Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Questions and comment on sport fishing on Tobago
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Tim Stones
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Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Tim Stones »

My wife and i will be staying at the coco-reef,looking for early morning fishing buddy, also to share some boat fishing, preferably with local fishermen. I have only just started reading the mass of information in the forums on the My Tobago Definitive Guide and can honestly say its been totaly invaluble, many thanks to all , especially Steve pitts and Mike ladle. Tightlines Tim.
Jonno
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Jonno »

Good luck Tim,
I would have been up for a trip but am staying the week after.
I'll also be trying for the same earlt trips and close inshore sorties.
Be interested to hear how you get on,especially if you hit upon a good local ,
Cheers Jon
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by J. Joseph »

I'm staying in Trinidad but I'll be visiting Tobago for a few days between Feb. 7 - 11 and will be doing some fishing.
Staying in Trinidad but I'll be in Tobago for a few days between Feb 7 - 11.
Tim Stones
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Tim Stones »

Hi J, thanks for your reply,are you interested in sharing the cost of a local fishermen for either a inshore or offshore boat trip? I will also be spending a few hours early morning fishing at the crown point area. please send me a email. My son has just returned from tobago and enjoyed great success with kester herbert and also out of castara. Tight lines Tim. [email protected]
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Steve Pitts
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Steve Pitts »

Hey Tim

How did you get on?

I can't make it out this year, although Mike will be out later in the year, so always interested to hear how the fishing goes in my abscence

Cheers
Steve
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Tim Stones
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Tim Stones »

Jonno wrote:Good luck Tim,
I would have been up for a trip but am staying the week after.
I'll also be trying for the same earlt trips and close inshore sorties.
Be interested to hear how you get on,especially if you hit upon a good local ,
Cheers Jon
Hi Jonno,Just got back from Tobago, and straight back to work,if you have not already left for your hols please give me a ring on 01305 261029, and i will give you all the info you needwhich will be a lot quicker then e.mail. tightlines Tim.
Tim Stones
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Tim Stones »

Steve Pitts wrote:Hey Tim

How did you get on?

I can't make it out this year, although Mike will be out later in the year, so always interested to hear how the fishing goes in my abscence

Cheers
Steve
Hi Steve,had a fantastic time in Tobago, i will post a full report very soon,just catching up with work, thanks for your reply Tighlines Tim.
Jonno
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Jonno »

Just spoke to Tim and he certainly had a good time and met up with a good guide.
Sadly my experience wasn't the same. I spoke to Mark Simmons before going out as I'd heard good things about Grand slam and Kester Herbert. I explained that I would have my 11 yr old son with me and that we were not trophy fisherman after elusive Permit or Bonefish but just wanted a decent chance to see some fish. He suggested an inshore trip after small Tarpon/snook which sounded great.
When I arrived at the hotel I contacted Kester and explained the same brief and suggested meeting for a chat. He felt there was no need to meet up and would pick me up at 11:30 a.m I expressed surprise at this as I thought it would be a dawn start but was told it was to time with low water.
On the day I had a phone call saying it wouldn't be Kester but his mate Kevin who would be taking us.
We met Kevin( who seems like a nice bloke) and explained that we were not just after Bonefish but something with a higher chance of success.When tackling up I was asked if I had any light line for a trace as he didn't have any,I had to ask for the hooks to be sharpened as I couldn't even pierce my skin with what we had.
Four hours later after fruitlessly wading the flats and being told don't worry we have a back up plan where you can go for the small Tarpon/snook both of us were looking forward to seeing a fish-any fish!
I had told Kevin that we had seen some big bait busts early in the morning from the hotel- when the time came to leave the flats he then suggested to try outside the hotel. I had thought we would be going to a "banker" spot but instead anchored past the hotel and float fished live bait-there was no bird or fish activity and we spent another fruitless hour or so there until we went back to the hotel.
I know it's called fishing not catching but It was a disappointing day - I spoke to Mark Simmons again today and he told me that he no longer owns the large Grand Slam and has less input in the operation,also that he has received more reports of a poor standard of tackle.
The bait busts stopped later in the week and the weather had been pretty rough, even resulting in a yacht breaking free from it's mooring and crashing on a spot I was trying to fish from the shore near the airport.
Hind sight is a great thing and I will do things differently next time. Will there be a next time?-Most certainly,we all loved the Island and can't wait to return.
Jonno
Robert T
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Robert T »

Hi Jonno,

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. I think a lot depends on the conditions as the tides play a significant role in success when it comes to certain species.( inshore fishing) I was out in Feb right around the same time as Tim and I remember a guy who went out with Hard PLay for a whole day and the trip turned out to be a big disappointment as they didn't have a single sniff at all. Guess fishing is just very unpredictable.



Robert
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Andy K »

There is certainly no excuse for run-down tackle on a fishing charter, that is just bad service.

