# Where to live in Mexico to hunt, fish, and surf?



## Samisland (Nov 14, 2018)

Hello all, I'm new to the forum. I'm hoping to get some ideas on where or if a locale in Mexico exists where I can retire to hunt, fish, and surf. Retiring from govt service next year and hoping to find a comfortable and safe area to enjoy. Hoping to keep cost of living to 2500 or less per month. Thank you in advance for any and all info!


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

First welcome to the board.

Second, the average Joe can not just have high powered hunting rifles hanging over their shoulder unless they want some Federally to shoot them or a guard at a weed field to mistake them for a DEA and shoot them...Very hard to bring in any type of firearm into Mexico........

Thirdly surfing and fishing kind of go together if it's saltwater fishing your asking about but you are kind of vague in your remarks, like type of fishing or hunting,you could be asking about hunting for Antiques.


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## Samisland (Nov 14, 2018)

Thank you for the welcome and response. Sorry for the vague initial post, hopefully I'll get better as I go. So I was hoping to find an area where I can hunt deer, sheep, etc, hopefully ducks, doves, with close proximity to surfing and fishing. Fishing I do both salt and freshwater. I'm an avid outdoors guy from Texas originally. I would assume my budget I suggested was reasonable?


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

Samisland said:


> Hello all, I'm new to the forum. I'm hoping to get some ideas on where or if a locale in Mexico exists where I can retire to hunt, fish, and surf. Retiring from govt service next year and hoping to find a comfortable and safe area to enjoy. Hoping to keep cost of living to 2500 or less per month. Thank you in advance for any and all info!


You're planning ahead-- a good thing. Saltwater fishing and surfing go together, like chico said, and are easy to find up and down the Pacific coast. With freshwater one problem is finding a stream or lake that's clean enough-- if you want to consume your catch. There are a few rivers and reservoirs up in the hills/mountains near Mazatlán, which has a strong salt water fishing culture as well. Might be a good place to start. 
Hunting is much more difficult. Sure, it's common for Mexican country boys and rustic types that are mostly off the grid and aren't fussy about having legal permits to own firearms or hunt, but a tourist/foreigner would want to be more formal about it. Hope you find what you're looking for, and welcome to the board!


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## Samisland (Nov 14, 2018)

Hey thank you very much for the reply. Is that mazatlan area reasonable as far as safety, cost of living, and such? I know the area has some decent to good surf and fishing. I'm thinking I may have to wait to get somewhere to really investigate the hunting situation.


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## izzenhood (Jun 8, 2013)

A few years ago I read about trout fishing in southern Mexico. Here's a link.

https://mexfish.com/mexi/mexi/090713/troutinmexico.htm

I have no experience in that part of Mexico and cannot advise as to safety and surf.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Samisland said:


> Hey thank you very much for the reply. Is that mazatlan area reasonable as far as safety, cost of living, and such? I know the area has some decent to good surf and fishing. I'm thinking I may have to wait to get somewhere to really investigate the hunting situation.


I have spent a few days in Mazatlan in early December for the marathon and festival many times. It seems perfectly safe to me. There is a long line of high rise condos along the beach north of town where a lot of the foreigners live. The old part of town, near the south end of the malecon would have much more appeal to me. I suspect there are lots of places that are not too expensive, but it may be a function of how close you are to the beach.


Regarding hunting, I think there are a lot of high-priced hunting preserves, private clubs, that cater to wealthy Mexicans and tourists. Editorially speaking, I did a lot of hunting growing up in Alaska. It no longer makes much sense to me to kill animals for recreation, but to each his own.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

TundraGreen said:


> I have spent a few days in Mazatlan in early December for the marathon and festival many times. It seems perfectly safe to me. There is a long line of high rise condos along the beach north of town where a lot of the foreigners live. The old part of town, near the south end of the malecon would have much more appeal to me. I suspect there are lots of places that are not too expensive, but it may be a function of how close you are to the beach.
> 
> 
> Regarding hunting, I think there are a lot of high-priced hunting preserves, private clubs, that cater to wealthy Mexicans and tourists. Editorially speaking, I did a lot of hunting growing up in Alaska. It no longer makes much sense to me to kill animals for recreation, but to each his own.


