I am not normally one for looking back but my 2009 CUBAN season was so memorable that i just cannot forget some of the fishing highlights of the year.
My 2009-hosted weeks were certainly some of the best fishing I have experienced in Cuba and I have been fishing there for eleven years now so let me share some of the years highlights with you.
My first hosted week to Jardines de la Reina was in mid March on the floating hotel Tortuga where my group enjoyed some great fly fishing for bonefish, with several fish measuring 26 and 28ins that puts them in the 7lb to 8lb category and plenty of 3lb to 4lb bones to keep every body happy. Permit the holy grail of the flats, yes we had plenty of shots but sadly no takers, but that's why permit are rated one of the most difficult of all the flats fish to take on a fly. The big surprise of the week was the numbers of big tarpon we saw, fish from 60lb to touching the magic 100lb. Mark. March is normally ok for 10lb to 40lb mangrove fish but these big bruisers were on the flats and my fishing partner Richard Ward got a superb Tarpon to the boat that we all estimated to be 100lb at the very least.
The follow on week was to the Isle de la Juventud at the hotel Rancho, my entire group again enjoyed some excellent tarpon action with a good mix of fish from 20lb mangrove tarps to 80lb channel kings. All the guys were very very,happy!
Our Cuban guide was the world renowned Coki and on our third day took Richard and myself to the farthest area to the north of the archipelago. A good 11/2 hour run, so far in fact you loose sight of the Isle dela Juventud and you can see the mountains in the province of Piner del Rio. This was my first time to this area but Richard had been there the previous year with Coki and as we past one flat Richard told me "that's where I had my big permit last year."
Big is not enough to describe Richard's big permit, 40lb at least then he had a 70lb tarpon and a 6lb bonefish! Now that is one hell of a grand slam and it is going to take some beating.
As we approached the tarpon area we were amazed to see literally thousands of cormorants and as Coki shut down the engine and started to pole into a bay we could see the reason why, we were poling through sardine soup, the cormorants were gorging themselves so much so they could not fly!
The only way they could get airborne was to loose weight by regurgitating some of the sardines, the surface of the bay was covered in floating dead sardines, big slabs of silver kings were rolling all over the bay. Best of all it was my turn at the front for my 30 minutes fishing. Cast after cast nothing; I could not believe with so many tarpon I did not have even get so much as a pull. Richard also failed to get a hook up when it was his turn up front. We changed fly so many times but these Tarpon only seemed to want the sardines. Preoccupation was the name of the game. So Richard searched through his tarpon flies and came across an Enrico Pugllisi size 1/0 Herring pattern, we quickly rigged up a leader and Richard was up front covering the rolling tarpon. Just as we thought the Enrico pattern was going to fail, a tarpon took the fly just as the leader was coming out of the water for another cast, Richard strip struck and this brute of a tarpon came two thirds of its body length to of the water only 3ft from the side of the skiff, how big, at least 90lbs but I would say nearer 100lbs if that fish had fallen towards us it would have been in the boat and would have wiped us out. I saw it happen one time when I was fishing in the Florida Keys.100lbs of fresh tarpon in a skiff is not a situation you want to experience.
Sadly after another jump the tarpon threw the fly and was gone. We did however, manage to hook up anther six Tarpon getting three around the 70lbs mark to the boat but when we left the Enrico Pugllisi fly was in a sorry state and we were designing the bleeding dead sardine pattern that was going to take these Tarpon apart next time we came to Cuba.!
Looking back we realised, full moon, all those sardines, the tarpon must have gorged themselves at night. But I will never forget that day.!
So we came back with another group to Tortuga in mid May, armed of course with boxes of bleeding sardine patterns. Our guide was our good friend Bemba who wanted us desperately to get a permit grand slam. Bemba put us on the fish but in true permit fashion they were having none of our efforts. Plan two, tarpon; so on Bembas advice we ran the 1 1/2 hours up the archipelago across the Boca Grande channel. Bemba suggested we anchor the skiff and wait for the tarpon to come to us and he was so confidant they would come we decided to give it an hour. Within 30minutes Bemba pointed out a pod of six tarpon coming to wards us .
