Fishing in Scarborough

[John Randall]

Hi All

I’m a long time reader of this forum and frequent visitor to Tobago. This is my first ever post!!

During my last trip (May) I had some tremendous action at Sandy Point from the jetties. Sadly I didn’t manage to land a Tarpon – the gear I took wasn’t really up to the challenge – but I hooked and fought a few and also managed to land some good sized garfish, snapper, moray eels and various other bits and pieces.

One night I was supposed to go fishing in Scarborough with a couple of the guys who worked in our hotel. They raved about how good it was but come the evening of the trip neither of them showed!!

My question is has anyone fished the harbour at Scarborough and if so what is the best method and what could I expect in terms of species? Moreover is it safe for a tourist to hang around there? Some parts of Tobago have a reputation for being dangerous although personally I’ve never experienced any problems.

Anyway, any tips would be much appreciated

Regards

John

[Steve Wooler]

Hi John

Welcome aboard. I'm delighted that we have converted another "lurker". Horrible name and only gentle teasing intended.

I keep my tackle well zipped up, so am not best placed to advise where you might find the best action, but hopefully Steve Pitts or one of our other fishing aficionados will be able to advise you.

[Robert T]

Hi John,

I've never fished the habor before but I've had numerous sessions in Bacolet Bay which can be found around the far end of Scarborough. Bacolet can provide excellent sport if the water is not too rough or not too calm.



Rob

[John Randall]

Hi John,

I've never fished the habor before but I've had numerous sessions in Bacolet Bay which can be found around the far end of Scarborough. Bacolet can provide excellent sport if the water is not too rough or not too calm.



Rob

Hi Rob

Thanks for the reply! I had a dekho at the pics of Bacolet Bay – that surf looks promising!! My wife (originally from Trinidad) claims to have caught an eel there years ago on a handline. Care to elaborate on tactics??

To give you some background I usually stay in the Crown Point area and before my last trip in May I’d never attempted to fish Tobago seriously. Crown Point offers some excellent sport but I found it difficult to fish as the conditions are snaggy and I’m not a fan of lure fishing. I’m a bait fisherman through and through. I did reasonably well with float fished livebaits from the jetties at Sandy Point – the tarpon hit them with the force of a speeding truck!

I tried the rocks to the left of Stone Haven Bay as they looked highly promising – there was about 20 feet of water directly beneath me at high tide. Unfortunately nothing touched by ledgered deadbaits.

I’m looking for some places where I can comfortably bottom fish without losing rig after rig!!

Cheers

John

[Robert T]

Hi John,

Sorry it took me some time to reply.

I guess the best approach in Bacolet is either with artificials or live bait alongside the rocks. (though I caught my biggest snook in the middle of the bay in knee-deep water ). I always use a short lenght of wire or heavy mono leader attached to the mainline.

If it is bottom fishing you prefer I recommend Grange after sundown at high tide. You surely won't lose a lot of tackle there as the bottom of the bay is mostly sandy.



Rob