Cayo Coco, CU Write Up

[highdrifter]

Ayight den!

 

To everyone who had a gander at the teaser and waited patiently for the whole write up and who recommended photobucket, many thanks. Apart from a busy week, the size restrictions for pics were a real bummer this time.

 

The Place

 

Cayo Coco CU, some thirty odd clicks from Moron, its closest major city. The causeway that connects to the mainland is some 27km long. We had finally decided on the Krystal Laguna (formerly, el senador) ideally situated just 15 min from the Cayo Coco airport.

 

Our pre-requisites included lots of beach, good snorkeling water, minimum travel time from the airport, decent accommodations, a reasonable price (no more than $1200/pers) and last but not least, great fishing (I had deviously done my research)!! We found all of these and more at the Krystal. It's really a great resort and the workers were kind and courteous. My dad named me after Fidel because he really appreciates the Cuban culture, so I got along great with them, understandably.

 

Another important detail about this resort is the fact that it has an awesome little mangrove swamp that separates it from the beach, and it's interconnected with many docks and paths, perfect for the angler with only Jesus boots as foot apparel.

 

Imagine this lovely site... on Monday morning!!

 

 

 

Our orientation was at 09:15, which didn't give me much time to get my fill before breakfast. I raced down to the water and started blindly chucking baits, but it wasn't until it was time to head in that I found them... I had decided to take a different way back and found a little channel that fed the ocean to the lagoon. The tied was coming in and where it met the slack water was where the fish were hanging out.. A closer look and I realized that the fish were TARPON!

 

Nothing huge, but being a tarpon virgin, I wasn’t about to be selective. I quickly tied on a small jerk bait and cast it just a little ahead of the fish who seemed to be swimming just so, just idling fining along... After a few passes with no reaction, I was beginning to think the fish weren't interested.. On the self proclaimed last cast, I had a taker follow the bait, and amazingly enough, it INHALED it!! It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before.. The take itself was slow and purposeful, almost casual, but when that fish felt metal, HOLY JUMP'N JESUS!!!! Absolute violence.. Just an incredible surge of energy. She was only about 5 pounds, but it was enough to send me into overdrive screaming French curses like a sailor on a blue streak. Unfortunately, the fish was off in less than 2 seconds. But 2 seconds was all it took. I am a changed man!

 

Through frequent trips to the bar and to buffet that day, I spent a couple more hours in the lagoon with not much luck.. The Tarpon had simply vanished. Oh, of course there was loads other little fishies to keep me busy though.

 

A reminder: It's worth the few minutes you spend at Orientation to get the gist of the services offered at the hotel. Also, be sure to check your greeting package after you check in. There's 6 À la Carte restaurants at this resort, and they had pre-booked us for a different restaurant every night we were there. Italian, steak house, Mexican food, seafood, VIP.. Food was so so, but hey, it's Cuba lol.

 

We booked a trip to Moron the next day with our tour operator. First stop was the city. Moron is not Venice, without lacking that casual charm and friendliness that the Cubans are known for though.. I got some nice Rum and cigars, so for me, the trip was a success. We also checked out this local museum, entry was one peso!

 

http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu148/h...nt=MOV00194.flv

 

On the way back to the resort, we were taken to a small lake named el Laguna Redonda. It’s a good sized expanse of sweet water, surrounded by dense mangrove. Apparently it was known for it’s good black bass and tilapia fishing during the eighties, but I was to find out that through over fishing and the introduction of a foreign species of catfish, the lake is now almost void of fish.. So beware! For those doing their research and finding what is promoted to be good fishing on the travel websites, remember their agenda, they want to get you there first! There's talk of trout there too, which was probably mistaken for "trucha", the Spanish word for Black Bass.. a farce really hahah

 

The lake..

 

 

 

A reminder of better days long gone...

 

 

 

Intense greenery, even if the water level is down a meter and a half.. Apparently the channel is natural, but I have my doubts.

 

 

 

Termite mound..

 

 

 

Here's some video of the trek through the channel, back to the launch.. Queue escape music!

 

http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu148/h...nt=MOV00237.flv

 

 

A treat in lieu of dinner.. They served us some fried tilapia with a nice red pepper paste, all the while serenading us with some fine easy listening mariachi style music, save the big hats..

 

 

 

Now I originally said that I wanted nothing fancy, but we quickly decided that we didn't like our room. It wasn't much the room as much as the location of the room.. too close to the nightly entertainment and to drunken wanderers on their way to their beds.. I talked with a guy at reception, and managed to convince him to change our room to a sweet villa on the lagoon! They're all trying to make a buck, so a little cash under the counter goes a long way. Package for this upgrade was priced at $1500/person on Transat, I gave the guy 20 convertible pesos, about S30Can hahahah!

 

 

Check it..

 

 

 

I could even fish from my balcony!

 

 

Ooohh and I met a guy named Ray while I was fishing, and it turned out that he was just as bonkers about the sport as I am.. We got along great right off the bat, and we arranged to have a resort worker take us to Redonda when the weather permitted. It was really was too bad about the weather.. It was too cold and windy to take a stroll on the beach, much less to even attempt at trying my luck.. So my intentions to fish the surf were totally bunked.

