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Old 01-18-2011, 04:21 PM
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Okotokian Okotokian is offline
 
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Default Cuba beach fishing... advice?

So, heading to Cuba in the spring, Likely Holguin, maybe Veradero. I'm thinking it might be nice to take a rod along and do some fishing off the beach. There are some inlets and bridges nearby as well. Not interested in doing the deep sea thing or hiring a guide, just some fishing on my own. Catch and release only. Questions:

1. Are there any licences to buy? I can't find a thing online. I have found some bulletin boards that say there are no specific seasons but that's it. Can't find any sort of regs. I do not want to get into trouble.

2. I own a 5 weight fly rod and some medium action spinning rods. The fly rod is definitely out. Anyone shore fished anywhere in the caribbean with your standard spinning rod? If so, what sort of leader, lures, line weight or type recommendations etc? Give it to me simple, I'm not even an expert angler in my home waters, nevermind Cuba.

Thanks.
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Old 01-18-2011, 04:40 PM
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seahawkfisher seahawkfisher is offline
 
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i did just that while in veradero. not a ton of fish holding water by beaches but there are a few good spots; the locals might turn you on to a spot for a gift (i brought a few spools of line with me to give away as they have extremely limited access to stuff). not sayin that its the right thing to do, but i fished without a liscence and had no trouble. mind you, i never really ran into anybody either. the communists are pretty tight-lipped when it comes to whats "right" and whats "wrong" until you are on their land, and even then it can be pretty hard to get a real straight answer.

good luck !!
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Old 01-18-2011, 04:46 PM
Trey Trey is offline
 
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just got back from varadero on sunday, i found that the locals fish with bait and hand lines underneath the main bridge when your coming from the airport onto the peninsula, i met a local guy who was going to take us out and the we were all going to have a party at his house, but i got screwed with some bad weather and wasnt able to go.

the charter that i was able to book thru my hotel was just under 400 for 4 hours that was boat guide gear drinks and lunch for 4 people. but i was the only one in my group that wanted to do that, so there was no way i was paying for that one solo

i was told that the marina halfway up the veradero peninsula was a good place to throw a line in, but i took the what we were calling the "hit and run bus" its 5 bucks, open roof double decker. but you can get on and off all day with one ticket and it does the whole shoreline on the resort side. so you will see lots of locals fishing the whole way up the coast. (pretty much anywhere on the non beach side is good)

and if you can speak spanish or meet someone who does speak both, (like i did) you might even be able to score a quick boat tour and hit a few spots. the cubans like fishing as much as we do and some of them are very humble and wont take money if you are lucky enough to find someone as passionate as you are about fishing, the meal and the party afterward will be worth it.

gifts for the locals go a long way. **** like soap and deodorant and good, the average cuban is really interested in american baseball hats, baseball is their national sport, i brought a canadian flag baseball from the dollar store for a buck and it was a huge hit, i wish i brought more.

and if you want a new friend for life, bring some cheapo rod and reel combinations from canuck rubber, or walley world, give those as a gift and you will get the most sincere man hug you've ever had, the smile and excitement on the face of someone that truly appreciates something is awesome, dont give to people who are asking for handouts they cant get lures or line down there, and most fish with hand lines or nets, so that **** goes far hit the dollar store and grab some crappy spinners and spoons dont come home with them
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Old 01-19-2011, 10:31 AM
KJPFISH KJPFISH is online now
 
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I'm headed to Belize this Friday for 2 weeks and am planning to do something similar - spin fish along the shore, from piers or from kayaks, for bone, permit, tarpon, snook or anything that might bite (see my post of last week). As I am a novice ocean fisherman and not a fly fishing guy, I picked up a cheap 6' Ugly Stick 4-piece pack rod from Wholesale and some 15 lb. PowerPro line. I then packed a small plastic container with an assortment of spoons, raps, jigs, soft plastics, wire leaders, hooks, and weights, along with a small knife and pliers. "Tube" lures were recommended for Barracuda, but I chose not to bother trying to make some up (I might regret this). Hopefully I'll have some success.

Good luck!

KJPFISH
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Old 01-19-2011, 12:41 PM
Hunter Trav Hunter Trav is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Okotokian View Post
2. I own a 5 weight fly rod and some medium action spinning rods. The fly rod is definitely out. Anyone shore fished anywhere in the caribbean with your standard spinning rod? If so, what sort of leader, lures, line weight or type recommendations etc? Give it to me simple, I'm not even an expert angler in my home waters, nevermind Cuba.

Thanks.
I was told to bring a small assortment of spiners, spoons, and maybe a couple of jigs and to use a 10-15lb braid. Don't go with anything too big, as most fish off the beach arent very big, but can be fun to catch. I was also told to soak the reel in the sink over night after each use to keep that salt out. I didn't do this on my second go round, and I was cleaning a seized reel when I got home. Its also a good idea to clean the reel up before hand, and freshen up the grease just to be safe. I've only caught a couple of fish from shore down there, and they all went to the locals who asked for them. They were very happy to recieve them. Some places will even cook them up for you free of charge, so its worth asking about. As far as places to fish, look for coral that opens up into big areas, and try to run the lure just beside the coral. The fish will hide in the crack, and grab the lure as it goes by. Alot of times you can wade out quite a ways and fish edges like this. Hope that helps.
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Old 01-19-2011, 03:11 PM
Rock Doctor Rock Doctor is offline
 
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I fished from shore almost every evening/night that I was there, caught lots of fish. Here are a few things I would have liked to know, or learned when I got there:
Fishing from shore is MUCH better after dark. Take a bunch of cheapo LED "Headlights" and batteries. The locals will really help you out if you have a few "extra's" with you. (The Securety Guys at the resort really liked me, they had never seen flashlights that could be left on for hours without killing the batteries)
I fished with a breakdown spinning rod kit (Gave it to one of the locals when I left).
All I took for hooks was a variety pack of single hooks (Don't try to take them as "Carry-on")
Bait was just pieces of raw Prawns, they gave them to me at the various resturants in the resort (At first they will give you a funny look when you ask, but after a couple days they will have a plate of them waiting for you)
I don't remember all the kinds of fish I caught, but some were: Grunts (couple kinds), Blow Fish? (The ones that inflate themselves and are prikly), Caught an Octopus (Had bright blue rings all over it, locals would not let me touch it, and they would not touch it either. Just killed it and left it on the hook for bait).
Got a couple "Silver Snappers" 6 and about 12lbs (Don't go too light on your line). One of the local guys I was fishing with was the head cook in one of the resort resturants, so he had them done up for us. They put on quite a show, it was awesome.
Make sure you have some fresh water with you. Not sure what kind of fish it was, but one kind had some kind of toxin/poison in it's skin. Made my hands all "tingly" untill I washed them off really good.
Where I was, there was a rocky cliff/ledge between 2 beaches, standing up there, I could just cast to some rocky/Coral type structure, thats where most of the fish were, except the "Silver Snappers", they made a circut up and down the front of the rocks I was standing on, only about 15 ft out in front of me.
Don't take a GPS unless you want to end up in an interigation room for about an hour, TRUST me on that one.
Hand held GMRS radios are illegal in Cuba, even if you only want to use them as a "Baby Monitor". Trust me on that one as well

Have fun
RD
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Old 01-27-2011, 01:40 PM
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Okotokian Okotokian is offline
 
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Thanks guys. This has made me more sure I want to take a rod along. Still wish I knew if I need and how I'd get a licence, but it sounds like everyone just takes their chances.
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