[CaptainBirdsnest]

Hi,

I'm staying at Hawksbill resort near five islands village in march.

I know little about the fishing there at all but obviously want to do some angling lol

Is it worth bringing a rod? I'm right on the beach so can fish at dawn or dusk. Most fishing will be local.

Anywhere worth travelling to for a days fishing?

I'm not going to be able to bring rod tubes, but can get telescopic or travel gear.

Is it mini species fishing or do I need hefty gear?
Bait or lure?

Best regards

 

[Sailrepair]

You can of course target the mini reef fish but you can also target predators with lures. I have not fished that side of the Island but I have enjoyed the lure fishing on the East coast.

While you don't want to fish too heavy all week but on the other hand don't underestimate how hard some of the fish can head for the nearest coral.

 

[marktheshark]

It is absolutely worth bringing some fishing gear. Not too light, and defo not telescopic. I'd take an 8-9ft travel spinning rod, medium rated (about 20-50g) and a 4-5000 size reel loaded with 30lb braid. That will cover most shore fishing situations. You might also consider a heavier rod in case you want to target tarpon.
Hawksbill is set over a series of sandy bays mixed with rocky headlands. The first bay has a bit of coral and rock reef. There's lots of beach to explore and fish. Your main species will be barracuda, various snappers, various jacks, needlefish, snook, grouper and tarpon. All fight hard.
There's a lot of catch reports on this forum about various marks around the island. See also DaiKent's pinned reports post on the Overseas forum - he has 3 reports from Antigua. It'll give you an idea of what to expect. There's also a report from last summer in Hookpoint magazine:

Hookpoint Fishing Magazine

Free online every month! Where else can you find this many monthly features, this quality and all for free?

hookpoint.co.uk

You have to scroll down to Issue 8 (shark on cover) and manually click on to page 44 to read it.
I found that Fiiish Black Minnows were absolutely deadly throughout the island, but take plenty of spare tails as they don't survive barracuda attacks very well. I've fished bait on the next door bay at Galley Bay and had bonefish and stingrays off the beach. Locals use hermit crabs for bait, but shrimp, fish strip or squid are also effective.
Good luck!

 

[paul_sheff]

I have just come back from a caribbean cruise over Christmas and we visited Antigua , while snorking with my lad we went a long way out and over some rocky reef that was almost to the surface once over the top of it it was like wow that’s a drop off and half !!
I have no idea what the 3 fish were that were in the depth but they were quite some size , got my heart pumping lol
Lookin forward to Christmas this year I was already thinking could I talk my wife into a hotel holiday at Antigua lol
Paul

 

[CaptainBirdsnest]

Thanks guys. I've read the reports above thankyou.

I will see what I can do, but yes, one standard medium spin setup with a baitrunner, and one 30lb class with a heavy fixed spool should cover most.

A selection of fish minnows, surface poppers...
Some heavier traces and circle hooks...

Will see what I can do.

 

[CaptainBirdsnest]

Oh and that story of the moray eel is an eye opener! Lovemy snorkelling so have taken that onboard!

 

[marktheshark]

There's some snorkelling in the first bay at Hawksbill btw ... a little bit of coral and rock reef in the corner of the headland that doesn't get too churned up some of the time. But otherwise it can be quite rough up that corner of the island and you'll have to rummage elsewhere.
If you like snorkelling, seeing Cades Reef using the Reef Riders from Jolly Harbour is huge fun. Self-drive 2-seat RIBs that you take offshore with a guide ... fish life on Cades is excellent with plenty of decent sized reef and inshore species to see. Snorkelling depth is between 5 and 20 feet, so not demanding.