Geography

• Placencia is a fishing town located on the southern tip of a 20-mile peninsula on the western side of Belize's mainland. It is home to 800 residents and is a popular fly-fishing destination. It is a two-hour car ride from Belmopan, Belize’s capital.
  
  Creoles comprise the majority of Placencia's inhabitants. They are descendants of the African slaves who toiled in the hot sun and mangroves of Belize for early European settlers. Placencia is a historically significant tourist location offering daily excursions to visit the ancient Mayan ruins, located only a short drive away.
  
  Full of local culture, Placencia offers tourists multiple choices in culinary delights, shopping, and most of all, fishing. Rresidents welcome these worldwide fly rodders, catering to their needs with dozens of fishing charters and bait and tackle shops.
  
  

Significance

• Placencia is known as the world's "Permit Capital," since it offers abundant permit fishing opportunities for spin casters, deep sea fishers and fly fishermen. Permits are considered the premier gamefish and top contender as the strongest fish our oceans. A rise in the number of fly-fishers hoping to reel in the trophy-sized permit has placed an unprecedented demand on Belize's fishing industry to supply more native fishing guides.
  
  Although permit fish is at the top for bragging rights, also at the top of the list are snapper, grouper and tuna—both yellow-fin and skipjack. These bigger game fish directly within the Barrier Reef allow competitive fishers the opportunity of a lifetime.
  
  Besides prized fishing opportunities, Placencia is famous for one bit of trivia: It is home to the world's narrowest street, listed in the "Guinness Book of World Records."
  
  

Identification

• Fishing charters typically supply basic equipment for fishing in Belize's Caribbean waters. Most serious fly fishers and anglers, however, prefer to use their own gear. Most local hotels will prearrange fly fishing and deep fishing day trips for its guests.
  
  Belize's habitats are widely varied and include shallow and brackish lagoons. The main species of saltwater flatfish include tarpon, bonefish and permit. A popular fishing spot in Placencia is the Southwater Caye, considered the favorite home of the permit. Permits are famous for their skittish behavior, making them difficult to catch. Typically, permits weigh about 10 pounds, but it is not unusual for them to weigh more than 30.
  
  

Features

• Placencia's fishing guides have obtained notoriety as the best in the world. Using small fiberglass boats to help tourists fish in deeper waters, the guides know exactly where to find the different species. For these local fisherman, the art of fishing is handed down from father to son very early in life.
  
  Known as the "super or grand slam catch," the most prized daily catches include bonefish, permit, tarpon and snook. Fishing season is year-round, since Belize is a tropical and temperate country. The most recommended season to fish is late spring to late summer, when it is warm and sunny the majority of these months.
  
  

Warning

• In 2008, Belize passed legislation for a new "Catch and Release" environmental conservation program. Fishermen should not use live bait for most of Placencia's saltwater fish. Aimed at maintaining the level of fish within the local saltwater fishing populations, the new rules require all fishermen to obtain fishing licenses. Fishermen may only keep one snook to eat, and release all permit, bones and tarpon immediately back into the water.