 

Still,I contended myself with the lagoon.. Got loads of cuda, biggest was about 2 pounds.. What a blast! Picture sight fishing in crystal clear water, spotting a taker and missing the take because they're just soo lightening fast!

 

A wee cuda, behaving like our esox.. look familiar?

 

 

 

Good thing for me, they were hungry and stupid.. Happy Time.

 

 

 

All the necessary tools..

 

 

 

Needle fish.. The lagoon was a perfect little nursery for these little guys. All the fish were miniatures to their adult counterparts in the open ocean.

 

 

 

Not sure what this is... snapper maybe.

 

 

 

Puffer fish, the world's second most poisonous vertebrae. "But master, we need your skilled hands.. My skilled hands are busy!! Ohh, Mrs. Krabappel.."

 

 

 

We finally had decent weather Friday and our guide Ori gave us the 10-4 that our little expedition was go. We met him at the lobby 08:30.. that morning. First Stop was to his cousins for some bait, lombri was what he called them. Worms!! Then to his other cousin for shrimp.. who hooked us up for a fin behind closed doors.. a family business of Black market bait.. What a concept! lol

 

Just add water..

 

 

We then made our way to el Laguna Redonda.. I saw Ori enquiring about boat rentals and it didn't look promising.. He then proceeded to tell us that we had better try a different lake , that we were wasting our time trying to find bass here.. that there was some trucha in in a lake in the next ciy, Esmeralda.. I look back on it now and from his perspective, he may have been trying to keep us off his lake..

 

Back on the road, we drove through fields of sugarcane (apparently it was making a comeback since the whole Soviet fiasco) and tobacco.. We drove through back roads too eaten away by neglect for our little car.. Getting the car stuck here woulda seriously sucked!!

 

We finally got to the lake and parked in a farmer's cattle field, with permission from the rancher.. We were told there was a launch nearby where we could rent a skiff so we wandered over and checked it out.. It turns out that it wasn't really much of a launch, and that the skiffs belonged to a fisherman.. Ori chatted to him while he was tending to nets (a bad sign), and we ended up deciding that we would fish from shore.. There were no motors with the boats and the wind was just too crazy.

 

The white in the boats are gill nets..

 

 

 

A couple local anglers.. they had either a black bass or a spottie on a stringer.. I was gonna wait to take a pic and shouldn't have, cause they left and I missed my chance.. what a beautiful baasss!!!

 

 

 

A view of the lake.. A classic flood plain with dead trees at the shoreline..

 

 

Anywho, I was as giddy as when I had skipped kindergarten to catch frogs HAH! Our excitement quickly faded though, it was obvious that the cold fronts had pretty much shut everything down.. Apart from the nill bite, the network of dead trees in the lake is like mine field for lures.. After loosing three good baits, I switch to plastics and still caught nothing.. Oh well!

 

We decided on trying the causeway on our way back and again here it was futile.. The tide washing out looked like runoff and there was no firm footing on the bank so we didn't stick around long..

 

I did take this video of a frigate bird riding the winds... Imagine spending the better part of your life cruising the ocean winds for bait balls..

 

http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu148/h...nt=MOV00294.flv

 

 

Soo, to sum things up, travel in April if you plan on doing some fishing Cuba.. Apart from the weather, the water levels were too low to be fishing from shore. I had also arranged a guided bonefish session, cancelled because of all the nasty fronts we had.

 

Here's a few more pics though!! All the sunny shots were taken on our first day there. lol

 

Think I was pushing my luck a little here..

 

 

 

My darling, much more sensible than myself. Glen, think Rosie Odonnell touching her toes, nakid..

 

 

 

Scoping for tarpons, a fat hoagie to help pass the time..

 

 

 

It was great to be ten again!

 

 

 

Best day on the beach..

 

 

 

Wee monstahs!!

 

 

 

 

Laguna Redonda, dry season.

 

 

 

Saturday and Sunday were very nice again and I finally found the tarpon!! They had been hanging out by a pathway in a far corner of the lagoon and again I chucked my LC B Freeze and again hooked into a couple fish... all of which were lost within seconds. Silly of me to have gone barbless..

 

A better look at the bait.

 

 

 

Also spotted what looked to be fish feeding amongst the mangroves, but they may have been protecting a nest.. I have no idea what they were, but I hooked into one on the last day and I think they may have been redfish.. An awesome fighting fish!! I had it on for a couple minutes and it was totally mind boggling just how powerful they are for their size..

 

They may have been tailing bones though... Anyone?

 

http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu148/h...nt=MOV00304.flv

 

 

Okay, Tanya is threatening me!! If you come to Cayo Coco, don't forget your 25 peso airport tax on your return flight.. And it has to be the equivalent of 25 per person, not 2 twenties and one ten, even for a couple. It's got to be 25 even per pax.

 

Hope you enjoyed! Questions?

 

luv,

HD

Edited February 16, 2009 by Spiel
Video Links Fixed

[Greencoachdog]

JHC!!!.. it'sa bout time boy!!!

