Cuba Fishing report & Pictures

[Shaun Rickard]

As some of you know I just returned from a business/pleasure trip to Cuba. The trip over all was good and we even managed to get out on the water for a couple of mornings to do some fishing.

 

I want to start out by telling you a little bit about the resort where we stayed, reason being is that my mate Ryan and I were very dissapointed with the place, not Cuba just the resort, this was my 4th trip to Cuba and I absolutely love the island. The resort we stayed at was the Superclubs Breezes Jibacoa, despite receiving some good reviews on Trip Advisor I can honestly say that in my opinion this was the worst resort I have ever stayed at in the Caribbean for the following reasons:

 

1. Awful food

2. Terrible service

3. Rude, surly and unaccomodating staff. I must stress that there were some great staff members too, Jannout (Buffet), Luis (Bell Boy), Barbarita (Sunwing Rep), Leonardo (Virgin Rep) and a couple of bartenders who's names I forget, but there were not many who would even crack a smile.

4. Terrible Management Team who were completely lacking in any Management skills whatsoever.

5. The resort is advertised as being in Varadero, this could not be further from the truth as it is actually located between Matanzas and Havana in the middle of nowhere. To give you some idea of the distance, a taxi ride from Jibacoa to Varadero will cost you the equivalent of $70.00 US.

 

Jibacoa is rated as a 4 star resort, I wouldn't rate it any higher than a 3 star max. I wanted to share my experiences with the members here so you can avoid the dissapointment that we experienced. My advice would be to book a resort that is actually located in Varadero if you're heading to this area, in my opinion the service at these resorts is generally of a much higher standard and the Staff much more accomodating, friendly and polite. I'll post more on our actual experiences later when I have more time.

 

Despite the above problems the trip wasn't a total wash, we met some great locals including 3 great guys from a nearby resort who took us out fishing in a Hobie Cat where we trolled the deep edge of the beautiful reef that is located directly in front of the resort. We also had the pleasure of doing some beach fishing with the Bell Boy from the hotel, Luis, at one of his secret spots.

 

A trip to Cuba wouldn't be the same without visiting Havana, this of course we did on one of the more windy 'unfishable' days :wink: Havana is a beautiful city that hosts some incredible architecture from the 17th and 18th Century, it's well worth a visit.

 

Below are some shots of a few of the fish that Ryan and I managed to hook up with on our few short trips fishing the reef. If you're heading down be sure to take your own rods, reels, tackle and lures, these items are very hard to come by in Cuba. Feel free to PM me for some pointers if you're heading down.

 

We were fortunate to have someone offer to cook up the large Snapper and the Tuna for us, I'm not a huge fish eater but I have to say that it was absolutely delicous, talk about fresh All the Barracuda we caught were released, man do those guys put up a fight, they're like Musky on Steroids 8) By far the most productive baits for all species were the new large #14 X-Raps in the colours shown below, Flourocarben or Cortland Toothy Critter tieable leader material was key to avoiding losing our baits to the aggressive Cuda's :wink: Catching these hard pulling fish in a small catamaran is an absolute blast, but the rough seas at time are not for the faint hearted

 

Unfortunately on the the last 3 days of our trip the winds picked up to around 60 to 70 KMH and we were somewhat land locked. This especially sucked on Thursday as we had booked a charter boat in Varadero to finally head out for our first ever Sailfish trip, needless to say it was cancelled due to the high winds and we couldn't make it the next day as we had to head home. Oh well, next time.

 

Despite our bad experience at the resort I highly recommend Cuba for a vacation, the people generally are extremely friendly and the fishing is fantastic, even close to shore. The Rum isn't too bad either

 

Species that we caught off the reef and the drop offs were Tuna, Barracuda, Red Snapper and Yellowtail Snapper - Pictures below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Terry]

well, love the pictures of the fish...sounds like fun catching them

to bad about the place you stayed at

but I really like it when people tell it like it is rather then sugar coating the facts......

thanks for the report

 

 

 

 

now if I could only find out the true facts about anglers kingdom.......

[Guest mistyriver1]

Great pictures Shaun. Thanks for the great report. Those cudas look cool.

 

Did you guys film an episode for the show ?

 

Too bad about your other bad experiences though.

[Joey]

Great report Shaun. I've thought of visiting Cuba before but haven't done so yet. I'll be sure to stay away from that resort if I do.