Yes I think there are lots of reserves that fauna to people with money especially in the north. I am on various indigenous netnorks and someone posted a picture of foreigners grinning as they were surrounded by a bunch of dead birds they had killed.. The comments were that the foreigners are paying crooked tourists agencies to get the right to massacre the Mexican fauna and that something should be done against the comapanies and the foreigners paying to kill the fauna.. so be forwarn..:kiss:

Learn Spanish if you do not speak it and make friends with local hunters and do not have better guns than they have.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Just my personal opinion but I might go fishing in some of the bass lakes and reservoirs in Sinaloa but with the Sinaloa Cartel guarding and protecting growing spots I would not venture into the boondocks with a rifle hunting deer...
You saw what happened to the young fellow from Colorado who went solo into Copper Canyon a week or so ago........I would stick to surfing and salt water fishing..........


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chicois8 said:


> Just my personal opinion but I might go fishing in some of the bass lakes and reservoirs in Sinaloa but with the Sinaloa Cartel guarding and protecting growing spots I would not venture into the boondocks with a rifle hunting deer...
> You saw what happened to the young fellow from Colorado who went solo into Copper Canyon a week or so ago........I would stick to surfing and salt water fishing..........


Do you have a link to the "young fellow from Colorado who went solo into Copper Canyon". I missed that. I have spent a lot of time in the Copper Canyon area.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

yep wandering around in the country without being without local is not a good idea...Did they found out how he was killed? He was killed but from what I read they had not recovered the body so who knows..He left Urique and never came back


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

It looks like he was actually from North Carolina, unless there were two incidents.
https://beforeitsnews.com/v3/immigration/2018/2458641.html


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

It is the man and it sounds like he did not go very far from his hotel.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

izzenhood said:


> A few years ago I read about trout fishing in southern Mexico. Here's a link.
> 
> https://mexfish.com/mexi/mexi/090713/troutinmexico.htm
> 
> I have no experience in that part of Mexico and cannot advise as to safety and surf.


oh Guerrero another great place to go fishing... Guerrero is one of the States I do not go to any longer..life is too short . You can fly to Zihuatanejo so that is the good part and the town is ok but I personally would not go wandering around the woods there either.


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

Mazatlán in Sinaloa and then the state of Guerrero. Both states are on US state dept. Mexico travel advisory at level 4 - do not travel. due to crime. Level 4 is the highest (most unsafe) and US government employees have limited travel options. I've been getting ready to do fieldwork and even level 3 makes funding difficult at best. I would not consider a level 4 area unless that really only applied to a specific area that I was not going to be visiting.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

What areas are considered safe?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

citlali said:


> What areas are considered safe?


Everyone gets to decide for themselves what is "dangerous" or what risks are reasonable. My kids are adults and independent, no one is dependent on me, so I feel free to make choices without worrying about how it will impact others. I have been to Mazatlan many times and ridden a motorcycle through Sinaloa and Sonora to California. I spend a month every year in the Copper Canyon. It is an amazing part of Mexico that few ever visit. We hike, mark trails, and hitch hike around on the back roads. Other than someone breaking into a truck that was parked alongside the road between Creel and Divisadero once, we have never had any trouble. That doesn't mean that it is safe or wise. Personally, I worry more about ending up in a nursing home with Alzheimer's than I do about what might happen hiking in the Barrancas del Cobre.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

TundraGreen said:


> Everyone gets to decide for themselves what is "dangerous" or what risks are reasonable. My kids are adults and independent, no one is dependent on me, so I feel free to make choices without worrying about how it will impact others. I have been to Mazatlan many times and ridden a motorcycle through Sinaloa and Sonora to California. I spend a month every year in the Copper Canyon. It is an amazing part of Mexico that few ever visit. We hike, mark trails, and hitch hike around on the back roads. Other than someone breaking into a truck that was parked alongside the road between Creel and Divisadero once, we have never had any trouble. That doesn't mean that it is safe or wise. Personally, I worry more about ending up in a nursing home with Alzheimer's than I do about what might happen hiking in the Barrancas del Cobre.


