Week of August 1st to August 7th 2009 Fishing from La Tortuga , Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
My first experience fly fishing in salt water and a GRAND SLAM AUGUST 4th
An unforgettable fishing week at the Jardines . Thanks to Avalon Fishing Centers.
This was my first experience fly fishing in saltwater.Upon arriving to Jucaro (port of departure to the Jardines) I met my guide Bimba and told him that I would need a lot of coaching as I was a bass fisherman fishing in small lakes in Québec, Canada which means blind casting. I also told him that I could cast at maximum of 30 feet. His reply was ; “No problem, you will catch fish”.
Minutes after arriving to La Tortuga we headed for a flat on spotless 17 foot Dolphin powered by a 60 HP Yamaha. There was a school of about 100 bonefish with many of them tailing. I caught my first bonefish on a fly within minutes of arrival at Jardines.
The next morning , Bimba showed me how to double haul properly , he can shoot 100 feet of line !
At noon I caught my first tarpon on a fly, a 25 pounder. We saw 5 permits that day.
The next morning , on of August 3rd I caught 5 bones in shallow water in a mangrove lagoon. All of them caught with Mantis Shrimp # 4. In deeper water, mudding bones were caught with Clouser Minnow #2.
Early morning August 4th, I missed a very large tarpon in Boca Grande pass and was very disappointed, however I had no idea of what was going to happen later on that day. At noon I caught a tarpon. At around 4 o’clock I was sitting beside Bimba , we were cruising at 47 mph on green waters, on the same beach we had seen the 5 permits two days before, all of a sudden he made a U turn, I asked him; Que mira ?, his reply: I saw a permit. I said to myself, come on it's impossible to spot a fish at that speed. He stopped the engine , at 1 o'clock and thirty feet from the bow there was the permit. He could not resist a Merkin Crab, after an incredible fight we took numerous pictures. We were both were very excited. After releasing the permit , Bimba told me that we would return to Tortuga only after I had caught a bonefish. On a beach late that afternoon I caught a tailing bonefish. Voila ! I couldn’t believe it, my first time fly fishing in saltwater and I had an Inshore Salt Water Grand Slam !
The next day we fished a cayo about 30 miles east of Tortuga. The bonefish there had a blue coloration at the tips of their tail as well as on their pelvic pelvic fins , they were magnificient fishes. Even though it was very hot, the bonefish were caught in about one foot of water and all of them with a Squimp fly #6. We were fishing in a mangrove lagoon and there was numerous bonefish as well as tarpons in the same area, it was a lot of fun having to switch from a 8 l to a 10 wt fly line to which a black and red Toad size 2 was attached. The largest bonefish caught that day was a 7 pounder.
The last day, Bimba asked me what I wanted to fish, I replied tarpon, we went to Boca Grande and I hooked 17 tarpons (20 to 30 pounds).
I also caught snappers and saw several Jacks but wasn’t fast enough to shoot a fly, these guys passed beside the boat like torpedoes !
It seems like snook are becoming more abundant around Totuga, I saw six during my stay but wasn’t fast enough to cast to them.
The Tortuga is a floating 5 stars hotel. All members of the staff were nice and friendly, and the food was excellent.
My guide and the dive master Noel had incredible knowledge of biology and ecology of the area. Every day I learned a lot about the rich marine life of the Jardines.
I regard them both as true ambassadors of the great realizations of the Cuban government in terms of environmental conservation and sustainable resources management.
The Jardines de La Reina is a National Park and is one of Cuba’s largest protected area.
No commercial fishing is allowed except for lobster .
The Jardines is a salt water angler paradise.