[Terry]

looks like a great time

[misfish]

Vids wont work,says thier disabled???????

Great report though.

Thanks for sharing.

[highdrifter]

Vids wont work,says thier disabled???????

Great report though.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Ah that's it I surrender. Take me to the firing squad.

[steverowbotham]

Awesome. I stayed at the same resort when it was El Senador, and I also fished that same lagoon for those same little cudas. I also took a taxi to La Redonda and fished for bass, we had a decent day there, but this is 7 years ago.

 

Nice you enjoyed your trip!

[Greencoachdog]

This is a Snapper (Mangrove Snapper)

 

This is not! (Pinfish)

 

Those lil' baby 'Cudas and that Mangrove Snapper are some fine eating if you didn't realize it!

 

Excellent report and pics Bubba mang!!! *insert Babe emoticon here*

 

I'm hoping they'll loosen the travel restrictions from the UC to Cuba so I can visit one day!

Edited February 16, 2009 by GCD

[cram]

I stayed at that resort a couple of years ago. Loved the place. Didn't have that much luck in the lagoons -- all of my fishing was off the rock cliff area (mostly snapper). I can't believe there were tarpon in there!!! Need to go back...

[Roy]

Thanks for that, Fiddle. Glad you both had a nice holiday. You're right about the videos making one seasick.

[Joey]

Super report Fidel, and some shirtless shots, oh my

 

Too bad about the weather, but you were away and had a nice adventure

 

I'll check back later to see if the vids work.

 

Joey

[Crazyhook]

nice report !!!! brought back some good memorires for sure

Some good fishing there,,, the big fish are smart though!

[oxcowboy]

nice report, got me itching to do a littlel cancun fishing again. since we cant go to cuba here in the states.

 

 

jason

[scuro2]

Cuba, I've been three times and going back again on March break and can't wait. Your report has me drooling all the more. I've heard the inland lakes are a waste of time. Promises of 10-20 pound bass, but in reality any area that can be fished by locals will be fished hard. I've never seen a report from Cuba with any bass. For them protein is the issue. Any area accessible to locals will be not that great fishing wise. Catfish would be fished just as hard. Even those tourist islands receive some local pressure. It's a plum job to work on the tourist islands, and a major perk for some of them is to allowed to stay on during their off time. I have been going to resort where there were no Tarpon. I'll be on the neighbouring island, where there are Tarpon channels. Like you I can't wait to hook into my first one!

Edited February 16, 2009 by scuro2

[Crazyhook]

Dude there is tarpon where you are going... I will send you a map

[PatrickGG]

Fidel in Fidel Land! Looked like you had a great time and fishing right at your door step sounds excellent i have yet to take a trip down south, couple of more months and the pike spring bite will be on!!!

[highdrifter]

This is a Snapper (Mangrove Snapper)

 

This is not! (Pinfish)

 

Those lil' baby 'Cudas and that Mangrove Snapper are some fine eating if you didn't realize it!

 

Excellent report and pics Bubba mang!!! *insert Babe emoticon here*

 

I'm hoping they'll loosen the travel restrictions from the UC to Cuba so I can visit one day!

 

Dawg you're a bonified connoisseur!! You're spoiled down there in the deep south, Cubans have it pretty tough... Looks like we'll have to wait for Raul to pass along the torch!!

[highdrifter]

Thanks for that, Fiddle. Glad you both had a nice holiday. You're right about the videos making one seasick.

 

They work for you Roy?!

 

Aide moué don taberns!

[theRJ]

Great report. Too bad the weather wasn't condusive for a great week of fishing but at least everything else worked out well for ya.

Apparently you probably could have slipped the guy at the front desk a couple Rapala's for the upgrade. My parents always raid

my tackle box for old lures before heading to Cuba to give as tips.

 

Cheers

RJ

[Sinker]

Sounds like a blast Fidel! Makes me want to go back again already!! Your weather was similar to what we had, but still a great time!!!

 

I pasted the vids in a new browser and they worked fine.

 

Sinker

[snag]

About bloody time!

 

We're not getting any younger around here (GCD et al)

 

Thanks for the "private" pics of the trip.

 

GCD paid handsomely for them. Consider the irony for a second.

 

 

Now get back to work!

[highdrifter]

Awesome. I stayed at the same resort when it was El Senador, and I also fished that same lagoon for those same little cudas. I also took a taxi to La Redonda and fished for bass, we had a decent day there, but this is 7 years ago.

 

Nice you enjoyed your trip!

 

Ah thanks mang. By decent, what do you mean exactly? I may have to just go with my instincts next time I travel there!

[scuro2]

Dude there is tarpon where you are going... I will send you a map

Maps are very hard to come by...homemade or published...and detail of even the island would be appreciated!

[Spiel]

ohhhhhhh TARPON!

[Jigger]

Great read to have with the morning coffee! Sounds like you had a great time. Hopefully the weather co-operates with you the next time you go. Thanks for sharing.

[Crazyhook]

This fish is not a Pinfish - its a grunt