I concur. Wonderfully explained in most extreme form in talk given by Marcus Luttrell of “Lone Survivor” fame on why no one should feel sorry for the other three Navy Seals killed fighting with him on that Afghan mountain back in 2005.
Just go to watch from minute 31:40 to 33:50 for similar sentiment, but again, in form few of us, certainly not me, can attain.





 (part 2) Again, just 31:40 to 33:50.

Actually, I found his entire speech more spellbinding than the movie itself.
The second part above is mainly on the actual Operation Red Wings battle portrayed in movie. Part 1 is his journey to becoming a Seal, a different world from growing up in Connecticut as I did.

Part 1 for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=lxmf5lbsEEU&v=fKDBYDnTeS8


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

Iceland is safe at level 1. 
Regarding Mexico (FYI really easy to google State dept. travel advisories) the states are between 2 (exercise increased caution) to a few at level 4 (do not travel). It's about crime. Interestingly, Jalisco is level 3 and Chiapas is level 2. So Chiapas is safer. In Jalisco, there are some no-travel zones for US employees, which I assume has to do with cartel activity?
On a related note, since I've been researching this for a chapter, the UN-rated poorly developed states tend to be in the south of the country and they tend to have high indigenous populations. I was actually able to document that quantitatively (which is kind of obvious anecdotally). Of course, in this group, it's all about personal opinion and ideologies, which is OK here but doesn't fly in academic work.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Chiapas has been rated the safest state in the union, actually safer than Yucatan.. Most crimes in the indigenous communities do not make the list so it is very safe..also tourists and locals usually do not go where the conflicts are so everything is well... very Mexican.. 
It i so safe that 2000 people abandoned their homes this week because the paramilitary are shooting at them.. the Human Rights observers went into town after 4 days and many animals were dead in the corrals as they had no food and could not get out.. very sad situation but safe ... If you ar white do not worry you are safe..


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

citlali said:


> Chiapas has been rated the safest state in the union, actually safer than Yucatan.. Most crimes in the indigenous communities do not make the list so it is very safe..also tourists and locals usually do not go where the conflicts are so everything is well... very Mexican..
> It i so safe that 2000 people abandoned their homes this week because the paramilitary are shooting at them.. the Human Rights observers went into town after 4 days and many animals were dead in the corrals as they had no food and could not get out.. very sad situation but safe .....If you ar white do not worry you are safe.



"" If you ar white do not worry you are safe""

Sure just ask the two bicyclist who were murdered or the German bus tour robbed at gunpoint..............


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

It was obviously tongue and cheek, Chicois. The night buses to Palenque now go to Palenque via Villahermosa , a several hour detour as the road is unsafe.. Everyone knows the area around Salto del Tigre is dangerous, you would think the State would do something but no, it is life as usual..


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I figuared it was tongue in cheek, although when I write something that is supposed to be a joke I always end with a ""LOL"" .........


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

chicois8 said:


> I figuared it was tongue in cheek, although when I write something that is supposed to be a joke I always end with a ""LOL"" .........


I do not, the people with it get it and the others do not , that is my way

Last month , I had to go to Aldama a lot and I would let people know when I was coming, one day I arrived and the road was closed and the people I went to see were waiting for me to show me in, several other times they call me and told me not to come, other times they invited me and it was ok.. Several communities right now are fighting it out with their neighbors and although the outsiders are not targeted, several locals have been killed by stray bullets so it is not 100% safe.


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

citlali said:


> everything is well... very Mexican...


Indeed, very Mexican. Let's look at a traditional Mexican marriage, for example. You only say good things about your spouse. Everything else is swept under the rug because otherwise, that would be "negativity". And I mean some serious stuff.
That's the formula for a good marriage since there is only one definition of a good marriage and that is it. Therefore, according to research, most everyone is in a good marriage.


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## RickS (Aug 6, 2009)

In all my years following/being in Mexico I have never heard of anyone (other than the elite) actually hunting ANYTHING in Mexico. In my opinion carrying a rifle/hunting in Mexico would be the best way to cut your stay/life there.

Others have mentioned salt water fishing and it is available in just about any locale in Mexico that borders the sea or gulf. Freshwater fishing is very limited to a few lakes, most of which are within striking distance of the US Border. Most of these are done with local guides. There is one lake (El Salto) near Mazatlan Just google "Fresh water fishing Mexico" to get a look at what is available.