At 60 ft Richard made his cast and hooked up on a nice Tarpon of 70lbs.That day sometimes having to wait over an hour we had tarpon in singles and small pods coming towards us all day. All of these fish were over the size of the 70lb tarpon Richard landed earlier. Most were 80 to 90 lbs. we hooked up 14 fish that day landing 8 the best going 90lbs to 100lbs
We swore Bemba to secrecy and for the rest of that week we returned, staked out on the same spot and enjoyed the best tarpon fishing we have ever experienced at Jardines de la Reina. Between us I recon we hooked up over 100 big tarpon from 70 to 100lbs plus, with bigger fish seen and lost. The following week we were going onto Isle de la Juventud with another of my groups, I remember saying to Richard "I don' t want to go, it cant get any better than this "Wrong!
Some of my party also had exceptional sport spinning and trolling along the reef. David Barden landed a brute of a Cubera snapper that was pushing a good 50lbs. There was also good numbers of kingfish to 40lbs, big jacks, and some beefy grouper, showing what a diverse variety of species that can be caught at Jardines de la Reina.
We then had a follow on week at the Isle of Youth based at the Hotel Rancho with our guide and good friend Coki We concentrated our fishing in the south of the Archipelago around Punte del Este and Cayo Compos. This was undoubtedly to be the best tarpon fishing we had ever experienced in Cuba, classic Florida Keys style sight fishing for big tarpon cruising down clear water sandy flats with the guide polling the skiff to intercept the fish. We had several double hook ups with 70 and 80lb tarpon hooked up at the same time.
Richard had one hell of a scrap with a big tarpon which he hooked within 5ft of the skiff, the fish tore of all the coiled fly line in one big tangle which managed to clear all but the top rings of his 12 weight SAGE before pulling of the top section and the running 100 yards plus with the tangled line and top section. This fish should have got away but with Coki over the side in 4ft of water untangling the fly line and the top back on the rod Richard got the fish to the boat, we which we all agreed was a 100lb fish. A memorable day for us all!.
So it continued for the rest of the week tarpon every day, snook to 14lbs big mutton snappers and guess what they all loved the Bleeding Sardine fly.
S
o in November with a small group of 5 we were back and based on the Beautiful Yacht the Halcon, we didn’t expect there to be lots of tarpon at this time of year so Richard and I with our guide Coki decided to concentrate on trying for a permit grand slam. The others, two of which were on only there second and third salt-water fly trip, decided to go for whatever came along. For the first two days, we had 9 good shots at permit, but no eaters then on the third day we saw permit number 10 tailing and feeding round some coral heads. My second cast with a Mauro Shrimp and I was hooked up, then the fun started with permit weaving the backing around 3 big coral heads. Coke without any hesitation dived in to free the backing, I am playing the permit while Richards drives the skiff, talk about team work!
However, it all ended with a superb 20lb permit in the Skiff, three happy smiling people. One and a half hours later bonefish and tarpon landed grand slam done and dusted. There was more to come Barry Hatton on only his second saltwater trip got a baby permit, then a bonefish, and a tarpon for his first grand slam. Bill Sowerbutts on only his third saltwater trip got a 15lb permit, a bonefish and just failed to land a tarpon that would give him his first grand slam Then on our last morning 30 minutes before we were due to return to the Halcon for our return to the Cuban mainland I landed anther permit of 15lbs.What a week! This was my 10th permit on a fly and Richard and mine 6th Cuban Grand Slams.
What a year I think you'll agree, so now you know why looking back at 2009 I cannot wait to get back to Cuba’s fantastic salt water fly fishing.
Why not join one of my hosted weeks in 2010 and experience some of finest salt-water fly fishing in the northern hemisphere.
Regards
Jack Simpson.
DATES OF MY 2010 HOSTED WEEKS.
Isle of YouthFrom 14/05/2010
To 24/05/2010
Sold out
Jardines de la Reina Cuba From 19/03/2010
To 28/03/2010
Available
From 14/05/2010
To 23/05/2010
Available
