Cayo Frances

With an ever-practical English degree in hand, and the experience of having run a punk rock record label under his belt, Jeff Spiegel packed up his things, sold his house in San Francisco and moved to Belize… because, well why not. The plan: open a small beach resort and restaurant bar. How hard could it be?

After teaching himself how to be a chef, running the business for a decade and experiencing more than he could have ever imagined, things… had changed. The small town of San Pedro had begun to grow up. Ten years on, sandy streets were now pavement, quiet bicycles were replaced by traffic and trucks and a business that started as an out of the way destination spot had become a busy bar. Time for a change of venue and change of pace. Thankfully, the ideal location was waiting. “The farm,” a small property way up north on the back of the island, had long served as a hideaway… A place to fish… A place to escape to. A place too special and unique not to share.
After 2 years of construction the first version of the “Camp” opened its doors. Over the first years of operation, the Camp hosted dozens of anglers from all over the world and all walks of life… and transformed into a place of friendship, tranquility, fish stories, cold drinks, late nights, early mornings and days surrounded by endless fishable waters.

Recently the Camp has undergone a makeover, both in operations – with Matt Pourbaix and Cooper Beckett coming onboard as co-owners, and infrastructure – with upgraded cabanas, docks, new boats, paddle craft, new partnerships and of course our new palapa bar! All of which have turned this off-grid hideaway into a unique lodge experience.

All of us here at CFF&F couldn’t imagine life without the Camp or the relationships it has helped forge. Come join us, share a drink, a fish story and experience the unique flats that surround us… but most importantly come make unforgettable memories here at CFF&F.

— Jeff Spiegel, Matt Pourbaix, Cooper Beckett, Jacob Shemper, Bill Happy, Bill Hespe, Cort Dehart

• Lightweight breathable shorts and shirts
• At least one or two lightweight LONG sleeve shirts for longer days in the boat/sun
• Good polarized glasses
• Flip flops
• Wading booties or boots
• A hat
• An extra hat
• A sun buff
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm with sunscreen
• Lightweight breathable rain gear
• Bug spray
• Camera

• Rods, 7 and/or 8 wt for bones, 9 and/or 10 wt for permit and 10 and/or 11 wt for tarpon
• Large arbor reels saltwater reels with a GOOD DRAG and floating line with 200 yards 20# backing (we oft over line our reels by +1 wt.) For tarpon, it’s nice to have a set up with an intermediate line for when you’re trying to quickly get the fly down a bit and 200 yards 30# backing.
• Saltwater tapered leaders of 9-12 feet
• Shock leaders for tarpon
• Tippet, 10lb, 15lb, 20lb for bones and permit
• Nippers
• Flies, all the usual suspects…

When it comes to fly fishing, nothing will ever replace the experience of a guided day of fishing with a local guide who knows the water and fishery like the back of their hand. From our own fishing experiences and from a decade of running a resort, we’ve gotten to know some of the best guides on the island. Our two main go-to outfitters are Belize Fly/Tres Pescados Fly Shop and Reel Women Fly Fishing. We also work with a handful of independent guides, a number of whom have been poling the flats of the island
for well over 30 years.

All that said, we realize lots of folks enjoy a DIY fishing experience and/or might not have the means to hire a guide every day. Thus, we have a fleet of paddlecraft all set up for sight fishing for folks who want to give it a go on their own. There is a near infinite amount of water around the camp to explore, much of it never accessed/fished by folks fishing
out of flats skiffs.

We know that most folks travel with their own gear. That said, we also realize that s#@! happens, so we have camp gear that we are more than happy to lend – Scott, Sage and Reddington rods paired with custom Nautilus NV-G and Hatch reels. We’re also have a nice selection of flies as well as extra leaders and tippet for when you need some.

For paddling, the camp has a fleet of SUP’s, including Bote Rackham Gatorshell boards, 4 new Crescent Kayak SUP+ boards, along with three EastCape Skanus and two NuCanoe fishing kayaks.