I am off to Tobago Aug 11th - 25th for my honeymoon and we are staying at Sandcastles. I have all my own diving kit and just need a buddy to dive with while I'm there, any ideas? I know Adam at sandcastles will be able to help just thought I would put the word out to see if any budding divers were there same time as me??
Also I am keen to do some fishing, both from the beach and from a boat I need to buy kit that will serve this dual purpose so wondered if anyone could help me with what to buy in regards to rods, reels and tackle etc??
Thanks
LAZLO
Diving and Fishing at Castara
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Steve Wooler
- myTobago Editor & Chief Anorak
- Posts: 4856
- Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2002 11:00 pm
- Location: Suffolk, England
- Contact:
Hi Lazlo
I don't wish to be a killjoy, but do-it-yourself diving is a definite “no, no” for Tobago. Shore-based diving where you only intend going out a couple of hundred metres from shore might be OK, but it is hardly worth lugging your gear all the way there for that sort of diving.
I certainly don't mean to be alarmist, but even qualified, experienced divemasters have gone missing in Tobago's tricky currents. Ask Adam at Sandcastles about an incident involving the manager of a Castara property last year.
Thousands of people dive off Tobago perfectly safely every year, but these are not waters for taking risks – which is why our expert dive panel came down so hard in our rankings on those dive shops who take a less than serious attitude towards ‘risk’. It is essential to dive only with divemasters experienced with the waters. Consequently, the vast majority of dive shops will not supply you with air or rent you kit to dive alone, unless you have already done quite a few dives with them and they are confident that you are safety conscious and know what you are doing. This isn’t simply a matter of the dive shops wanting the revenue of supervised dives, it’s far more about the risk and attendant bad publicity when unsupervised divers go missing.
I don't wish to be a killjoy, but do-it-yourself diving is a definite “no, no” for Tobago. Shore-based diving where you only intend going out a couple of hundred metres from shore might be OK, but it is hardly worth lugging your gear all the way there for that sort of diving.
I certainly don't mean to be alarmist, but even qualified, experienced divemasters have gone missing in Tobago's tricky currents. Ask Adam at Sandcastles about an incident involving the manager of a Castara property last year.
Thousands of people dive off Tobago perfectly safely every year, but these are not waters for taking risks – which is why our expert dive panel came down so hard in our rankings on those dive shops who take a less than serious attitude towards ‘risk’. It is essential to dive only with divemasters experienced with the waters. Consequently, the vast majority of dive shops will not supply you with air or rent you kit to dive alone, unless you have already done quite a few dives with them and they are confident that you are safety conscious and know what you are doing. This isn’t simply a matter of the dive shops wanting the revenue of supervised dives, it’s far more about the risk and attendant bad publicity when unsupervised divers go missing.
Steve Wooler
myTobago.info - the definitive Visitor Guide to Tobago
myTobago.info - the definitive Visitor Guide to Tobago
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Steve Pitts
- Tobago Anorak
- Posts: 710
- Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 11:18 am
- Location: Bristol U.K
Fishing tackle
Hi Lazlo
Staying at Castara, you'll be fishing from the beaches and rocks I guess.
The two main methods available to you are fishing with bait or fishing with lures, so a suitable rod would be a 10ft spinning rod, capable of casting approx. 60 - 80 grams of llead or lure.
I have used a four-piece travel rod made by SHIMANO for the past few years and have landed many good fish to 30 kgs from the shore. I have absolute confidence in this rod and would strongly recomend it. They sell it in the UK as the EXAGE or Beastmaster and here it costs £70.00 and
you can by them over the net from http://www.veals.com This rod would also make a reasonable, but not ideal, boat rod for inshore fishing for kingfish and bonito.
Get the best reel that you can afford.
I opt for a fixed spool for shore fishing, loaded with 12kg Berkley Fireline braid. Once again, you can use this in the boat, but if you're looking for tuna, wahoo or anything bigger, I would look up Alibaba Tours in Castara and fish with them. They'll supply the boat and tackle that's up to the job.
Tight lines
Steve
Staying at Castara, you'll be fishing from the beaches and rocks I guess.
The two main methods available to you are fishing with bait or fishing with lures, so a suitable rod would be a 10ft spinning rod, capable of casting approx. 60 - 80 grams of llead or lure.
I have used a four-piece travel rod made by SHIMANO for the past few years and have landed many good fish to 30 kgs from the shore. I have absolute confidence in this rod and would strongly recomend it. They sell it in the UK as the EXAGE or Beastmaster and here it costs £70.00 and
you can by them over the net from http://www.veals.com This rod would also make a reasonable, but not ideal, boat rod for inshore fishing for kingfish and bonito.
Get the best reel that you can afford.
I opt for a fixed spool for shore fishing, loaded with 12kg Berkley Fireline braid. Once again, you can use this in the boat, but if you're looking for tuna, wahoo or anything bigger, I would look up Alibaba Tours in Castara and fish with them. They'll supply the boat and tackle that's up to the job.
Tight lines
Steve
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Steve Pitts
- Tobago Anorak
- Posts: 710
- Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 11:18 am
- Location: Bristol U.K
Hi Lazlo
I gave you the wrong details for purchase of a suitable rod via Veals Mail Order ( based in Bristol UK) - should read http://www.veals.co.uk . Hope this helps.
Steve
I gave you the wrong details for purchase of a suitable rod via Veals Mail Order ( based in Bristol UK) - should read http://www.veals.co.uk . Hope this helps.
Steve
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Lazlo Suppel