St. John in November/December

[OceanRunner]

I'm heading down to St. John (USVI) in late November. I would appreciate any advice on fishing down there during this time of year. Are the Tuna still around? Are the Dolphin in yet? What are the best ways to fish for them? How about in-shore fishing? What's around, and what should I use for lures/flies?

Thanks for the help!

[daves]

I have been in St John the past 2 years in nov/dec. Two years ago I chartered a boat and hit the North Drop. We did well inshore on false albacore, kingfish and barracuda. Once offshore we got into some dolphin. We managed a couple of 25# females and my wife caught a 60# bull dolphin. Then the 6 foot seas got to her making her turn a lovely shade of green so we headed back to the dock.

Last year around december 10th or so we chartered the SeaBee out of Coral Bay and hit the South Drop. The fishing wasn't as hot since we only managed a couple of barracuda but it wasn't for lack of trying. Captain Bill Limpert of the SeaBee was a really good guy would worked really hard to get us into fish but the fish just weren't biting that day. He stayed out for an extra couple of hours until well after dark trying to find fish. Watching the sunset over the horizon while 7 miles south of St John on the ocean was a great experience as well.

In '99 we chartered GoneKetchin out of Cruz Bay with Capt. Griz. Though we got into many more fish on this charter it was far less enjoyable due to the extremely bad attutide of the Captain. He cared nothing for our enjoyment of the experience. His only concern was that lots of fish got into the boat so he could make money selling the catch to restaurants.

For a charter I would highly recommend Capt Bill on the SeaBee (Bite-Me charters) http://www.bookitvi.com/biteme.htm


Now if you are interested in doing some fishing on your own there are some pretty good oppurtunities as well. The only flats are at Mary's Creek. You can access this area by parking at the Annaberg Ruins. You can expect maybe a couple of shots at bonefish a day here but I wouldn't call this a bonefish destination by any stretch. I never hooked one but that is probably due to my inexperience. I generally saw them screaming off after I stomped up to a small school and spooked them. I did get some small barracuda and other unidentified fish as well. You may also get a shot at sharks as well. I saw a couple in this area on a few different occasions checking me out. I believe they were blacktips and they were about 4 feet long. I couldn't get them to take a fly since I had only a small bonefish fly on. It did make me a bit nervous wading in 3 feet of water by myself several hundred feet from shore while getting circled by a 4 foot shark. :~);

The best bet while I was there last year was Cero Mackeral at Francis Bay. A 1/4 oz gold Kastmaster with white bucktail was deadly! (Make sure you have a wire leader!);
After losing my only 2 kastmasters to bite offs I could't buy a hit on deadly dicks or hopkins spoons. I did get a few hits on a blue yo-zuri crystal minnow but it was nothing like the attacks on the gold Kastmaster. (Bring lots of them!) I watched the water a few hundred yards offshore boil with makeral feeding frenzies every morning in this area.

While snorkeling the point between maho and francis bay I swam for 10 - 15 minutes with several tarpon I would guess to be around 80-100#. They were cruising right along the shore line in a few feet of water and were not bothered in the least with me swimming just 2 feet to the side of them for several minutes while sticking my camera in their face. that was VERY cool!

Lastly I talked with a few guys seting up one evening on the beach at Lamesur Bay on the south shore for a night of fishing. They had pretty heavy conventional gear, a cooler full of bait ( I think ballyhoo or squid, I don't really recall) and a cooler of beer. They told be in the evenings that was a great spot for kingfish, shark and tarpon. I don't know how they did but it sure looked like it was going to be a fun night.

Whatever you decide to do, Good Luck! and post your results. I'd really like to hear how you did for my next trip.

- Dave

[OceanRunner]

Dave,

It sounds like you've had a few decent trips down there. 60# Dolphin & Giant Tarpon in the middle of a tropical paradise is definately the way to go!

Thanks for the advice on the Kastmasters. I'll be sure to bring a few. I plan on bringing a decent variety of tackle, 2 or 3 of each, as nothing is worse then finding the right lure and loosing it! If I find any key lures and/or spots, I'll be sure to let you know.

