Bonefish in the Caribbean
Steve Gibson
January 3, 2010
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing took a week off and spent the holidays in the Caribbean. We flew to George Town, Grand Cayman, 480 miles southwest of Miami. We flew out of Tampa at 2:05 p.m. on Christmas Eve and arrived at 3:50.
Our target was bonefish. A friend of mine, Capt. Al White of Boca on the Fly, had visited the island about 14 months prior and reported good bonefish action. He gave us a few tips on locations and fly selection.
I Google-earthed the island and saw several choices of prime bonefish flats.
I spent Christmas Day scouting the island for spots. First stop was South Sound, but the water there was just a little too deep. So, I head east and ended up at a beach just south of Morritt's Tortuga Club and Resort. I quickly spotted a bonefish swimming off the heavy turtle grass into a sandy spot. A few minutes later, I saw a couple of more bones.
I headed up the coast to Grape Tree Point. I stood on the side of the road and peered out over the lush, turtle-grass flat. I saw a big bonefish in a sand hole. I then saw a monster bone tailing the grass.
Realize this was a scouting trip, so I wasn't even carrying a rod. I just wanted to have a few spots for the next few days.
I drove back to the other end of the island to Barkers. There are some really lush turtle grass flats there. I didn't spot any bonefish, but did see a couple of snook swimming along the beach.
Next morning, I hit the beach at Morritt's at dawn. I stayed for about three hours, but only saw one tailing bone. I headed up the road to Grape Tree Point. There were two bonefish in a sand hole, but they had moved on by the time I got my rod put together.
The sun was behind the clouds, so visibility was limited. I waded out onto the flat and stood at the edge of a sand spot. About 20 minutes later, two bonefish swam off the grass and over the sand. I literally flicked the fly out because the fish were no more than 10 feet away. When my Gibby's Bonefish Fly landed in front of the fish, two feet of leader was still inside the rod tip.
Didn't matter. The fish were hungry and aggressive. The smaller of the two quickly inhaled the fly.
The fish might have been small, but it was strong and fast. It quickly took me into the backing, but I was able to land the bone in just a couple of minutes. I took a few photos, removed the fly and released the fish.
Ten minutes later, a larger fish came off the grass. I put the fly in front of it and hooked up immediately. The battle was one once again. This fish took me a little deeper into the backing and fought a little harder. But I was able to landed it with little problem.
I cast to 20 more fish, but didn't hook up. But as quickly as the blitz began, it ended.
Next morning, I head for Barkers. I got quite a few shots at bones, but didn't hook any. I encountered four schools of at least 10 tailers in each. I also had a few shots at singles and doubles.
During a break at midday, I found some mosquito ditches and explored them. I found virtually every one of them contained baby tarpon. I made a couple of casts and had one diminutive tarpon follow. I thought it was going to eat, but the fish turned off at the last second.
I didn't hook any bonefish, but had shots at about 40 fish.
The final morning, I headed back to the east side of the island. I fished Morritt's and Grape Tree Point. I didn't see a single fish. I ended up at Prospect Point in South Sound and waded that fishy-looking area for 90 minutes, but didn't see any bones.
It was then time to call it a day and play tourist that afternoon.
Grand Cayman is a wonderful place to visit. George Town is very clean and the people are very friendly and helpful. We found the restaurants to be exceptional. We had Christmas dinner at Papagallo Ristorante. The meal was a bit pricey, but worth every penny. I had an 18-ounce ribeye that was done to perfection and succulent.
The jury is still out on bonefishing on the island. But I would like to give it another try before I make a final judgment.
Sarasota Fishing Forecast:
Fishing around Sarasota has been very slow because of a severe cold front. The cold is expected to last all week. It slows the action down considerably and makes it very uncomfortable to be on the water.
Target Species:
Spotted seatrout, redfish, snook, bluefish, pompano, Spanish mackerel
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