muskieb Posted December 30, 2008 Report Posted December 30, 2008 Just booked a trip for march break to Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. Anyone on here ever fished down there and have any suggestions? Am hoping to try a little fishing on my own from shore, and really have no clue what I should be taking with me to hopefully be successful. Any ideas, rods, reels, lures, leaders??? Do I need a permit of any sort in order to fish there?
Sinker Posted December 30, 2008 Report Posted December 30, 2008 I was just there in Nov. We got hit by a hurricane, so the fishing was off. There are tons of shore spots to fish though. Bring some simple hooks/line/sinkers, and get some fresh shrimp from the cooks in the kitchen.....a couple peso's will get you what your after, don't worry. I was running a 1/2oz egg sinker, with a #4 baitholder hook for most of my fishing down there.......on 12lb line. They say there is decent cuda fishing off the beach, but while I was there, the waves were like 8fters, so that didnt' happen. I did try though. I was using a med-heavy set up, with 80lb power pro. Mostly tossing large X-raps in white/clown. Anything white seems to be the ticket. The locals wanted my gear bad. I did end up leaving some tackle with the bartender who helped me out the most, in trade for some fine coffee's and rum. So bring extra, they can't get any good gear down there!!! Fish the bridges off the causeway when the tide starts going out. We caught all kinds of small fish, with some nice red snappers thrown in. They are delicious!!! They'll cook them for you if you ask.......just ask the right person You'll prolly want 2 set ups. One Med heavy, and one Med. I'd go with spinning on both. I went more set up for the cudas, but, it just wasn't meant to be. If I had brought more lighter tackle, I would have had a blast with the small stuff from shore. All in all, we had a blast down there, and I'd do it again in a second. Any more q's, just ask. Where abouts are you staying? Sinker
highdrifter Posted December 30, 2008 Report Posted December 30, 2008 I was just there in Nov. We got hit by a hurricane, so the fishing was off. There are tons of shore spots to fish though. Bring some simple hooks/line/sinkers, and get some fresh shrimp from the cooks in the kitchen.....a couple peso's will get you what your after, don't worry. I was running a 1/2oz egg sinker, with a #4 baitholder hook for most of my fishing down there.......on 12lb line. They say there is decent cuda fishing off the beach, but while I was there, the waves were like 8fters, so that didnt' happen. I did try though. I was using a med-heavy set up, with 80lb power pro. Mostly tossing large X-raps in white/clown. Anything white seems to be the ticket. The locals wanted my gear bad. I did end up leaving some tackle with the bartender who helped me out the most, in trade for some fine coffee's and rum. So bring extra, they can't get any good gear down there!!! Fish the bridges off the causeway when the tide starts going out. We caught all kinds of small fish, with some nice red snappers thrown in. They are delicious!!! They'll cook them for you if you ask.......just ask the right person You'll prolly want 2 set ups. One Med heavy, and one Med. I'd go with spinning on both. I went more set up for the cudas, but, it just wasn't meant to be. If I had brought more lighter tackle, I would have had a blast with the small stuff from shore. All in all, we had a blast down there, and I'd do it again in a second. Any more q's, just ask. Where abouts are you staying? Sinker Dude. That's awesome. I'm planning on booking something last minute for the 1st of 2nd week of Febuary. Now I wanna do Cuba. Whereabouts did you stay though? I know location on the Island will make a HUGE difference. Thanks. I'm all gitty now! HD
Sinker Posted December 30, 2008 Report Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) All the resorts on cayo Santa maria are very close. We were at Melia Das Lunas. It won't matter which one your at. Just get a bike for the day, and go touring the bridges. The cayo santa maria area is way out on an island,that is attached to the mainland via a 50km long causeway. There is a bridge every km along the causeway. In other words.......LOTS of places to shore fish. Get in good with the people in the kitchen.....they'll make your fishing opportunities way better!!! They hooked me up real good, for a few peso's. I also asked every bartender where the good fishing was.......get in with the locals...they know where to go. I gave most of our catch to the ones who supplied the best info, and they were VERY appreciative!!! I had booked a deep sea fishing trip on a boat, but the weather just wouldn't allow it to happen. That would be the best way to hook onto something really big, but who knows, the shore fishing could be better in Feb. Sinker Edited December 30, 2008 by Sinker
