When is the best time of year to fish in Belize?

Is fishing good in Belize? 

The question that I get asked all time is “what is the best time to book a fishing trip to Belize!” I answer this question with “What is on your wish list” or “What do you want to catch” 

Our professional guides have all been fishing the Belizean waters their entire lives, and they know how to find and catch the variety of species that roam our waters. Guests fished with us during August (which is considered low season!) and they counted 27 different varieties of fish during a 5- day stay! Tuna, dorado, lots of species of snappers and groupers, giant barracuda, sharks, bonefish, jacks, kingfish, spanish mackerel, and a whole host of other species. And, it’s not all about fishing! Whilst trolling the Belizean Barrier Reef and beyond, we often sight whale sharks, sperm whales, pilot whales, and dolphins.

Is there a bad time to book a fishing trip to Belize? 

We have guests that want to catch anything they can eat! We also have guests that are specific about their target catch. To help, I have listed below the most common species to catch during each month of the year. 

January – Wahoo, blue marlin, mutton snappers, cubera snappers, dog snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, amberjack, kingfish, bonefish, and permits.

February – Wahoo, blue marlin, mutton snappers, cubera snappers, dog snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, amberjack, kingfish, bonefish, and permits.

March – Our best month for blue marlin! Wahoo, mutton snappers, cubera snappers, dog snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, amberjack, kingfish, bonefish, and permits.

April – dorado, blue marlin, tuna, mutton snappers, cubera snappers, dog snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, amberjack, kingfish, bonefish, and permits.

May – dorado, blue marlin, tuna, mutton snappers, cubera snappers, dog snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, amberjack, kingfish, bonefish, and permits.

June – dorado, sailfish, blue marlin, tuna, mutton snappers, cubera snappers, dog snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, amberjack, kingfish, bonefish, and permits. Whale sharks. The lobster season opens on 15th June. At the end of June, not to be missed is the Placencia Lobster Festival. If you love lobster, book early, it’s our most popular time of year! 

July – Sailfish, tuna, dorado, snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, kingfish, bonefish, and permits. Sperm whales. 

August – Sailfish, tuna, dorado, snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, kingfish, bonefish, and permits. Sperm whales. 

September – tuna, dorado, snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, kingfish, bonefish, and permits.Sperm whales & whale sharks.

October – tuna, dorado, blue marlin, snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, kingfish, bonefish, and permits. Sperm whales & whale sharks. 

November – Wahoo (start of the season), snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, kingfish, bonefish and permits. 

December – Wahoo, snappers, groupers, deep water silk snappers, sharks, barracuda, kingfish, bonefish, and permits.

Blue Reef Adventures are well-known as experts for wahoo fishing. For those who love to catch wahoo, lots of them, and big ones, try to book a trip during our wahoo season. The best months are November, December, and January. 

If you are looking to catch lots of  billfish such as marlins and sailfish, it’s worth noting that the Caribbean waters are not like the Pacific Ocean. We do catch billfish, and we have several billfish tournaments throughout the year. However, you will not catch the great numbers of billfish that you catch from the Pacific areas such as Costa Rica, Cabo San Lucas and Panama. 

There’s no bad time to come to Belize! What people love about our Blue Reef Adventures trips is the variety of fishing. We are lucky to be located on the Belize Barrier Reef. Our fishing grounds are 5 minutes from the island. Our guests get to choose! Some people want to relax and fish a couple of hours then chill out on a hammock with a rum punch while others want to fish intensely for the entire trip. Or, couples may have different agendas. One person wishes to fish all the time while the other prefers fish and also relax. The surrounding reef is world-class for snorkelling and scuba diving. 

For fly-fishing enthusiasts, there’s Bonefish in abundance around our island. Or, visit nearby flats and hunt for the elusive Permit. 

For intensive fishing folks, add on a day of outer reef fishing for species such as blue marlin, dorado, sailfish and tuna. 

There’s not a bad time to fish in Belize!