Early Morning Fishing

[Henry Thompson]

I'll be visiting Tobago in January, staying in the Crown Point area. It had been my intention to hire a car for two weeks and use this to travel to different beaches early in the morning with the intention of fishing along with my 10 year old son. Having read the many reports of thugs with cutlasses I'm very concerned that this not be a wise thing to do. I appreciate that the perception of risk is very much an individual thing and coming from Northern Ireland I'd probably be a bit less sensitive than most. I understand that there are risks in everything that we do, but I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't taken account of the risk and exposed him unnecessarily to the threat of violence.

I know that we could stay safe if we only fished in the company of local fishing guides and it would certainly be my intention to do this on a couple of days, but no more than a couple due to the cost. And to be honest roaming the beaches together early in the morning with rods in hand was probably the main reason we wanted to go to Tobago in the first place.

I would be grateful for any comments that members (particularly local members) may wish to make in regard to the risks associated with early morning travel/fishing.

[Hugh S]

I doubt you need to worry. All the bad guys will be sound asleep at that hour.

[Steve Pitts]

Hi Henry

I appreciate your concern and too be honest, as someone who fishes a lot at first light, it can be a little un-nerving fishing in the dark anywhere in the world.

I have fished Crown Point many dozens of times over the years and have only ever experienced good natured and helpful people fishing there at dawn. Expect snook, tarpon and jacks.

By the way - if no-one else is fishing at Crown Point, it probably means that the fish are somewhere else .

The jetty in front of the Sandy Point Hotel is a very convenient spot and can produce medium-sized tarpon on lures and float-fished baits.

Grange is another good beach to fish in the early morning for jacks & tarpon and and the flat in front of the Conrado hotel on the Pigeon Point Rd can hold tarpon and bonefish very early in the a.m.

Further North, Englishmans Bay and Castara are wonderful beaches to fish early, but are a good hour's drive and not advisable if you don't know the roads well.

Take the usual precautions, like not leaving tackle unattended and watch out for the odd big breaker if the sea is rough (not often) and don't be late home for breakfast if you want to keep those brownie points.

In addition to the fishing pages on myTobago (see the drop-downs in the Out & About tab at the top of the page) there are losts of pages on Mike Ladle's website covering the fishing around Tobago.
Here are a few links -

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch173.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch174.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch140.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch141.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch142.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch78.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/tackle/tackle162.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/tackle/tackle161.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/tackle/tackle60.html

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch1000.html

Have a great time and catch a few for me!

Cheers
Steve

[Henry Thompson]

Steve,

Thanks for the location information. I feel more reassured by your comments and will (unless advised otherwise when I'm actually there) fish in the mornings around sunrise and before wife-up. My wifes has never been a morning person (especially on holidays) and a large night-cap may help secure an extra hours fishing.

Time to get cracking on the fly tying.

Thanks again,
Henry

[Steve Pitts]

Time to get cracking on the fly tying.

Hi Henry

If you are planning on fly fishing then you may be interested in this thread, if you haven't already seen it.
http://www.mytobago.info/forum/viewtopi ... &sk=t&sd=a

Things can be hit and miss with regard to fly fishing, so I would always recommend taking a rod and reel suitable for spinning and/or bait fishing along too in case the fly fishing is slow.

A good spot to try with the fly is the flat to the right of Canoe Bay.
Bonefish, tarpon, jacks and barracuda have all been caught here on fly and spin gear. It's a nice spot for the family to chill out too.
Fish from low water up for the first 2 hours of the flood tide. The fish will be coming from the direction of the airport onto the flat as the tide rises. If you can fish the surf line as it pushes onto the flat then you stand a good chance of at least seeing some bones. Catching them on the fly is not easy, but they do seem to prefer clousers and small deceivers rather than charlies and gotchas. We've had them on 6 inch plugs, so I would say that a baitfish patern works better than a shrimp.

I've also had snook against the mangroves at high water.
The tarpon aren't big here, but a 10 pounder on an 8 weight in waist-deep water is a real blast.

Going back to your original question about safety - one place that I would avoid is Buccoo.
Some of the local lads target bathers and tourists by dragging anything unattended into the bushes that back the beach even in broad daylight.

Cheers
Steve

[Henry Thompson]

Steve

Thanks for the additional information, I'll certainly be taking along a couple of spinning rods. I plan to print of a lot of the information you and others have generously posted on the forum and begin making up a map with the 'hot-spots',checking out tide tables etc for the two week period that I'll be there so that I can put together a plan. Showed the pics on your pal Mike's site to my boy and he's well up for it.

Thanks again