chong Posted January 23, 2012 Report Posted January 23, 2012 Heading to Montego Bay in April,does anyone know if i need a fishing license? I saw on the net there are snook and tarpon,does anyone know where i can go?
Ralph Field Posted January 23, 2012 Report Posted January 23, 2012 You will need a boat to get beyond the reef which surrounds the island. We didn't see anyone fishing from shore.
chong Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Posted January 23, 2012 Any rivers near by that might have tarpon or snook?
Ralph Field Posted January 23, 2012 Report Posted January 23, 2012 We past over a few rivers on side trips we took, but the only river we saw anyone fishing in was the Black River and the fish that I saw landed were small. The Black River is on the opposite side of the island.
rhymobot Posted January 23, 2012 Report Posted January 23, 2012 Heading to Montego Bay in April,does anyone know if i need a fishing license? I saw on the net there are snook and tarpon,does anyone know where i can go? I'm of Jamaican heritage and Jamaica is not great for fishing. Of the many many times I've been to Jamaica, I only fished a few times. I'm a semi-serious angler now. So I'm no expert. And as far as I'm aware a licence is not required. But like others said, you have to get out there to find good fish. But even when my friends went deep sea they only came back with a single cuda, which was a nice size. I've seen people fish off of boats in the black river which is basically directly south of montego bay but like an hour's drive. They have tour boats that take you along to see gators and birds and you may be able to troll off of it while going along. There are snook in the black river. I guess you should ask first any tour rep at the hotel. At the mouth of the black river where it empties it's very dirty (hence the name black river) and tonnes of marine life feeding there but I saw tonnes of commercial canoe fishermen not far off shore but have no clue if you can get someone to take you out in a boat there. That place is known for seafood so there's lots of good size fish there. When I was younger, going back to the 90s there were a couple of places with stocked ponds that were located up in the hills. Full of tilapia. You catch and they cook 'em for you. I believe they have closed. Not sure if that's your thing. If so then try googling for something similar. The place I went a few times was called Goshen. As for Mobay itself, fishing when I was younger from piers at hotels only produced small fish like 1lb and under. Mind you I remember catching half a fish as in a bigger fish (possibly cuda?) chomped on them while being reeled in so decent fish are there but limited. I remember being on a glass bottom boat near margaritaville. We weren't all that far from shore. The place that operates it has an office close to the right side of margaritaville. But this was well over 10 years ago. Anyway, I do remember seeing tonnes of marine life down there in the corals including turtles and fish. But my memory of this is foggy so no idea how big they were or what kinds of fish. The waters close to Margaritaville and the "hip strip" are very clear. I don't know if it's possible to negotiate with someone there to let you fish from one of their boats. Don't know if maybe that zone is protected? And one other idea is if any of the hotels have hobie cats you can have them take you out far and you troll while doing it. Doctor's cave beach is private and public. You can pay like 5 bucks to go in and their pier is probably still there? I have fished from there when younger but only got small fish. If you look at google maps and see this place called dump up beach and events park, that used to be a public beach we paid a few bucks to get into and they got those big rock piers jutting out into the ocean. the water is deep on the other side of those piers and i'm sure from time to time there could be decent sized fish in there. like parrot fish. Could still be a public beach for all I know. Wish I could help you out more. Hopefully you can do some research and find a charter for a good price not far from your hotel. Good luck.
chong Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Posted January 24, 2012 yush_gta i'm staying at the Sunset resort. I'm not sure if i want to pay $400 for 4hrs of deep sea fishing. If I go fishing it's mostly catch and release.I'll contact the hotel for more info. Thanks for your help. Do you think it's worth fishing from the rocks in the pic?
Ralph Field Posted January 24, 2012 Report Posted January 24, 2012 Most resorts will have a water sports department where you can arrange for an off shore fishing excursion . They will take you out past the reef where you can catch fish in the 5 to 10 lb. range. I didn't enquire what they charge but I'm positive that it was no where near $400. It likely would be in the range of $30 an hour.
chong Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Posted January 24, 2012 Most resorts will have a water sports department where you can arrange for an off shore fishing excursion . They will take you out past the reef where you can catch fish in the 5 to 10 lb. range. I didn't enquire what they charge but I'm positive that it was no where near $400. It likely would be in the range of $30 an hour. This is what i found for deep sea fishing http://www.worldwidefishing.com/jamaica/salt.htm
Ralph Field Posted January 24, 2012 Report Posted January 24, 2012 You could take a kayak from the water sports area and paddle yourself out past the reef and fish there. Resorts only charge you a fee when a motor is involved so the use of the kayak would be free. The rocks in your picture are in shallow water likely 2 to 3 feet deep and not worth your time to fish off of them. If you ask the guys running the dive boats they can tell you what you should use for bait and what you can expect to catch. The listing that you posted for off shore fishing may be good , but as you stated would likely prove to be expensive.
rhymobot Posted January 24, 2012 Report Posted January 24, 2012 yush_gta i'm staying at the Sunset resort. I'm not sure if i want to pay $400 for 4hrs of deep sea fishing. If I go fishing it's mostly catch and release.I'll contact the hotel for more info. Thanks for your help. Do you think it's worth fishing from the rocks in the pic? Hey. Like the last guy just said it's pretty shallow there. I've only been in that area a couple of times when I was younger but not to fish and the good thing is that the yacht club is there and you might get some advice from someone there. If you do take a kayak or something like that just make the sea is calm, which it usually is. But since you can pass over some coral with a kayak near shore you MIGHT be able to find a decent fish preying on the small ones. And even if it's not big it is funny when you catch puffer fish which I have caught a few times in Mobay. I have also taken the skidoo out not all that far from shore, maybe 150 yds, and seen sting rays with 4 feet wing spans so I assume you could find some decent fish once you are close to the reef. This link from google maps I think shows potential from those waters but I wouldn't expect the fishing to be prolific. There's tonnes of small fish you can catch with shrimp and a hook but hopefully you get into some bigger ones. Montego Bay
chong Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Posted January 24, 2012 The reason i'm lookin for shore spots is because i can't swim.I'll contact the hotel for more info. Thanks guy for your help
esoxansteel Posted January 24, 2012 Report Posted January 24, 2012 Went there over 20yrs ago, never went fishin, but I can tell you that the reef on shore is better then the reef offshore, IRIE MAN
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