Jim Mills and Host Brad Staples
Campeche Tarpon Fishing - Mexico
Tarpon Town Anglers
The Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve is a vast network of mangroves and wetlands where freshwater streams flow into the Gulf of Mexico, creating ideal brackish waters for baby and juvenile tarpon as well as barracuda. Just outside the reserve lies Campeche, a charming colonial town rich in Mayan and Spanish history. Facing the Gulf on the western side of the Yucatán Peninsula, Campeche offers an authentic, uncrowded experience—welcoming in a year about as many visitors as Cancun receives in a single day.
2026 Hosted Weeks:
6-nights and 5-days guided fishing
$4,550.00 per person
Six anglers + Host Brad Staples
• April 4-10, 2026: SOLD-OUT
• May 10-16, 2026 SOLD-OUT
• May 17-23, 2026 - 1 spot
• May 24-30, 2026 - 2 spots
2027 Hosted Weeks:
6-nights and 5-days guided fishing
$4,550.00 per person
Note: 2027 rates are subject to change.
Six anglers + Host Brad Staples
• May 2-8, 2027
• May 9-15, 2027
• May 16-22, 2027
You're not restricted to our hosted weeks. Book anytime.
Campeche Tarpon Fishing
Joe Riter with Tarpon
The brackish waters of the Mayan Peninsula are perfect for baby and juvenile tarpon, ranging from 5 to 30 pounds, plus snappers, jacks, barracuda, and some snook. The tarpon are in depths ranging from one to ten feet. Even though it is a good place for light tackle fishing, fly fishing is widely practiced, and baby tarpon are the primary target. It’s best to use 8-weight fly rods with floating lines.
You'll cast to the mangrove edges of the coastline and in the small creeks and rivers that drain the area. On a typical day, you’ll spot 30 to 75 tarpon. You should hook many tarpon during the day that are between 5 to 20 pounds. A typical day is two to five tarpon per person. During Brad Staples's hosted weeks, a good day was over 12 per boat, and a bad day was two per boat. On the days that they didn’t land many tarpon, there was still a lot of action.
Fishing Season: Tarpon are year-round residents here. The best fishing months are from mid-February to mid-December. (From mid-December to mid-February, there is a potential for wind and cold fronts to come down from the North.)
Boats: Tarpon Town Anglers has four 21 to 23-foot pangas with 60-90 HP Suzuki motors. All the pangas have a casting deck, two chairs, push poles, and more. You'll fish two anglers per guide and boat.
Guides: The guide team includes four native fishermen with an outstanding ability to read the water and pole the boats. Some of them have fished in the area for more than twenty years. They don’t speak much English but have worked hard to learn the basic fishing terms. Raul, the owner and head guide, is bilingual and helps communicate between the guides and anglers.
Brad Staples and Curtis with Tarpon
Brad's Hosted Week Recap:
"I've hosted numerous baby tarpon fishing trips at Campeche, a wonderful historic city in Mexico. Campeche is located on the Gulf of Mexico, about six hours southwest of Cancun. The people are very friendly. The city is clean. And the baby tarpon fishing is amazing. I had never been to a city in Mexico before where people were out jogging and exercising at 9:00 and 10 p.m. Campeche is recognized as a World Heritage Site with about 400,000 people.
Once our group reaches Campeche, everything is included except for dinners and gratuities. Our group goes out each night for fantastic local cuisine. Dinners are priced comparable to the states. The hotel shuttle van or a taxi can drive us if you don’t want to walk to the restaurants. We'll stay at the new Colonial Boutique Casa, air-conditioned with a swimming pool, free Wi-Fi, and more." - Brad Staples
Click here for Brad's 2024 Trip Report.
A Typical Fishing Day:
5:00 a.m. - You'll have an early hot breakfast at the Lodge. After breakfast, they will drive you to the boats by car, about a 7-minute ride. The fishing day starts at dawn.
You’ll usually be on the water for about nine hours per day. The travel time to the fishing grounds ranges from 15 to 90 minutes. Once there, the guide cuts the engine, and then he’ll start poling the boat, looking for tarpon.
