   Basically people rotate fishing. If you are on a wadable bonefish or permit flat, people can get out and fish. Fishing from the skiff is one person at a time; rotation can be by caught fish, casts to fish or time. Typically if you are fishing for bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook, and one person gets to fish to the group until he/she either catches one or spooks them and then the next person gets the next group. The guides try to make sure that both people in their skiff fish equal time throughout the day.
4. Where do we fish?
   Belize saltwater fly fishing and spin fishing is mainly on the Flats about 15 miles around Belize City. Live-aboard fishing is not about distance but about flexibility. The boats will fish north to the Long Caye area and south to the Blue Field range in a normal 7 night/6 day trip. This area offers very good variety fishing – Tarpon, Snook, Bonefish, Permit, Barracuda, Jacks, Snapper, Ladyfish, Triple Tail, etc; so we do not recommend a trip farther south. As you fish farther south, you lose the variety and mainly fish Permit. You also start to meet with many other fishing boats; however, if you only wanted to fish Permit, we can fish farther south with a longer fishing package.
5. How often and when do you move the live-aboards?
   The nice thing about the live-aboard is that the group as a whole decides fishing time and what they want to fish for each day. There is no time schedule to follow - it is up to the group and the crew to decide. On a normal 7 night/6 day package the live-aboard will move about 3 times. Moving the live-aboard is during daylight hours and this can take approximately 2 hours. Typically, this is done during slack tides or during breakfast or lunch.