# Fishing in Caribbean



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hello all, a group of us are sailing from Martinique to the Tobago Cays and back beginning May 23rd and we are hoping to do some fishing along the way to augment our food supply. Can anyone provide me with information on the type of fish that are good to try for (tuna, mackerel??) and are edible. Suggestions on what type of equipment we''d need to catch them that would be great (live bait, artificial lures, size of rod/reel) also and whether it is better to try to rent or bring fishing gear. We''ll start in Martinique and also stop in St. Vincent during our trip. Thanks in advance.

Phil Johnson


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

You can catch a wide viriety of fish. If you are underway trowling a lure can bring in some nice Dorados or Mahi Mahi Dolphin if you are in Florida waters all three are the same fish. NO NOT FLIPPER DOLPHIN. You will need to slow a bit to boat the fish and get a clip to put the line and a way to haul it up a back stay so when the fish hits he has a bit of slack and will not break the line. You will need a gaff pole with a long handle so you can get blood all over the cockpit properly. Fresh Dolphin is great eating and the fight is awsom. If you can find anything floating circle it and cast with spinners and led head jigs with feathers or nylon skirts the schoolie Dolphin like the shadow and will be under the log up to 100ft down so wait a few minutes to see if the come up to your bait.Even an old plastic bucket almost anything that floats can be home to them.As you get in closer to land the deep reefs can produce some nice Grouper and Snapper but they are limited by the local fisherman and how hard they fish that area. Small live bait to five inches is always good and may be caught with very small hooks buy any bouy and some time where you find the Dolphin.A couple of healthy boat rods with 20-30 pound test line will do you the best for most fish.


----------



## onemistral (Dec 31, 2003)

TONS of great fish in those waters! If you''re on the move, you can drag a line behind the boat and catch just about anything, but if you''re lure fishing, expect Barracuda, which make for decent eating, but they''re understandably hard to get off the line. Best way to kill a fish without having to bludgeon it is to get a little spray bottle and fill it with isopropyl alcohol. Spray that into the gills and it kills fish instantly. 
Other fish out there are jacks, grouper, parrotfish, tuna, dorado, wahoo, and the list goes on. Best bet is to go to half.com or amazon and get yourself a book on fishing the islands. It''ll give you a rundown on gear (generally need a heavy duty rod if you''re dragging a line and a lighter but solid rod if you''re tossing a line over while at anchor), fish, bait/lures, and most importantly, things like ciguatera, which can be deadly. Ciguatera is a form of human poisoning caused by the consumption of subtropical and tropical marine finfish which have accumulated naturally occurring toxins through their diet. The toxins are known to originate from several dinoflagellate (algae) species that are common to ciguatera endemic regions in the lower latitudes.
I cruised from PR to Trinidad and fished mainly while at anchor, but caught some fantastic jacks with about 6lb test and canned viennese sausage as bait. no kidding. lol. Got a grouper that way too. Best of luck!


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

This is a topic that should have more information I think. I was fishing in Costa Rica and learned a trick use the long nylon heavy leader for Darado and after boating the fish leave the hook in and pull the tail around and tie it with the leader. This keeps the fish from thrashing around and causing problems in the cockpit. The other trick was to use Coke a Cola and pour some in the fishes mouth and it has the same affect as the alcohol killing the fish instantly.Then you can take a drink to, just remember what it did to the fish befour you take the next big drink. Now jigging for snapper is a way to get some tasty dinner on the table. Drop a led head jig to the bottom and when you feel it hit real it back a few feet and pull it up and down the length of the rod and drop it back down up and down letting it sink the five or six foot length. This has a way of making bottom feeders (no not your attourney) the fish come up off the bottom after it. You can tip the hook with shrimp or what ever you have for a little more attraction.


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I knew that Rum on the gills did em in but did not know about coke


----------