Otherwise, fishing is indeed quite unpredictable.
There is hardly a day when you can say, "today i will definitely catch some fish".
But there are days when you can say, "i don't go fishing because today i will most likely not catch any fish at all".
Those are days with the wrong moon, dirty water, rough see, strong currents etc.
If you observe conditions like that, stay on land and do something else.
Or tell yourself "a day out at sea is much better than any day in the office" :wink:
Tim Stones
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Tim Stones »

Hi Steve, My first visit to Tobago,and I can fully understand why you guys get aditted to this stunning island.We stayed at the Coco-Reef hotel which despite being a little on the expensive side,seemed to be the perfect location for the fishing andfor the safety of my wife whilst sunbathing,when I was off fishing.As far as shore fishing is concerned I wil hold my hands up and say that I have very little experience in plugging or fly fishing, but Iwas still very keen to give it a go.My first couple of hours fishing was off the hotels boundry walls, a total of five lizzard fish , two small bream like fish and the highlight of the morning a Crevelle Jack of about a kilo which fought like stink, all the fish were caught on a small Dexter wedge,great fun.Second session was at the back of the airport at crown point,despite being a little nervous at walking on my own at 5.45am in the morning in a foreign coutry Ineed,nt have worried with the help of the late Andrew Harries ariel photoes , pages 26,29 and 30 every thing was easy, what a massive help these were.Istarted fishing on the pier at the back of sandy bay beach club,conditions looked near perfect,but despite trying ,plugs,poppers, etc,not a sniff.Later that evening I fished at the back of the N.Pfuel depot using wedges, straght away had atake which turned out to be a good sized garfish,followed by a small jack.That evening met a guy from London named Rob,told me he had caught two snook earlier that morning and had caught nine during that week,with some excellant photos too,best fish close on ten pound,this certainly gave me a lot more confidents.He was using a clear plug with a red head which he swore by,what amazed me was the short distants he was casting and also from right to left across the waves,he explained that the coloured sandy water was perfect for snook,rob lost one fish in the surf,and despite my efforts with numerous different plugs never had a touch,Iswitched to a six inch blue sidewinder and on my first cast was hit by a massive snook which lept out of the water twice and shook the hook out, gutted,rob estimated the fish to be around twenty pounds and explained due to the nature of there mouth pattern the bigger fish were allways difficult to land.I arranged to meet rob the following morning and when we arrived the conditions were perfect a flat sea with clear water and lots of activity,rob continued plugging,while Itied on a small dexter wedge which proved to be the right choice,I landed three jacks to twopounds and lost another ,rob only had one take that morning on a small blue shad a fish that managed to strip him of half his line and then part company, he was still shaking twenty minutes later.The following days H.W was much later in the morning,which seemed to be a waste of time,undoubtabley all the action takes place in the first two hours and last two hours of daylight at this mark and prefferably on a spring tide at high water which Iwill endeavour to get right on my next trip.Over the next few days I hired a car and toured this stunning island with my wife,we visited nearly every beach and most of the tourist attractions,sadly not enjoying the best weather,lots of the wet stuff,so only managed a couple of hours at parlatuvier bay ,only catching some small stuff on baits,Idid however see the biggest stingray of my life gobbling up the fish gutts being thrown in by the local fishermen,130lb class gear for this fellow.With lots of brownie points up my sleeve it was now time for some boat fishing which to be honest is my true passion,I booked a couple of days with Richie Ash ,whoose phone number I got off this forum, thanks Frank,and what a great choice this was,we seemed to hit it off straight away. Our first trip out was a little slow despite trolling for over three hours we only had one take from a small white marlin,literaly 25yds out the back of the boat on a pink muppet which knocked the lure 3 times without hooking up.By now we were way up past castara in some pretty lumpy seas,rich decided to drift fish now with live flying fish and baits the e.n.east wind and current taking us back down the island,he tirelessly chummed with mashed up fish for the next 3 hours,I caught a small shark and a few good sized grouper bouncing along the bottom,Richie was in near disbelief that I even managed to hit bottom with just 10 ounces of lead, in 500ft of water,what a difference braid makes.It was obvious the very small tide that day was the reason for the lack of all other predatory fish.We decided to leave our next trip for 5/6 days until the tides built up,which turned out to be a wise choice.During my stay at coco-reef many of the local fisher would come in and cast net the small sardine type fish in coconut bay,there were thousands of them,so I ask richie if we could give this a try,six o,clock next morning after netting loads of bait we were on our way to a mark some 8 miles offshore,it wasn,t long before richie had the sea alive with fish flicking out live baits and also chumming at the same time,over the next few hours we enjoyed preety much none stop action with tuna,mahi,mahi,kingfish,barrucuda and lots other stuff.I have caught literaly thousands of Bass,Cod,Pollack e.t.c in the U.K but nothing can compete with the sheer excitement of fishing in the tropics and cannot wait for our next holiday.As for my guide next time Iwill look no further then Richie Ash,a guy who certainly helped to make my holiday one very much to remember not only for the amount of effort he put in ,but also for the none stop banter from one fishermen to another .I am sorry for the delay in replying steve, but somehow managed to loose my first draft,if you would like a trip out with myself and Ashley please give me a call or e.mail, some decent pollack coming in at the moment,Tightlines Tim Stones.
Frank Butau
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Re: Fishing in Tobago Feb2-16 .

Post by Frank Butau »

Hi Tim

Thanks for the report. It sounds like you had a good go at it and was well rewarded =D> .
I'm glad to hear Richard put you on the fish and you had a real blast out there. Richard is easy going and quite easy to get along with and his fishing banter keeps you going even if the going is tough :oops: .

You are right, Tobago can become a bit of an addiction, i'm still trying to get over it myself but have already booked another trip in September. It's always good to hear from fellow anglers who have been out there as most people only take what info they can and never feed back. This is what keeps the forum going and updated.

When you going back there :-D ?

Oh and any chance of some pics :-" ?

Thanks again for your report

Frank
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