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## RickS (Aug 6, 2009)

I am not aware of a Colorado man who recently went missing in the Copper Canyon. There WAS a University of Colorado graduate who was stabbed/killed in Playa del Carmen and a N.C. tourist who was killed by cartel in the Copper Canyon 'region' lately. See: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/n...huahua-mexico-sinaloa-drug-cartel/2072468002/


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

RickS said:


> I am not aware of a Colorado man who recently went missing in the Copper Canyon. There WAS a University of Colorado graduate who was stabbed/killed in Playa del Carmen and a N.C. tourist who was killed by cartel in the Copper Canyon 'region' lately. See: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/n...huahua-mexico-sinaloa-drug-cartel/2072468002/



I heard from an acquaintance who lives in Creel in the Copper Canyon near Urique where the North Carolina tourist was killed. Her comment was: "He was partying with really low life characters and most likely pissed one of them off talking about things he shouldn't have been speculating on thinking himself very 'savvy' and 'in the know'."


We will never know the details.


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## RickS (Aug 6, 2009)

The “problem” is that the full information (partying with low lifes) will NOT get reported in the NOB press but will be left to the reader to determine that he was not just a ‘perfect US tourist’ who was killed by the cartel.... and therefore Mexico is a terrible place to visit or you’ll get killed! YMMV


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

It is reported he enjoyed meeting people and talking to them so he probably was invited for a few drinks by the wrong crowd and got himself in trouble.. Some of my indigenous friends from Ocosingo told me that the cyclists were "activists" and got themselves in trouble in Oxchuc talking to the guys in the reten.. all of that is hearsay but obviously it is not good to speak too much with the wrong crowd.. What is a perfect tourist? He had just gotten to that little town so he probably knew very little about the guys he was drinking with.. Some tourists get drunk and get themselves in trouble or fall off the balconies and that does not make them bad tourists..


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

What is a Federally?


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## RickS (Aug 6, 2009)

A term used to denote “Federal Police”. Surprised that, as a Mexican Citizen, you aren’t familiar with this much used term.


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## Ricadiz (Dec 13, 2018)

Why in the world would anyone want to hunt sheep?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

RickS said:


> A term used to denote “Federal Police”. Surprised that, as a Mexican Citizen, you aren’t familiar with this much used term.


Maybe because "Federally" looks like an adverb as opposed to the noun "Federales".


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

TundraGreen said:


> Maybe because "Federally" looks like an adverb as opposed to the noun "Federales".


Maybe it's the pedant in me, but the post was in English and "federally" is an English adverb, thus Gary's comment. AFAIK, there is no corresponding adverb in Spanish as a single word.

"Federal" is an adjective in Spanish and as many of you know it is more common in Spanish than in English to use an adjective as a noun. So, "policías federales" can become "federales".

As a further twist, there is no word for female police in Spanish. I would say "mujeres policías federales".


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

It's a pet peeve of mine. Those who choose to live in Mexico but can't be bothered to learn much of the language. Then they use Spanish words, but are totally incorrect. If they don't know it's called a libramiento, rather than libermento or liberamento, I wish they'd just say "bypass".
And if they don't know they're called a federales, why not just say federal police.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

surabi said:


> It's a pet peeve of mine. Those who choose to live in Mexico but can't be bothered to learn much of the language. Then they use Spanish words, but are totally incorrect. If they don't know it's called a libramiento, rather than libermento or liberamento, I wish they'd just say "bypass".
> And if they don't know they're called a federales, why not just say federal police.


While I understand your pet peeve, I think this is fairly universal when people move from one country (and language) to another. There are many words in English that are “Spanglicized” when Latin Americans move north. What I find hilarious is when my 19 year old son, born and raised in Canada, trilingual (English, Spanish, French) will sometimes use one of these Spanglicized English words when talking in Spanish. He will say it like someone who is not a native speaker. He doesn’t use it with any trace of mockery, it’s just how he hears it used by Spanish speakers, so when speaking Spanish he uses that same pronunciation.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Dale gas...............
From an area where Spanglish is the common language at our local Walmart Supercenters, which seem to be located about every three miles along the border here. All of the bridges are reporting 60-90 minute delays today. No walls needed or wanted.


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