I have looked into a few guides. Bill sounds like a great guy, but I'd like to go with a small boat and light tackle, so I'm planning on going with Loren Nickbarg, who rsm mentioned in an earlier post. After reading his post, and talking with Loren, I'm sure he's the right guy.

I plan of fishing with Loren, one (hopefully two) days, and also renting a boat to do some island hoping (I need to spend some time with my girlfriend). I'll definately bring the snorkle gear, but I hope to do some good beach fishin' on the more remote places as well.

Thanks for all the help.

Chris

[titleguy]

I went to St. John at the end of February and fished a part of each day for about 5 days. I did get one bone up at Leinster Bay by the Annaberg ruins, and saw a good number of fish on that flat, its pretty big. Had good success on jacks, blue runners, small 'cudas, mutton snapper, mangrove snapper. Best of all, stayed at the Westin in Great Cruz Bay and caught some HUGE snook on the beach early in the morning. Saw Tarpon and rolled one, also caught a few cero at the mouth of the bay from kayak. I fly fished exclusively. If you are renting a car, I would suggest looking at the south side, Rendevous Bay and there must be a reason why they call it Fish Bay. More remote, harder t get to. Also mouth of Coral Bay had some good looking flats and your girlfriend would enjoy lunch at Skinny Legs

[Rich2Cape]

The best lures to use from my experience are 4" pearl shad and arkansaw shiner sluggos ( all sizes ) with 1/2 oz kalin lead heads. It took me 4 days of constant fishing in Tortola and many lost metal lures (kastmasters, deadly dicks, yozuri plugs, etc. - they all get hung up on the coral). Take the ferry or water taxi to Tortola ( West End) if you can and fish either Smugglers Cove Beach or Long Bay Beach; tarpon right in the wash. Actually caught AND landed one about 40 lbs - lost many more. Caught ALL kinds of fish - no clue what they were but ALL were caught on the 4" shads. Going back the end of Jan. - just now confirming reservations. All fishing done off the beach.

[OceanRunner]

Sounds like a great time! Nice variety of fish, and all on a flyrod. Good stuff.

What types of Jacks? Any size?

Snook too, I wouldn't have thought you'd see too many down there... Awsome! Nice job in the surf on a flyrod... Must have been a great fight.

What types of flies did you use?

Thanks for all the help!

[OceanRunner]

Beach Fishin' with Sluggos in the Caribbean... 40+lb Tarpon... Is there anything that doesn't eat a sluggo?

Thanks for the Tip! I was planning on bringing some Sluggos & Fin-S fish. I'll be sure to bring a few different sizes and colors to see how they work. Ice Shad looks pretty good as well.

Did you only fish them with a jighead? Or did you try fishing them on the surface?

How did you fish them with the jig? Did you cast and reel fast after it sinks, or bounce it along the bottom? It seems to me that everything needs to move FAST down there.

Did you use a wire, or heavy mono leader?

Sorry about all the Qs, but I don't get to fish in the Caribbean nearly enough. I want to get it right!


Thanks for all the help. If I do as well as you, titleguy, and daves, it's going to be an unbelievable trip!

[Rich2Cape]

Anthem,
I used the 4" pearl colored shads most of the time, always with a 5/8 oz kalin leadhead and fished it fast. Didn't bounce it off the bottom much cause I only had 7 or 8 and they get tore up pretty quick. Seems like most of the fish I caught all had sharp teeth. I did catch 3 bonefish, a blowfish, 2 tarpon and many other small stuff on that same lure. Missed a few barracuda - I think you have to really rip the lure or a plug as fast as you can for them. I rigged the biggest sluggos with a #8.0 O'Shaunassey long-shank hook. Works better than a sluggo hook. Find how to rig them on stripersonline.com. I started using the 4" shads when I hooked a baitfish that looked exactly like it on a deadly dick. Before I went I made 2 ft. 30lb big game test leaders - you'll need it if you want to land a tarpon.
Oh, bring plyers and gloves - neither of which I brought - so every fish I landed was an experience. No clue which were poisonous but some had VERY sharp pointed teeth. I used an 8ft Ugly Stick with Shimano BAitrunner & 17lb test. Bring an extra spool or pkg. of line in case you get spooled. happened to 2 guys the week I was there and they didn 't have any extra line - only 1 store on Tortola to buy fishing line. Have fun.

