Grenada/Tobago

[toiletduck]

Hi

Im planing on a holiday to Tobago and Grenada in June. I'd like to try some shore fishing while there. Can anyone tell me what type of bait/tackle I'd require for this and what I could expext to catch?

thanks a million

[Codless]

Mike Ladle's website has got some info about both places

See

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch161.html

and

http://www.mikeladle.com/archive/catch140.html

[marktheshark]

Ullo matey
Where abouts (or which hotels) in Tobago are you planning to stay? I've visited twice in the past two springs and had some sensational shore fishing.
If you haven't decided yet, the Caribbean side is generally better than the Atlantic, and there are some places you can catch big tarpon from the shore. Generally, there are some excellent marks between between Store Bay to Arnos Vale, and Speyside/Charlotteville are reputed to be hot, but I haven't tried there. Offshore is also good.
Give us an idea of which hotels you like the look of and what sort of fishing you prefer and I'll tell you what I know.
Mark

[toiletduck]

I'm thinking of staying in the Toucan Inn in Crown point. What methods have you used before, salt fly? rigs with fresh bait? spinning/jigging?
I guess the island is so small its quite handy to access most areas.

thanks

[marktheshark]

Hullo Mr Duck
Toucan Inn isn't on the beach, but it's not too far to walk to Store Bay, which is one of the main tourist areas and quite busy. Right next door to Store Bay is the Coco Reef Hotel, which has an built an artificial breakwater which is full of coral fish and baitfish, but it's private. Some people have reported seeing tarpon fishing from Store Bay, but not me!
Going north from the Coco Reef is a rubble and sand flat, which looks like it should hold bonefish, but which only gave small jacks when I tried fly fishing. This leads to Pigeon Point, which you can wade or walk to. There's an entrance fee. PP has a picture postcard pier with a shelter at the end ... and people do see, and catch, big tarpon off the end. Best method is livebait, cast some way out.
The point curves round to Buccoo Bay, which is mangrove and full of tarpon, snook, ladyfish, mullet and snapper, but inaccessible on foot. You need a boat or canoe. Again, livebait is good, but also deadbait as a lot of the fish scavenge the scraps from the charter boats after they clean up in the bay.
Further up the Caribbean side, there are a number of interesting bays with rocky headlands over clean sand. I had three days of amazing snapper fishing from the rocks at the southern end of Stone Haven Bay (in front of Plantation Villas). I caught 9 red and mutton snapper between 3-8.5lb in one hour immediately after dark, lost a dozen more. The bait was never untouched for more than a minute. A lot of big needlefish, some barracuda, and big tarpon also come from these bays - a British angler was pictured in Sea Angler magazine with a 56lb-plus tarpon last year, taken from the beach on livebait and an Exage spinning rod.
The locals pull a seine net near the Grafton Hotel around 8.30 most mornings and if you help them (it's bleedin 'ard work!) you can pick up some sardines and small scad (greenbacks), which was the bait I took the snapper on. The scad will also take tiny gold hooks (like undressed mackerel feathers with just a small bead over the eye) if you want livebait. From the contents of the net there are also jacks, small bonitos and parrot fish. There are cliffs to the south side of Stone Haven Beach which hold millions of sardines, and therefore, presumably, hungry diners later. All the rock marks are tricky and you'll need a good torch, to travel light, and to watch the swell. Watch out too for poisonous manchineel trees if you cut through the scrub onto the road; they're signposted by the tourist board.
The only other mark I tried on the Caribbean side was Arnos Vale, which has a beautiful bay with good snorkelling and a rock platform to the north of the bay from which you can fish. It's good, rough water, full of rips and boils and with lots of baitfish. Spinning there, I took a nice grouper on a Krokodile lure and several needlefish on a raider surface plug; I also lost a 15lb barracuda right by the rocks on the Raider. Again, watch the rocks at night or after rain; they're very slippery.
I took a fly rod and apart from a 5lb bonefish out off Stone Haven bay (a complete fluke; I was trying to catch small jacks for livebait), there wasn't much. I visited Canoe Bay in the extreme south of the island, which has flats, and I could see that I was spooking small shoals of small bonefish when wading there, but the water was pretty stirred up and I didn't get a take. In spite of that, it's a nice place to spend a morning (there is a restaurant).
The Atlantic side is a lot wilder and the only place I fished was near the Hilton. Nothing, but I did get smashed by something big, probably a stingray, at night. Behind the Hilton, Frothy de Silva (famous boat skipper) has set up a fishery a bit like a trout lake, and stocked it with mangrove snapper, tarpon, snook, mullet and tilapia. There are some specimen sized fish in there, 20-30lb, and you can try the fly, but they're a bit shy and prefer livebait fished close to the reeds around the edge. I did catch a mullet of about 4lb on floating breadcrust, carp-style, but none fo the big beasts. It costs about £10 a day to fish there. There are some brackish pools (or water hazards, I think they're called) on the golf course next door, where you can take small tarpon (less than 5lb) on fry flies, but best wait till evening when the golfers have finished.
Further north, the bays around Englishman's Bay, Charlotteville and Speyside are glorious and far quieter - but I've not fished them.
If you want to take a boat, a guy named Kester Herbert's your man for inshore stuff for bones, tarpon and the like. Offshore, Frothy's Hard Play operation is very professional, well equipped, but expensive. I think you'll miss the marlin run, but if the flying fish are still shoaling in the waters beyond Crown Point, the sea will be alive and it can be strike-a-minute stuff.
Otherwise, there's a website called mytobago.com that lists tackle recommendations, fish species, and local fishermen who might take you out with them. Tacklewise ... well, I take the kitchen sink for these sort of places. Two boat rods, an uptide, two spinning rods, two fly rods. Whatever gear you take, you'll find a place to use it.
One final thing; when we went in April there were a lot of crime warnings. My wife and I drove around the island, gave lifts to locals, and I fished alone on remote beaches without a problem - but it pays to be, if not streetwise, then beachwise! Oh ... and be careful driving at night.
Mark