Midday - You’ll have a packed lunch on the boat.
2:00 to 3:00 p.m. - You’ll return to the Lodge.
Dinner is on your own. Numerous restaurants are within walking distance of the Lodge.
Campeche Tarpon Flies:
Each guide carries an assortment of flies to use in case you do not bring enough.
"Baby tarpon can be caught on a variety of flies. They should not be tied on a hook larger than 2/0. They need to be tied on quality hooks and should be kept very sharp. Both synthetic and natural materials will work. Most synthetic flies will not hold water and will make for easier casting. Rabbit strip flies have good movement, but they will retain water. Marabou is very good; it casts and moves well in the water. Most of the tarpon flies are streamers and will sink below the surface.
Baby tarpon can also be caught on floating flies stripped slowly, making small wakes, either long or short strips, but slow is important for the babies. Foam-body flies work well and will continue to float without getting waterlogged. The color of baby tarpon fly patterns is endless, white, tans, yellows, black-and-red, black-and-purple, and chartreuse." - Brad Staples.
Three Guest Rooms at the Lodge
Tarpon Town Colonial Lodge opened in 2023.
Raul has remodeled his family home into a fantastic lodge in the heart of the historic district and two blocks from the downtown plaza. The rooms have two full-size beds and ensuite bathrooms, air-conditioning, high-speed Wi-Fi, Alexa Echo devices, and a Fire TV Stick 4K. The Lodge hosts up to six guests.
Click here for a YouTube Video of the Lodge.
Meals: Hot breakfasts, packed lunches on the boat, and snacks are included throughout the day. Dinners are not included, except for a welcome seafood dinner on the night you arrive. Anglers often dine together in town.
Alcohol: Beer, wine, and hard liquor are included in the package.
Living Room at the Lodge
Two Outdoor Patios and a Small Swimming Pool
Getting to the Lodge:
We recommend flying from Dallas, Houston, or Miami to Merida, Mexico. Merida is the capital of the Yucatan.
1.) You'll fly to Merida, MX (MID).
2.) A Tarpon Town representative will greet you at the airport in Merida and drive you to the Lodge, a 2.5-hour drive. If you are traveling alone or as a single angler, there is a $350 charge for the roundtrip ground transfer between Merida and Campeche.
3.) Upon arrival at the Lodge, Raul, your host, will provide an overview of the fishing plans for the upcoming days.
Note: Our information packet outlines several options for getting to Campeche.
2026 USD Rates:
Season: Year-round fishery.
7-nights and 6-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides
$5,100.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides
$6,550.00 per person
6-nights and 5-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides
$4,550.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides
$5,950.00 per person
5-nights and 4-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides
$3,850.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides
$4,950.00 per person
4-nights and 3-days guided fishing
Two anglers per room, boat, and airport rides
$3,100.00 per person
One angler per room, boat, and airport rides
$4,400.00 per person
See below for Non-angler rates.
Information Packet
THE PACKAGES INCLUDE:
• Ground transfers between the airport and the Lodge
(MID and CPE; surcharge applies for CUN)
• Lodge accommodations
• Wi-Fi at the Lodge
• Welcome seafood dinner
• Breakfast at the Lodge
• Lunch on the boat
• Beer, wine, and hard liquor at the Lodge
• Guided fishing
• Daily lunch on the boat
• A cooler on the boat with water, soda, beer, and snacks
• Fishing license
• Flies and lures, if needed
• Use of satellite phone, if needed
• Los Petenes Reserve entrance and usage fee
• Sales tax on the package.
PACKAGES DO NOT INCLUDE:
• Airfare• Single-occupancy ground transfers between Mérida (MID) and the Lodge ($275 one-way)
• Fishing equipment
• Gratuities for guides and lodge staff
• Lunches for non-anglers
• Dinners are not included (except for the welcome dinner)
• Eco-tours or other non-angling activities
• Departure tax, $65
• Global Rescue coverage
• Travel insurance
• Anything not mentioned under inclusions.
