My flight from Miami arrived in Belize at 12:30 in the afternoon, and five minutes after driving away from the airport, Captain Van and I had pulled off to the side of the road leading to Belize City. Our guide stood waiting for us, one foot on the bow of a skiff and the other on the embankment of the Belize River. We clambered into the boat as the car sped off to the hotel with our luggage.

Our guide shoved spinning rods into our hands, pointed the bow toward the mouth of the river, and two minutes later shut down just past Haulover Bridge. It took only three casts along the edge of the river before something hefty slam-bammed my jig. I managed a solid hook up, and excitement enveloped us when a snook in the 15-pound class smashed the surface with a nasty attitude, spewing water every which way.

Before I could bring it to the boat, my host became locked in combat as well. We bobbed, weaved and crashed into each other while prancing around every portion of the boat in an effort to keep our snook hooked up. Evidently the luck of the Maya Indians smiled broadly upon us, because we eventually released two beauties.

For the next two hours, the boat scene resembled a WWF brawl as we fought snook after snook, finally waving the white flag after tallying 20 snook releases, the smallest an estimated 8 pounds, the largest 25. It absolutely blew my mind to be enjoying such spectacular snook fishing only minutes after landing at the airport.

But so often it goes around Belize City, where I’ve experienced awesome trips over the years pursuing snook in the nearby Belize and Sibun rivers. Visiting Anglers regularly rack up release numbers that sound downright fictitious to even their most gullible friends. Although (like everywhere) the action can be off at times due to drastic weather changes or fish pulling a disappearing act, a few days’ wait typically sees a return to double-digit tallies of snook catches.

If targeting snook represented the only game in town, many would find it worth traveling to Belize City. But the wondrous shots at tarpon and especially cubera snapper near the river mouths make Belize a special destination. And if for some strange reason you get bored catching those three stars, you can also joust with bonefish and permit on flats around nearby islands, pull on huge black grouper and wahoo along steep drop-offs or chase blue and white marlin in the Honduran Current just a few miles off the coastline.

For all these reasons, Belize sits at the top of my list as the best all-around fishing destination in the world, both for great variety of game fish and because odds may be higher here than anywhere else in the world for catching large numbers of big snook.

Snook embody the quintessential game fish, with a sleek yet powerful physique punctuated by a distinctive black lateral line on each side of its slivery body. These "linesiders" possess a penchant for slamming top-water or deep-running lures with sheer malice, delighting anglers with their jumps, head shakes and refusal to act in any way docile. Those characteristics have earned snook a diehard legion of followers who enjoy nothing more in this world than engaging them in combat.

Accordingly, fishing around Belize City represents to snook anglers a Valhalla, Mecca, Solomon’s Mine, Promised land - call it what you will. Just ask Bob Smith of Sault St. Marie, Michigan, who often travels to Belize City just to fish snook. On the first day of fishing during a trip last November, he and a buddy visited the Belize River bordering the city to the north, and released a respectable 18 snook – all 15 pounds and up.

But that pales compared to day two, when they ran south 7 miles to the Sibun River. About half a mile from the mouth, they saw lots of water-busting activity. At first assuming it was a swarm of jack crevalle, they quietly chugged closer and then witnessed an amazing scene: The entire mouth of the river boiled with huge snook. "It was unbelievable, and it stayed that way for four days, with the mass of snook moving farther up the river about half a mile each day," says Smith. "You could sight fish them like bonefish of just blind cast. No matter what lure you tossed out, it got hit immediately. And almost all the fish ran big – 15 to 20 pounds and larger – with the smallest a 6-pounder."

When the catching doesn’t come that easily, common strategies involve trolling lures like Bombers and Cisco Kids along mangrove edges of rivers or casting ¼ - ½ ounce jigs to points, branch shadows or near the bank. When trolling and plugging proves slow, live baits provoke a response.

Fresh water forms a layer atop denser salt water as the river becomes more brackish above the mouth. Accordingly, baitfish such as mullet swimming into rivers from the sea like to stay close to the saltier bottom – a fact not missed by feeding snook. Therefore, Young generally fishes deeper above the river mouth, in brackish conditions; when working river mouths, surface or shallow-diving lures do well, particularly along eddies on both sides of the mouth.

Brown, dirty water represents optimum snook conditions, especially when present the last two hours of outgoing tide during a last-quarter moon phase. But perhaps the best opportunity occurs after a strong rain on outgoing tide: Drainage from the mangrove jungle pulls small fish and brown shrimp into the river. Known locally as "river lobster," these shrimp resemble crawdads, and snook gobble them with the delicacy of a bulldog licking a bowl of pudding. When it’s pouring down (especially if it hasn’t rained for a few days) and you know the tide’s going out, don a rain jacket and head to the river.