[toiletduck]

Thanks a million Marky Sharky, that information in invaluable. I appreciate all the work you put into that detailed report. I got butterflies just reading it.
Looking forward to putting your advise into action.

Thanks again.

[Big Bones jones the fish]

Hullo Mr Duck
Toucan Inn isn't on the beach, but it's not too far to walk to Store Bay, which is one of the main tourist areas and quite busy. Right next door to Store Bay is the Coco Reef Hotel, which has an built an artificial breakwater which is full of coral fish and baitfish, but it's private. Some people have reported seeing tarpon fishing from Store Bay, but not me!
Going north from the Coco Reef is a rubble and sand flat, which looks like it should hold bonefish, but which only gave small jacks when I tried fly fishing. This leads to Pigeon Point, which you can wade or walk to. There's an entrance fee. PP has a picture postcard pier with a shelter at the end ... and people do see, and catch, big tarpon off the end. Best method is livebait, cast some way out.
The point curves round to Buccoo Bay, which is mangrove and full of tarpon, snook, ladyfish, mullet and snapper, but inaccessible on foot. You need a boat or canoe. Again, livebait is good, but also deadbait as a lot of the fish scavenge the scraps from the charter boats after they clean up in the bay.
Further up the Caribbean side, there are a number of interesting bays with rocky headlands over clean sand. I had three days of amazing snapper fishing from the rocks at the southern end of Stone Haven Bay (in front of Plantation Villas). I caught 9 red and mutton snapper between 3-8.5lb in one hour immediately after dark, lost a dozen more. The bait was never untouched for more than a minute. A lot of big needlefish, some barracuda, and big tarpon also come from these bays - a British angler was pictured in Sea Angler magazine with a 56lb-plus tarpon last year, taken from the beach on livebait and an Exage spinning rod.
The locals pull a seine net near the Grafton Hotel around 8.30 most mornings and if you help them (it's bleedin 'ard work!) you can pick up some sardines and small scad (greenbacks), which was the bait I took the snapper on. The scad will also take tiny gold hooks (like undressed mackerel feathers with just a small bead over the eye) if you want livebait. From the contents of the net there are also jacks, small bonitos and parrot fish. There are cliffs to the south side of Stone Haven Beach which hold millions of sardines, and therefore, presumably, hungry diners later. All the rock marks are tricky and you'll need a good torch, to travel light, and to watch the swell. Watch out too for poisonous manchineel trees if you cut through the scrub onto the road; they're signposted by the tourist board.
The only other mark I tried on the Caribbean side was Arnos Vale, which has a beautiful bay with good snorkelling and a rock platform to the north of the bay from which you can fish. It's good, rough water, full of rips and boils and with lots of baitfish. Spinning there, I took a nice grouper on a Krokodile lure and several needlefish on a raider surface plug; I also lost a 15lb barracuda right by the rocks on the Raider. Again, watch the rocks at night or after rain; they're very slippery.
I took a fly rod and apart from a 5lb bonefish out off Stone Haven bay (a complete fluke; I was trying to catch small jacks for livebait), there wasn't much. I visited Canoe Bay in the extreme south of the island, which has flats, and I could see that I was spooking small shoals of small bonefish when wading there, but the water was pretty stirred up and I didn't get a take. In spite of that, it's a nice place to spend a morning (there is a restaurant).