[daves]

Rich2Cape does make a good point about gloves and pliers. I did bring them and was very happy I did so. I caught a few stange looking fish with sharp teeth.

Another good point that was made was to bring the tackle you think you will need. There is a tackle shop in Cruz Bay just to the right of the ferry docks but they had a limited supply. I don't recall the name but a I'm sure if you posted to here: http://www.usvi-on-line.com/usviforum.html
Someone could give it to you if you need it. I believe they rented gear as well but be sure to confirm if you choose to go that route.
I brought a 9wt with a sinking, floating and intermediate line. I never took the sinking or intermediate out of my bag. I'm sure they would have been effective but backcast room is an issue on many of the narrow beaches. Most all of my flyfishing was done on open flates at Anneberg with a floating line.
I also brought a 2 piece medium action spinning rod as well as 2 reels with spare spools for each. I was spooled with 12# - 20# line. I found myself using the 12# most often.

So there are snook by the Westin?? It looks like I have a new place to try on my next trip.

-dave

[OceanRunner]

Excellent!!!

Thanks for all the help. I'm surprised to hear you were using 17lb test line. I though I'd need to go liter in such clear water. But if you caught bonefish with 17lb, that tells us that it's good to go. I don't think anything down there is more line shy then them?

As for 30lb leader, I figure that's a must for nearly all the fish down there, except the bonefish, and permit if I'm lucky. For cudda's, I plan to bring a few wire leaders and try ripping a some lures accross the surface. It should be fun to watch, even if I don't land any of the big ones.

When you say big sluggos, were you using 6" or 9", and rigging them (unweighted) with offset O'Shaunassey's, so they jump side to side when twitched accross the surface, or just below? Basically the way we fish sandeel patterns up in the NE area for Stripers? If you did fish this way, how did the results compare to the fast-reeling jig methode? Is this how you caught the Tarpon?

And, definately an extra spool (or three) of line. That's certainly not the right way to spend a trip!

Thanks again Rich! This is a huge help.

[OceanRunner]

Agreed, pliers are a must, I try not to fish in saltwater without them. But you guys are convincing me to bring some gloves as well.

On the available Tackle, I plan to bring three rods (L,M,H Ugly Sticks with Shimano Reels) and a pretty well stocked tackle bag. My assumption is that very little will be available, and most of what is, will be offshore stuff. For this trip, I'm going spin only. I'm green enough to the Caribbean, I figure I'll try it this way & bring the flyrod on a future trip. It would be nice to throw some flies to those Tarpon you all have mentioned though!

I'm 3 weeks away and counting!!!

[Rich2Cape]

Anthem,
I used the 9" sluggos unweighted. Just twitch them along and let them drop; same as fishing stripers. The 4" shads worked the best. I kinda varied the retrieve - but I always used 5/8oz jig heads. The beaches I fished always had wind blowing in your face so you need a little weight to get them out. I can't see spending the $ for a guide - use the info you get here and explore. Part of fishing for me is figuring out what works best where, best times, tides.
Good luck. Let me know how you did.

[OceanRunner]

Thanks Rich!

I think you're right about the guide. You all have given me a pretty good idea about what to expect down there... And I do agree that part of the fun is in figuring it all out.

I'll definately let you know if I find anything new out.

Thanks again.

Chris

[titleguy]

Anthem- got crevalle and some other jack like critters up to 5-6 pounds on 7wt. The snook I sight fished on the beach with size 2 white yak hair clousers w/ pearl angel hair. Bone ate that as well. Also used another fly I call the "puffball" Size 2 with eyes, pearl angel hair tail, crystal chenille body. This fly works for snook, stripers, jacks, blues, albies, you name it. Have a great trip and don't miss the show at Duffy's Love Shack and the music at Freddie's!!!!

[OceanRunner]

5 -6 pound Jacks on a 7wt, that's a nice fight!

Thanks for the info...

I'll be sure to check out Freddie's and the Love Shack.

Chris