Fishing in Dominican Republic (punta Cana)

[codered]

I know this is a long shot , but has any one been fishing in dominican?

I will be ariving on saturday and looking for a guiding service..

I'm staying at the catalonia resort and dont realy know what to expect in the means of fishing..

I plan on swimming with the dolphins doing some snorcling and for sure a fishing charter with my wife..

any help would be greatly appreciated...thx

[diggyj]

There is a beachfront bazaar in Punta Cana where all the locals sell their wares. Ask there. Also if you walk down to the end of the Punta Cana Grand, you will see a small pier and lots of fishing boats in the water, walk down that way and talk to the locals. They can hook you up. A day trip to Sauna Island might be worth it for you.

 

Ask your tour operator guide when you get down there, they should be in your Hotel sometime. Will tell you when you get picked up from the airport.

 

Dirk..

[fisher]

I stayed there a few years ago. I actually caught a small Baracuda right on the beach in front of the hotel. I was using a rapala fish bait. However during the week, I mostly caught smaller fish using calamari, etc.. that I got from the Hotel restaurants.

 

If you get a chance, you may want to go to BassPro (or equivalent store) and get yourself a few of these very heavy silver jigging baits in the ice fishing section for $3 or so that you can use (just toss them out and retreive fast) for barracuda.

 

Good luck.

[codered]

I have never been to a beach resort .. Do I bring my fishing rod? and gear?

I was under the impression that charters were the only way to go?

[legacey]

I was in Peurto Plata a couple of weeks ago. I picked up a $20 telescopic rod from CTC that came in a nylon carrying case with a small tackle box.

 

Very handy and although I didn't catch any fish, it was a blast.

 

Good luck and please post your results.

 

Cheers,

 

Paul

[Dozer]

THis is what I've gathered in the few times I've been fishing saltwater.

 

Off the beach - HEAVY sinker with a two hooks, both with stinky bait, walk out as far as you can and then cast if your beach cast doesn't produce.

 

Off a peir - same setup works well. Depending on what you wanna catch makes a difference too. If your looking for shark, catch some fish, split them into two, make sure you have a heavy leader, heavy line and one big ass hook. The bloodier the fish the better, re-bait accordingly.

 

Also, make sure you try different techniques ( duh! ). Different depths, small hooks, different bait, etc.

 

Lots of small fish, don't think that since its saltwater the fish are always larger. Careful handling what you catch. If you dont know what it is and how to handle it, don't pick it up! Stingrays, have giant barbs they can use, obviously, best thing for that is to turn it on its back and step on the tail end. Beleive me though, a 30 pounder stingray has LOTS of energy, so be careful. If you're planning on eating it, just cut the tail off and remove the barb just to see what Im' talking about. Pretty neat stuff.

 

If your fishing laguna's, bays, etc. with lots of rocks using stickbaits and jigs, work them fast during the day. I use those cheap Storm jigs, problem is, those toothy punks rip them apart.

 

Ask around! Talk with people, thats my biggest thing I tell everyone. You're at a place where your time is limited, why figure it out when you can have someone tell you. THIS IS HUGE!

 

Crab fishing is cool too. Get some string, attach a peice of chicken leg, you'll feel tap tap tap... SLOWLY pull the string until the crab is near the surface but DONT pull it out. Net 'em out.

 

In terms of bringing your own gear its not a problem! A PVC tube, capped on both ends works well. Check it with your luggage and make sure they put it in fragile. Doesn't cost extra of anything although Uniteed Airways sometimes likes to charge for all luggage

 

... oh, and don't forget your camera!

[Dozer]

Forgot to mention.

 

Find structure. Jetty's ( rock piles that calm the water down ) are hot spots, lots of life around them, there is a stupid amount of life right up between the rocks, careful where you step. Peirs are great as well, boat docks, etc.

[scuro2]

http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon/

For diy and predators, it's all about tides and current. Think predator tactics. Go smaller then bigger, faster then slower, shinny/pretty then darker tones - for lures. Bring pike gear and leaders. Also helps to have flats boots, BP has them, and a very good pair of sun glasses. Having said that, dusk and dawn can be great times too as can the highest tide on a windless moon light night. For bottom feeders think Carp fishing...heavy rods, bait, and weights.

Edited February 19, 2009 by scuro2

[cram]

I fished from shore at 2 resorts i've been to. Both times were a little outside the area that people swim though.

 

Generally i tried two things -- first, ot some fresh shrimp from the restaurant and tossed it out on a hook. Lots of success with little snappers, grunts, etc. Second was to cast out highly castable lures (heavy spoons and weighted minnow baits like xraps).

 

Never got anythign huge, but was always fun.