The Atlantic side is a lot wilder and the only place I fished was near the Hilton. Nothing, but I did get smashed by something big, probably a stingray, at night. Behind the Hilton, Frothy de Silva (famous boat skipper) has set up a fishery a bit like a trout lake, and stocked it with mangrove snapper, tarpon, snook, mullet and tilapia. There are some specimen sized fish in there, 20-30lb, and you can try the fly, but they're a bit shy and prefer livebait fished close to the reeds around the edge. I did catch a mullet of about 4lb on floating breadcrust, carp-style, but none fo the big beasts. It costs about £10 a day to fish there. There are some brackish pools (or water hazards, I think they're called) on the golf course next door, where you can take small tarpon (less than 5lb) on fry flies, but best wait till evening when the golfers have finished.
Further north, the bays around Englishman's Bay, Charlotteville and Speyside are glorious and far quieter - but I've not fished them.
If you want to take a boat, a guy named Kester Herbert's your man for inshore stuff for bones, tarpon and the like. Offshore, Frothy's Hard Play operation is very professional, well equipped, but expensive. I think you'll miss the marlin run, but if the flying fish are still shoaling in the waters beyond Crown Point, the sea will be alive and it can be strike-a-minute stuff.
Otherwise, there's a website called mytobago.com that lists tackle recommendations, fish species, and local fishermen who might take you out with them. Tacklewise ... well, I take the kitchen sink for these sort of places. Two boat rods, an uptide, two spinning rods, two fly rods. Whatever gear you take, you'll find a place to use it.
One final thing; when we went in April there were a lot of crime warnings. My wife and I drove around the island, gave lifts to locals, and I fished alone on remote beaches without a problem - but it pays to be, if not streetwise, then beachwise! Oh ... and be careful driving at night.
Mark

I have had Tarpon to 60lb on the rock's infront of the old fort. You need a big drop net. Fish for small fish with spinning rod. Use the grunts as they call them live rigged at sun rise or sun set. occaisionally gat take in the day. Try very large silver spinning spoon. You can see fish over 100lb at your feet. I have hooked them but only had my 6500c3 with 15lb mainline so got stripped. You need a 4/0 loaded with 20lb line. great fishing!:clap3: :clap2:

[marktheshark]

Ullo Jones TF
Sounds great. Thanks for adding that. Where (or near which bay) is the fort?
Mark

[Big Bones jones the fish]

Ullo Jones TF
Sounds great. Thanks for adding that. Where (or near which bay) is the fort?
Mark

The fort is on sandy point by the airport. You cant miss it! As you drive towards the Sandy Point Hotel or complex you go past a large 4/5 star hotel on your right before the bend. Just after that on the same side is the fort!
Another place is to follow that road all the way around the side of the complex to the front under the runway. Either fish off the wall! Or the beach! In daylight! swim out with live bait and line in hand and place on clean ground with a rig that will sacrifice the lead. Fish it from dusk onwards! Dont swim out at night! Iv'e been told by my buddy over there that some very big sharks patrol here sometimes and he fishes just off the edge of the reef for 600-1000lb mako,tigers etc etc.
Seen the Tarpon here! Seen blood and scale's on the wall off what I would estimate as Tarpon over the 50lb mark!

Good Luck!

[marktheshark]

Thanks for that ... another place to try in the future!