FISHING THE

CAYMAN ISLANDS

THE CAYMAN ISLANDS ARE A WELL KNOWN VACATION DESTINATION

OFFERING BEAUTIFUL BEACHES, CLEAR WATER AND GREAT DIVING Written by Frank Thompson Photos by Jimmy Nelson

he islands are easily accessible with regular flights from Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, New York and other cities. Accommodations range from private villa rentals to luxury condos and five star hotels.

There are lots of activities for the entire family to enjoy

during a Cayman vacation, both above and below famous 8

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Seven Mile Beach, touring the island, diving the reefs and wrecks or fishing the waters surrounding the island for a variety of inshore and offshore species. The great sport fishing in the Cayman Islands has been a well-kept secret for many years. Battles with Bonefish can be enjoyed year round on all 3 island’s, you can cast a fly or shrimp to the Bones on the flats in Little Cayman or drift through the Bonefish mud’s in the North Sound of Grand Cayman and engage in a memorable tug of war with these majestic fish. Tarpon in the thirty to one hundred pound range can also be caught year round from the docks and beaches as well as in the canals. Poppers and other lures can be used to entice a bite from the Silver Kings however locally bait is more commonly used with the preference being gills and guts from a freshly cleaned Snapper or other meat fish. Dropping a line on one of the many reefs can connect the angler with Mutton Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Grouper, Barracuda and many other species. Boats will chum the fish off the reefs with conch guts, fish scraps or blocks of chum and then bait their hooks with squid, conch or strips of Blackfin Tuna. Reef fishing charters can include snorkel stops along the reef and Stingray encounters at the Sandbar, these charters translate to a great day on the water for the entire family. Families can snorkel just off the beach or 10

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shoreline and take in the wonderful marine life on the shallow reefs around each island. Certified divers can book a dive with one of the many dive companies and dive the spectacular walls or wrecks. All three islands offer excellent diving. Moving off shore, anglers can enjoy battles with Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Dolphin and Marlin. Runs to the fishing grounds are short, Dolphin, Marlin and other pelagic species can be caught within a quarter mile of shore as the shelf drops off quickly from 60 feet to thousands of feet. Anglers do not have to journey far to find great fishing and catches of multiple species are quite common. Local anglers are big believers in bait, especially live bait. Crews regularly troll small feathers on 2030 pound reels for Blackfin and Skipjack Tunas then use them as live bait for Yellowfin Tunas or Marlin as well as strip baits for Wahoo. Flying fish are also caught and used as live bait for Dolphins or trolled as dead bait for Wahoo’s. Dolphins move through the islands in great numbers during the spring and range from 15 to 50 pounds. Trolling weed lines offshore with a mixture of lures and Ballyhoo will result in great catches. Frigate birds also lead boats to schools of Dolphin feeding on Flying fish giving anglers the opportunity to toss a popper, naked Ballyhoo or Flying fish in front of a hungry bull and then settle in to an epic struggle as the Dolphin entertains the crew with stunning acrobatics. Captains typically deploy a mixed spread and troll up to 15 miles offshore searching for weed lines and or Frigate birds when targeting Dolphin. The preferred method to target Wahoo is trolling, most boats troll Ballyhoo or Blackfin strips behind a skirt at 7-9 knots on 50-80 pound reels. High speed trolling for Wahoo has become popular with boats trolling up to five lures between 14-18 knots. Captains will troll in depths from 100 to 700 feet when targeting Wahoo. Some crews will also target Wahoo while chunking for Tuna by simply adding a 6 inch wire leader to one or two of the lines during each drift. Yellowfins are generally targeted off the West End of Cayman Brac, East End of Grand Cayman and on the Cayman Bank (12 miles west of Grand Cayman). Chunking is the preferred method to catch Yellowfins in Cayman. Captains gafflife.com

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start their drifts up current of the bank in a depth of around 1800 feet and will drift into 200 feet before retrieving their lines and starting the drift over again. During each drift crews chum with Barracuda, Blackfin, Skipjack or Sprats. Hooks can be baited with cut bait however live flying fish, goggle eye or Blackfins seem to attract the larger Yellowfins. Yellowfins in recent weeks caught on the Cayman Bank have averaged 80 pounds with the occasional 100+pounder being boated off the East End of Grand Cayman. Blue and White Marlin are caught during each month of the year however higher numbers are caught in the spring and summer months. Blues can be found along the drop off or near weed lines feeding on smaller Dolphins and Skipjacks. Some crews will adjust their spread to troll for both Marlin and Dolphin at the same time. A typical Marlin spread will consist of 4-8 lines with a mixture of lures and rigged Ballyhoo. Most teams target the Blues North of the island between the drop off and 10 miles out, as well as between the Cayman Bank and the North West point of the island. Blues range from 100-250 pounds from August – April with larger Blues showing up in May, June and July. The Cayman Islands Angling Club hosts several offshore tournaments each year, the largest is the Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament and is held every spring. This tournament attracts anglers from all over the world, cash payouts last year exceeded US$165,000. Base entry to the tournament is only US$500. There are optional Jackpots for Wahoo, Dolphin and Yellowfin Tuna that you can buy into for an additional US$500 per species. The Billfish Jackpot is a winner take all pot with sponsored second and third prizes, entry to this pot costs US$5,000. The tournament is an inclusive one offering prizes to Ladies, Junior’s and visiting anglers. Marina facilities are top notch and the island is clean and safe for all to enjoy. We look forward to your visit and swapping fish stories while sharing our piece of paradise with you. For more information on fishing in the Cayman Islands visit the Cayman Islands Angling Club website at www.fishcayman.com

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