Recent Trip to Cuba
It was great to be back in Cuba, and although it was going to be a family holiday - the fly rods went in the suitcase to grab a few days fishing!. I had not been in December before, so did not know what to expect. Most days the wind was very strong and although very warm, the sun kept disappearing behind large clouds, so not the best for sight fishing.
I was with my son in law, Andy, who although a very good carp fisherman had not got a lot of experience in fly fishing and especially casting into such a stiff wind, so we tried to pick our days with care.
There was a large flats about a mile from the hotel so we decided to check things out and see how we got on. The day was great and gave Andy a chance to practice casting in windy conditions and me a chance to get my eyes in focus for spotting bonefish. We only saw a couple of fish but thats how bonefishing goes, some days the fish are not on particular flats or have been and gone. We met a local fisherman on our way back who told us that this flat was not at its best at this time of the year so we felt a bit better and drank a well earned beer.
A couple of days later, we arranged a day out with a local guide who picked us up in the morning and took us for a days fishing amongst the mangroves. We walked all day and saw everything from flamingos to wild boar roaming the flats.
The fish that we caught, were all in the 6 - 9lb range and a couple of fish broke us off at 16lb tippet - bigger fish than I had seen on previous visits. A great day out and by the time the taxi came to pick us up, we were ready to go back and shower and relax with some nice cold beers, after all it was Christmas!.
Christmas came and went so we decided to have a day with a guide who would take us out on a skip and have a better chance at catching some of the larger bonefish that seem to be on the flats in December. One of the guests staying at the hotel had never been on a flats skip and had only fished for bonefish a couple of times so we invited him to come along with us for the day.
The day arrived and after a long taxi ride we arrived at Paredon Grande for a day out with our guide Alex. Before we got into the boat, Alex had a look at all our gear and shook his head at our 16lb tippets saying that the fish are a lot bigger at this time of year and you need at least 20lb plus. That got us all excited and as we arrived at the first flats, a shoal of permit cruised past before anyone could get a cast to them. By now I was full of expectation as I have yet to land a permit having hooked and lost one after 35 minutes of hard fighting.
The morning went well but the wind was making things difficult for both beginners who struggled to put a line out into the wind. There is nothing that can prepare you for the conditions and the only thing is to practice, practice, practice on very windy days with imaginery targets coming at you from all angles. I managed five medium sized fish but the large specimens either would not take the fly or broke off and even straightened the hook on one occasion. By now a large storm was looming and Alex was beginning to look worried so we decided to head back nearer to base. The storm followed us in so unfortunatley we had to finish fishing a little bit earlier than we would have liked to.
As a treat, Alex got three fresh lobsters from one of the locals and cooked them in the lodge for us to eat before we headed back to the hotel. All in all, a great day and we all had some great memories and stories to tell when we got back to the hotel.
The good thing about fishing is that you never stop learning and every day fishing is a new experience. I dont know if I will get back in December again but either way I will make sure that I have the full range of leaders just in case. The two beginners have learnt alot and although I put a heavier line on to get their rods loading quicker there is no substitute for being able to haul and cast a reasonable line.
Bonefish are like ghosts on the flats, very difficult to see and when you do see them it's time to get the fly in the air and in front of the fish without delay. Sometimes you may be lucky and they will ignore a bad cast but most times any splash and the ghost disappears back into the background as quickly as they appeared. Practise keeping the fly in one hand with enough line out of the tip ring to load the rod as quickly as possible, there is no time to unhook the fly and pull line off the reel, the fish is now nearly upon you and the chance of scaring him a lot greater.
Anyone going, feel free to get in touch and I will try and give you all the advice I can or better still look up your local A.A.P.G.A.I Instructor and book a lesson to help with the casting problems these conditions bring.
Best of luck and Tightlines
