Grand cayman...anybody been?

[jhedge]

Its official I'll be in Grand Cayman the early part of the year. I've been there once before but wasn't into fly fishing at the time. This time I plan to take a rod along and possibly hire a guide. Anybody have any tips as to flies, locations, or guides to choose? Any help would be appreciated. I plan to target bonefish and small tarpon if possible. Thanks!

 

[sandfly]

Bonefish for sure.
crazy charlies, sz. 6 - 1
gotchas same size
borskis bonefish critter 6 -4
Margarita Clouser 6 - 1

tarpon
Red Devil 1/0

quote)

Try wading the flats at Prospect Point, Breakers and South Sound on the last of the incoming or first of the outgoing. All tailing fish over very very heavy turtle grass. Even blind flies need good weedguards. Best luck on turd variations, 6's and 8's, rust and tan. Would have tried a urchin fly too in retrospect. Very spooky fish - we used 16-20 ft leaders on 7wts. Good size fish, honest 4-6lb average, but very wary. You'll see. Call Davin Ebanks at Bayside Watersports for guided trip.
(quote)

 

[Fishidiot]

Some good advice from Sandfly and, as he points out, there are guides available.

A couple years ago during a family cruise I had a couple hours on the island and did a DIY bonefish trip. I had a cabbie deliver me to a flat (can't remember the beach) where, sure enough, I was able to find bonefish cruising and there were no other fishermen as far as I could see, which was about a mile. It was hard bottom and turtle grass so have some weedless flies. I got several shots but couldn't manage a hookup. The bones there are large and certainly wary. I think if I had more time to figure out the situation, I could have had landed a decent fish or three.

 

[jhedge]

Thanks for the advice! I'll actually be there for quite a while so my plan is to get a guide for one trip early on and then learn enough from him to do some of my own fishing the rest of the trip. I've also heard the canals within the island hold smaller 20lb tarpon. From snorkeling I know the 100lbers are all hanging under docks but I'm not sure I'd be able to get them to bite or even land one if I did manage to hook one.

 

[jhedge]

I've been checking out this website/guide service. Anybody heard of them?

http://www.fish-bones.com/index.html

Lots of good info and a well put together site. I wonder if they fish as well as they create a website??

 

[Fishidiot]

I remember looking at that site when I was researching my visit. I also recall a site (I think run by the GC chamber of commerce or some regulatory agency) that had a map of the island showing where fishing was and wasn't allowed. There are complex fishing rules on the island and they're different for tourists vs locals. Some of the beaches were marine protected areas where no fishing or no harvest was allowed (if I recollect correctly).
Sounds like you're doing your homework. Good luck with the trip, let us know how you made out.

I've got some pics, I'll try to find and post them this evening when I've got some more time.

 

[geebee]

Hey John, we exchanged PM's a few months back - this is what i wrote on your fly rod post :

Which hotel ?

I just came back from a year working in George Town...

No hotels have flats out front, the flats are at the west and east ends. Bones are super spooky. I know PJ Balls who is the Orvis dealer there - you'll be lucky to catch a bone without his locally tyed flies - large flashy and bright work not subtle Charlie's and gotchas.

The best guide is a former NY doctor called Randy Parchment. He will get you into bones or tarpon and snook.

PJ and Randy can be found at Billy Bones bar at the Treasure Island Resort most nights. Buy them a drink and you'll get a lot of local info.

Treasure Island/ Sunset Cove is where the beach ends and the coral rocks start. Fishing from the rocks or wading out on the reef will get you into drum, snapper, palometa, permit, little tunny up to 5/6lbs. and barracuda up to 15lbs and tarpon up to 80lbs.

I totally recommend you snorkel from TI up to the artificial reef at the Marriott and if you're lucky you'll see squid, palometa, and hundreds of bonefish which in large numbers in deep water are uncatchable.

if you want to fish out front of the Marriott go real early 7am.

If the weather is rough the shallow reef next to TI will have big drum cruising on the reef at its edge waiting for helpless baitfish to be swept ON to the reef. youd think it would be the other way round but it's not...

Cheers

Mark

 

[jhedge]

Hey mark,

I did get that post it was very helpful. I pm'd you but never got a response. Maybe you sent one and I just didn't receive it. I'll try again though!

 

[jhedge]

I guess I'll have to look into where I can and can't fish. I didn't really think about that I just figured as long as it was ocean I would be good. Thanks for the tip! And pics would be great!

 

[Fishidiot]

Here's the flat I fished two or three years ago. I don't know if this is typical of the rest of the island as I didn't see much. The bones were close to shore as I suspect it was high tide (bonefish usually forage close to shore during high tide). They were tailing in about a foot of water but didn't like my flies. I was wading in shorts and do recall that out at the end of the pier in this pic I got some jellyfish sting on my legs.
Wish I had more time on that trip - beautiful area.

 

[jhedge]

Great pic! I'm getting excited! Mark gave me some good contact info so I think I'm well on my way for a great trip.

 

[geebee]

Fish idiot,

The tide range is about a foot. Highest point on the island is 13ft above sea level.

That flat is south sound near savannah. Some big bones there by the re planted mangrove trees pots. Did you see the shoe tree ? Lol.

Better numbers are at rum point which is a white sand flat - the south side was mostly eel grass and gets soft if you wade more than 60 ft out.

The park on the west end also has a sand flat but I never made it there - got lost on the park roads twice.

PJ at Cayman orvis is yer man. I found the fishing very tough for bones, easy for baby tarpon and reef or pelagics.

The Thai in GT is awesome, as is the buffets at the big grocery stores on West bay road / smb - Kirks and Fosters. Jerk pork, goat curry and spicy mac n cheese. Yum Yum .

If you get the chance you're only 45 mins from little cayman or 90 minutes from Cuba for world class bone fishing . or strangely Panama which you dont think of as a bone fishing destination but there's a new lodge there.

Mark