Episode 40 - RAUL CASTANEDA: Fly Fishing Scorpion Atoll: The Most Unique, Hard-To-Reach Destination in the Caribbean

Scorpion Atoll – located in the Caribbean Sea 70 miles off the northern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula – is a desolate outcropping of flats and tiny islands surrounded by a notoriously treacherous reef. Also known as Arrecife Alacranes, legend has it that Scorpion Atoll received its ominous name from a group of 16th century Spanish shipwreck survivors. Those that survived an initial shipwreck to make it to the tiny and inhospitable islands of the atoll found that the bleak environment then killed their comrades slowly and painfully – much like a scorpion sting. Today, Scorpion is a protected marine reserve and a destination that seems much more like a far-off fishery in the Indian Ocean than anything that is found on the Yucatan Peninsula. Raul Castaneda is the owner of Scorpion Atoll Flyfishing Expeditions – the only outfitter that offers customized, commercial trips to the Scorpion fishery. Raul began fishing Scorpion in the early 2000’s, and since that time, he’s developed an incredibly unique live-aboard operation that each year allows a handful of anglers (less than 30 rods per year) to access and fish some of the most remote and unvisited flats found anywhere in the Caribbean. This episode of Waypoints was recorded on-location during a recent trip to Scorpion Atoll, where Raul talks in detail about his program, the history of Scorpion, fishing seasons, what makes the trip unique, and why this tiny and uninhabited atoll produces massive fish.

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