Preferred tackle involves medium spin gear with 12-pound line and 3 feet of 30-pound leader; however, in narrower creeks with less fish-playing room, go heavier. If fishing mouths or wider portions of rivers, lighten up a little. Although guides carry tackle, take along a complement of your own gear. Ask your Belize contact which lures to bring since fish preferences can vary throughout the year. Best times for snook are May through July during the summer spawn, and October to January for the fall spawn.

If snook might be considered jaguars of this watery world, then cubera snapper would be rhinos. Cubera sport teeth like barracuda, exhibit the tenacity of a divorce lawyer and fight like a junkyard dog. Reaching over 100 pounds, these tropical reef bruisers normally are sought off south Florida at night during summer months on a full-moon phase using live lobster as bait. That tricky, deepwater fishery has produced world records. But it’s all different in Belize, where trolling plugs by day during the winter months is the game plan.

An IGFA-certified scale registered the weight at 32.3 pounds – the new women’s 16-pound-class world record. Tasting success, she’s already planning a return trip for another shot at vacant women’s line-class records on cubera snapper.

Robin used a Calcutta 400 reel, an All Star rod, 16-pound Sufix line and a 9/0 Eagle Claw Circle hook to set her record. But heavier spin or conventional gear should be used to handle fish that can run close to 100 pounds. Fortunately, river cubera usually stay near bottom when hooked rather than running into mangrove roots, so about 6 feet of 50- to 80-pound leader is enough to deter break-offs from snags and ledges. Although live baits do well, trolling deep-diving plugs gets almost as many hits and more solid hookups due to the boat’s forward motion at the strike. Sommers and Young usually troll 9 ½-inch Cisco Kids in blue/silver or a fire-tiger pattern in green.

Cuberas feed best in Belize at daybreak when the water’s cool, lying in deep holes that dot middle portions of rivers. "Troll with the current so lures swim over holes like baitfish," says Young. "Cubera sit in ambush, facing the current near the top and front of holes. Troll at 5 or 6 knots or fast enough so the fish has to quickly decide whether or not to attack the lure."

Cubera also sometimes sit at river bends, letting current do the fin work by sweeping groceries to them. A live bait fished near bottom stands a big chance of getting smacked by a cubera or perhaps a cruising tarpon or snook. The best action for these mega-snapper occurs within a couple miles of the river mouths, and a mile or so up the mouth of the Belize River within sight of Haulover Bridge. Cubera fishing diminishes as rivers become shallower and current weakens. Cooler months from October through March produce the largest numbers of cubera in rivers, when they apparently migrate from deeper reefs during this time to spawn.

As if river fishing for snook and cubera isn’t enough, expect plenty of tarpon action year-round, although larger fish in the 100 pound class abound in summer. It’s seldom tough to get strikes with streamer flies, lures, live or dead mullet, grunts, crabs or shrimp. Lots of silver kings in the 20- to 40-pound range fill rivers, canals, and shorelines, with bigger fish often encountered closer to mouths along the coastline. Catching a "jungle slam" of a tarpon, snook and cubera in the same day is a distinct possibility– I’ve managed the feat twice.

Your horn of plenty will be enriched with almost-certain catches of bonefish 15 to 20 miles east of Belize City around the atolls. On the way back to the dock, troll edges of the atolls for black grouper – I once caught a 60-pounder when it came up to gobble a marlin lure that was slowly sinking in the water after we’d stop to bring aboard a wahoo!

Permit sometimes roam flats (right) around theTurneffe Islands about 25 miles southeast of Belize City, although greater catches take place farther south off Placencia. Mutton snapper can be caught year-round along edges of the reefs, as well as yellowtail snapper and many other reef dwellers. During a five-day visit in the early ‘90s, my party easily caught all the species mentioned above plus a 61-pound white marlin that took top honors for me in that division in the Belize Billfish Championship. Nearly 10 years later, fishing’s still stupendous, thanks in large part to the realization that resources are indeed exhaustible:

Local guides and booking agencies such as Action Belize stress conservation and catch-and-release after dinner’s in the fish box. Will I be going back to Belize City again soon, just as Bob Smith, Robin van den Broek and nearly every other angler does after fishing this wild snook and cubera paradise? You better Belize it!

**Doug Kelly, former editor of Sport Fishing and now publisher, based in Tampa, Florida, has fished all over the world, every species from billfish to bonefish.**