highdrifter Posted December 30, 2008 Report Posted December 30, 2008 All the resorts on cayo Santa maria are very close. We were at Melia Das Lunas. It won't matter which one your at. Just get a bike for the day, and go touring the bridges. The cayo santa maria area is way out on an island,that is attached to the mainland via a 50km long causeway. There is a bridge every km along the causeway. In other words.......LOTS of places to shore fish. Get in good with the people in the kitchen.....they'll make your fishing opportunities way better!!! They hooked me up real good, for a few peso's. I also asked every bartender where the good fishing was.......get in with the locals...they know where to go. I gave most of our catch to the ones who supplied the best info, and they were VERY appreciative!!! I had booked a deep sea fishing trip on a boat, but the weather just wouldn't allow it to happen. That would be the best way to hook onto something really big, but who knows, the shore fishing could be better in Feb. Sinker Right on. I'll be sure to look into that. You're absolutely right about getting on good with the locals. Was in Punta Cana last Feb and that rule of thumb most certainly applies. We did organize a deep sea fishing charter, but it was outside the resort. Long story short, we escaped with our lives.. Fishing was bunk, but we did see some breaching humpbacks, which was absolutely incredible! This time hopefully, I'll have something better to report. gracias mang, muchos. HD
Master of Bait Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 Hey, that is great stuff - Cayo Santa Maria is awesome. I was there in August and, although I didn't haul them in hand over fist, I saw and had lots of action. Which hotel you staying at? If you're facing the ocean, left of outta luck Cayo Santa Maria down the beach is undeveloped land. A few good cuda hot spots there. Dusk/dawn missions with poppers and spooks across the surface is the ticket. Gimme more details and I'll help if I can. Cheers, MoB
diggyj Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 (edited) If you can get to any of the inland lakes, I highly suggest it because you can catch some monster, and I do mean monster BASS. They average around 10 lbs and go be caught up to 20 lbs plus. Well worth the trip. Take a look at this link for some of the lakes. http://www.cubatravelusa.com/bass-fishing.htm Edited January 2, 2009 by diggyj
muskieb Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Posted January 3, 2009 Thanks for all the advice. Sinker your reply hopefully has enough tips to get me off on my right foot down there. Going to do some more reading and try to find out some more information on the area and just might have a few more questions for you in a while. We have booked at Melia Santa Maria, was a great deal. hopefully the place is as great as the reviews indicate. Cuda would be a blast to get into, let alone all the other unique things that swim down there. Is there much chance of hooking up with a tarpon in that area?
Sinker Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 I didn't hear much about Tarpon. They say night fishing for them is the best way to get them from shore. You'll like your resort, its pretty sweet!! Sinker
live2fish Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 i stayed in the exact resort 3 years ago. There are unlimited shore spots, we rented scooters and drove the casway for miles. For fishing we booked a charter through the resort. Best money ever spent we payed 350 US for a 41 ft boat a captain and mate for 8 hours. Only me and my dad were on the boat. Caught uncountable number of barracuda and about 15 tuna. Problem was getting the tuna in without the sharks taking it. The guys were awesome by the end of the day they stayed up top and me and my dad were running the outriggers and all the gear. ( running salmon charters helped). If you have the chance go for it, it was one of the best fishing trips of my life.
BigSmallie Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 I was there in the spring. Didn't do any fishing but scouted it out. I can't for life of me remember my resorts name but it was right at the end of the causeway, huge place, took up all 2km of it's island. There were some small bass/flats boats launching where the catamaran tours ran from. Saw a couple boats chucking spoons and jerkbaits on the flats when we went by on the catamaran but didn't see any hook ups. There were some good current spots at the end of my island, similar to probably what flows under all those bridges that the locals fish. Saw a couple fish there. There were two guys at my resort with rods and they caught a few little ones. It was really windy the week I was there so didn't see many fish on the beach flats but saw a monster cuda when we went snorkeling. Take some gear and lures along that you don't use and you'll make a lot of friends with the locals.
scuro2 Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Recently there has been a few fishing bans on some of the Cuban islands. More on this thread. http://www.cubamania.com/cuba/showthread.php?t=23681
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