 

Really cool fish pics that's for sure. Thanks.

 

Joey

[Roy]

Great report, Shaun. Sorry about the less than perfect time at the resort though.

Tell me, why does that fish have a map of Australia tatooed to its chest?

[tonyb]

The old saying "you get what you pay for" is certainly applicable in Cuba.

 

Many people forget that due to the embargo with the U.S. that they do not have access to the items we are so used to, including foods.

 

I think the people that work the resorts aren't exactly thrilled to be service staff, considering many of them are highly educated with nowhere to apply their knowledge. It's an unfortunate tradgedy, and it certainly shows at lower quality resorts.

 

If you want top notch service with smiles, and food at the calibre we are used to, you've got to pay for it.

 

Sandals Royal Hicacos is a wonderful example of a resort in Veradero, but you certainly pay extra for it.

 

I think Cuba gets a bad rap from the droves of people looking for an all inclusive trip for $1000 and also expect it to be 5 stars+....it's just not the case.

 

At least you got to catch some fish and see Havana, the trip wasn't a complete write off.

 

The fishing is much better on the southern shores at Jardines de la Reina. If I ever return to Cuba it will be chasing bones and tarps in the queens gardens

 

Tony

[Shaun Rickard]

Thanks guys, they were indeed a lot of fun to catch, saltwater fish definately scrap hard.

 

Roy, I didn't notice the map, good eye mate.

 

Tonyb, I agree about the locals not being thrilled about working at the resorts, when you consider that the average wage in Cuba is around the equivalent to $40 US, I'd be far from happy either. However, we should also remember that the workers at the resorts are considered to have the best paid jobs in Cuba, due to the additional tips and perks they receive. The resort workers actually make more and live better than Doctors, pretty sad but true.

 

I have heard great things about the Sandals resort you mentioned too, when I go back down to Cuba I'll defiantely be staying at a 5 star, just to be sure. As you said, you get what you pay for, but on the other hand I was expecting a little better food and service at a 4 star resort that is partly owned ny Canadians. These resorts do have access to food items others don't as much of it is shipped in from Canada and Europe, the resorts are given what they need to make the guests happy, what they do with it in the kitchen however is another story

 

Tourism is Cuba's number one money earner and there are many resorts to choose from, this is my first bad experience on the island so I just wanted to share it with others so they can avoid the dissapointment and headaches we did. As Terry said, I just tell it like it is.

 

FYI: I would also caution everyone to take what you read on Tripddvisor.com with a pinch of salt. I used to be a great beleiver in this site but not anymore. The Jibacoa resort gets nothing but 4 and 5 star ratings, I found this a little hard to beleive after our experiences so I posted a 'polite and clean' report outlining our dissapointment, they have not allowed it to go up, I tried this 3 times and my post has not been published... Hmmmm? I'll leave the rest of my thoughts to your imagination

 

Cheers, Shaun

[bigbuck]

Cuba is hit and miss. Some resorts are pretty good but the thing you have to remember is if you are not paying 5 star prices, don't expect 5 stars. The beaches are gorgeous and the rum is great (viva Cuba Libres (free Cuba - rum and coke)). After my trip there 9 years ago, I'd have expected Che Guverra's pictures to have come down and mine to have gone up after all the Rum I partook in. The food isn't great but what do you expect for under $1500/week?? Shawn, at least you nailed some nice fish, I've heard some great stories about 'cudas and how they make a good muskie fight seem like pulling up a small log.

[mattyk]

atleast you caught some fish, thanks for sharing.

[Shaun Rickard]

MattyK and Bigbuck, you hit the nail on the head, the highlight of the trip was definately the fishing, it was a lot of fun. It's always nice to catch some species you don't get at home, especially when they fight so damn hard

 

The one great thing about where we stayed was the reef located directly in front of the resort, it was absolutely phenominal for both diving and fishing.

[Mike the Pike]

Great report, Shaun. Sorry about the less than perfect time at the resort though.

Tell me, why does that fish have a map of Australia tatooed to its chest?

 

 

Roy

 

Beauty fish OH the good old reliable RAPALA.

 

MTP

[ccmtcanada]

Wow..very cool pictures! It's always great to see species that you cant get around here. Thanks for the report...despite the service at the resort, at least the fishing seemed good!