'bago fishing report march 2009
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:31 am
Back from an incredible two week stay in Tobago so here is a summary of how I got on with fishing in the tropics.
After a gruelling hour and forty minutes queing at the airport for customs clearance etc we still had about two hours till sundown so I decided to give it a go once we settled down at our rented cottage in the Mount Pleasant area. I drove down to the nearest beach (Grange ) with a rod and some lures in hope of getting lucky on the first day. Sadly I ended up doing a quick shopping for groceries instead of fishing due to incredibly rough sea, it was blasting so hard that even the wall couldn't stop the water splashing through onto the road. Unfortunately it went on for about a week or so , making beach/rock fishing almost impossible. (the sea was so rough that the Australians were riding the waves at P Point)
Next morning I visited P Point for an early spinning session. Plenty of birds were hitting the surface in a feeding frenzy so I thought It could be a good chance. After a few casts I had a nice take but I failed to land it. ( probably a bonefish or a snook I thought). I fished for another hour or so with no result. NO catch but a lovely morning.
Went to Canoe Bay around 10 am. I flyfished the flats where I was rewarded with a lovely snapper.(first fish ever on fly,
) Good start I thought but nothing came afterwards.
The rough conditions continued taking its toll on my chances on the Caribbean side so I moved on to the Atlantic in search of fish. The best bet was the far end of Little Rockly Bay from the concrete platform where mostly the locals gather for fishing in the mornings and evenings. I tried spinning but I switched to float and bottom fishing as they proved more productive. I caught lots of snappers, grunts, bar jacks, palometas, ladyfish and god only knows what else using prawns and bits of flying fish for baits. Nothing of remarkable size but great fun. It went on like this for the coming days.
One morning after a blank session at Sandy Point (huge waves, wasn't even able to get close to the jetties) I visited Bucco bay for a few casts. Not a sniff but a worthwile visit as I met Alan a keen fisherman who'd lived on Tobago for the past eight years. He invited me for a late afternoon/night fishing saying that mornings aren't as prolific as nights at high tide. I joined him and his pal Dave at Grange beach. Busy night with numerous missed bites in the midst of chatting though Dave pulled in a snapper just before we decided to call it a day/night...
The most memorable night session took place at Bucco where we fished from the concrete jetty targeting the area in front of the moored fishing boats.(low tide) Alan'd had many succesful nights there so I was filled with high hopes. Nothing for me for the first forty minutes but Alan lost a huge snapper. The real action came about twenty minutes later when the tarpons appeared. I had three hook-ups (big tarpons) but as in many cases all lost just before landing
. Alan also lost a big one.
Being bitten by the tarpon bug I decided to call Kester to arrange for a morning fishing. Met up at P Point and headed for his usual spots. The first bunch of tarpons were spotted just a few hundred meters from the jetty on the strech towards Sandy Point. We moored up , fished for about an hour with live baits but were ignored completely. Then we moved on along Sandy Point and made a stop just by R Crusoe's cave which turned out to be the place to hit the jackpot. Carried on with livebaits for whatever we may come accross. I landed two tarpons out of three ( of course the biggest one got away once again, believe it or not...) and a jack . I was absolutely bushed so I suggested that we should leave and aim for someting else (bonefish) in the lighter league. Next stop came just a few hundred meters down at Friendship. Baited with live crabs on float I had three bonefish takes in twenty minutes, landed two. What an absolutely unforgettable morning. JUst a few words about Kester and his service, as Steve and some others said it was worth every penny. He is really such a nice guy with an incredible knowledge.
All in all an awesome vacation in every sense. We'll surely be back before too long.
Robert
After a gruelling hour and forty minutes queing at the airport for customs clearance etc we still had about two hours till sundown so I decided to give it a go once we settled down at our rented cottage in the Mount Pleasant area. I drove down to the nearest beach (Grange ) with a rod and some lures in hope of getting lucky on the first day. Sadly I ended up doing a quick shopping for groceries instead of fishing due to incredibly rough sea, it was blasting so hard that even the wall couldn't stop the water splashing through onto the road. Unfortunately it went on for about a week or so , making beach/rock fishing almost impossible. (the sea was so rough that the Australians were riding the waves at P Point)
Next morning I visited P Point for an early spinning session. Plenty of birds were hitting the surface in a feeding frenzy so I thought It could be a good chance. After a few casts I had a nice take but I failed to land it. ( probably a bonefish or a snook I thought). I fished for another hour or so with no result. NO catch but a lovely morning.
Went to Canoe Bay around 10 am. I flyfished the flats where I was rewarded with a lovely snapper.(first fish ever on fly,
) Good start I thought but nothing came afterwards. The rough conditions continued taking its toll on my chances on the Caribbean side so I moved on to the Atlantic in search of fish. The best bet was the far end of Little Rockly Bay from the concrete platform where mostly the locals gather for fishing in the mornings and evenings. I tried spinning but I switched to float and bottom fishing as they proved more productive. I caught lots of snappers, grunts, bar jacks, palometas, ladyfish and god only knows what else using prawns and bits of flying fish for baits. Nothing of remarkable size but great fun. It went on like this for the coming days.
One morning after a blank session at Sandy Point (huge waves, wasn't even able to get close to the jetties) I visited Bucco bay for a few casts. Not a sniff but a worthwile visit as I met Alan a keen fisherman who'd lived on Tobago for the past eight years. He invited me for a late afternoon/night fishing saying that mornings aren't as prolific as nights at high tide. I joined him and his pal Dave at Grange beach. Busy night with numerous missed bites in the midst of chatting though Dave pulled in a snapper just before we decided to call it a day/night...
The most memorable night session took place at Bucco where we fished from the concrete jetty targeting the area in front of the moored fishing boats.(low tide) Alan'd had many succesful nights there so I was filled with high hopes. Nothing for me for the first forty minutes but Alan lost a huge snapper. The real action came about twenty minutes later when the tarpons appeared. I had three hook-ups (big tarpons) but as in many cases all lost just before landing
. Alan also lost a big one. Being bitten by the tarpon bug I decided to call Kester to arrange for a morning fishing. Met up at P Point and headed for his usual spots. The first bunch of tarpons were spotted just a few hundred meters from the jetty on the strech towards Sandy Point. We moored up , fished for about an hour with live baits but were ignored completely. Then we moved on along Sandy Point and made a stop just by R Crusoe's cave which turned out to be the place to hit the jackpot. Carried on with livebaits for whatever we may come accross. I landed two tarpons out of three ( of course the biggest one got away once again, believe it or not...) and a jack . I was absolutely bushed so I suggested that we should leave and aim for someting else (bonefish) in the lighter league. Next stop came just a few hundred meters down at Friendship. Baited with live crabs on float I had three bonefish takes in twenty minutes, landed two. What an absolutely unforgettable morning. JUst a few words about Kester and his service, as Steve and some others said it was worth every penny. He is really such a nice guy with an incredible knowledge.
All in all an awesome vacation in every sense. We'll surely be back before too long.
Robert