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Varadero, Cuba Report


tonyb

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Well I'll keep this short and sweet.

 

Had an awesome time at Sandals Royal Hicacos near Varadero, Cuba.

 

I picked up a 3-piece travel rod from St. Croix to do some fishing from shore while I was there. I caught onto a pattern for Barracuda using a Rapala Skitterwalk using a turbo-charged retrieve/hyper walk-the-dog combination I named the 'Cuda Dance :D

 

Here are some spots I tried and my first and new personal best Barracuda!

 

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I also learned that the off-shore fishing is not really worth the money on N. Shore of Cuba (local angler advice) as they severly net all species with reckless abandon.

 

Most of the other 30+ hits I had on the Skitterwalk were small cuda's < 5lbs and I couldn't get the hooks into em with my fast-paced topwater retrieve.

 

I also tried a lot of other baits and while I had many follows, I could only trigger strikes on the ultra-fast presentation of the Skitterwalk.

 

Berkley Gulp! 3" shrimp are a decent option for targetting smaller fish. I just rigged it on a 2/0 hook with no weight and had some hits on that as well.

 

Cohiba's, Havana Club, beautiful beach (Among Top 10 worldwide), and Barracuda what else could you ask for? :D

 

Cheers,

Tony

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Setomonkey, the water was anywhere from 6-15ft. I couldn't believe the teeth on a Barracuda, much more aggresive than a Pike or even Musky. The lure is going into a shadow box with a photo of the fish, big teeth marks in the hard plastic Skitterwalk now ;)

 

I saw some Puffers, needlefish, various small reef fish, and small yellowtails chasing bait, all my lures were too big for them, seemed to be the story all week.

 

I also had a Permit-looking fish (estimated around 15lbs) inhale my 3" Gulp! shrimp and as soon as I set the hook it spazzed and started peeling off a big run, then the braid must have cut into itself on the spool of the reel tightening up the line and the 30lb flouro leader detonated making a cracking whip sound lol.

 

Saltwater fish are faster and more powerful than anything I have caught in freshwater. It's really awesome actually.

 

Tony

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Hey Tony...Hows the fight in them? From the look of them they just have to be a major fight. I had a huge one swim beside me in Grand Cayman 2yrs ago snorkeling. When I first seen it I thought it was the meanest looking muskie I ever seen. :w00t: Thought to myself that would be awesome to hook into.

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Insane fight on that fish Nippissing, 2 cartwheel style jumps turning the water into a froth, several screaming runs and the fish even tried to rub my lure off on the bottom. It fought like it was twice the size, simply amazing.

 

I consider myself lucky since that spot was shallow enough for me to hop down off the breakwall and into the water to land it. Plan B in other deeper areas was 55lb Flouro and a 3/0 Treble to try to hook the lure in the fish's mouth and then hoist it up.

:)

 

Tony

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Thats one of my dream trips for fishing. Somewhere in the tropics searching for cudas. Others for me include west coast for salmon (achieved 2 years a go), west coast winter steelhead (yet to be achieved), florida for bass (achieved), sailfish (big goal) , east coast for atlantics and big brookies (possible next year and my buddys family just bought a house out there)

 

All in all, id say not bad for a 17 year old!

 

Nice lookin 'cuda you got there, still got all fingers and toes?

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I packed needle-nosed pliers to save my fingers ;)

 

Kemper, Guatemala is the place for you if you want sailfish. World renowned. I've also heard Costa Rica and Panama have some great sails.

 

jeffw, thanks I do believe that is the fish I hooked into.

 

Crevalle Jack

jackcre.jpg

 

Interesting thing about this fish is that 3-5lbs is common, the one I hooked had to be between 14-16lbs. :o

 

Cheers,

Tony

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I packed needle-nosed pliers to save my fingers ;)

 

Kemper, Guatemala is the place for you if you want sailfish. World renowned. I've also heard Costa Rica and Panama have some great sails.

 

jeffw, thanks I do believe that is the fish I hooked into.

 

Crevalle Jack

jackcre.jpg

 

Interesting thing about this fish is that 3-5lbs is common, the one I hooked had to be between 14-16lbs. :o

 

Cheers,

Tony

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