Virgin Gorda in February

[OceanRunner]

I'm headed down to Virgin Gorda in Feb, and will be staying on the North Sound. I've been to St. John a few times, but have no experience around VG. I will be renting a small boat for a few days as well...

Any help with where and when to fish around VG in Feb would be greatly appreciated!

[echo]

I have not been to VG but the first time I was in the Virgin Islands I was on Tortola in February. Tortola is within sight of VG. I saw good numbers of tarpon hanging just outside the surf on the north side of the island. Since you've been to St.John, can you offer me any advice for there? I go there every March and have not exactly set the world on fire as far as fishing goes.

[joshr]

I've fished Tortola a bunch of times and VG a little. There's a flat just off Mosquito Is--a little Island just off the north sound--on the SE side of the island...you can get there in a little boat in just a few mins. There are bones on the flat. Wade it in the morning so you have the sun and wind on the same side of you (the trade winds flow from the NE there almost always) and wade east to west. I have heard there are some reasonably good tarpon spots around VG, although not sure where exactly or if they are migratory fish that don;t show up til later in the year than you'll be there.

--Josh

[OceanRunner]

Echo, where on the island have you been fishing? What have you been using, and catching? Below is a reply I just wrote to someone else on the same question... I hope it helps!


Josh, Thanks for the tips. It sounds like a great spot. I will be sure to try it in the AM as you suggest. Did you have better luck with any specific flies, or were they generally cooperative around there?


Thanks for the help!




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I've been to St. John a few times in the past, and am headed to Virgin Gorda for the first time this Feb... So if anyone out there has some tips for fishing VG, please let me know I definitely don't have it figured out yet, but here's what I have learned so far:

St. John - offshore in Feb:
I have fished with a couple of guides and taken out a boat on my own, and found that there are a lot of King Macks, Yellow & Blackfin Tuna, BIG Cuddas, and a ridiculous amount of sharks! If you find Tuna (surface feeds at dusk can be epic for 30 minutes to an hour!) you need very heavy gear to keep them from the cuddas and sharks. On my last trip, we boated 15+ blackfin heads, when we decided to just fish for the cuddas... I couldn't see feeding them prime tuna anymore. The guide I was with made it clear that this is pretty much the norm for that time of year. He said that sometimes you may luck out and find tuna with few sharks/cuddas, but it's rare in the late winter/early spring...

In-Shore in Feb:
There are some Tarpon around St. John, but from what everyone tells me, there are many more around Tortola... There is a very healthy supply of Jacks: from 2lb Blue Runners to 30+lb HorseEyes that are a blast to catch on light (8#) to heavy (16-20#) gear... A 2+lb Blue Runner on a 6wt is a good fish! While landing a 30lb Horse Eye with a broom pole is still a great fight! Jacks are totally under-rated game fish, because they are generally eager to bite... If Horse Eyes were a little picky and jumped, they would be considered a top game fish. For food fish, there is a good population of Cero Mackerel around most beaches, coves and points that fight well, and taste great if you want to eat something. As for Permit, I have snorkeled with many permit in St. John, but they are hard to find on any flats from what I have seen... However, there are some good sized Bones (usually just at the top of high tide to about 45 minutes out...) They are big, but not plentiful, from what I’ve seen. There are also many big cuddas, houndfish, sharks, snappers and some grouper to keep you busy near shore...

For flies and jigs, you want smaller white and silver types fished FAST! Very Fast! For Cuddas you want big white patterns fished fast and for Tarpon you want big white flies/jigs fished slow, unless they're actively feeding. Basically, when it comes to tarpon, you want to see them before you fish for them. They’re not leery at all, I've hooked several BIG tarpon down there, less then 20 feet from me while standing in the water... Landing them is clearly the biggest challenge, as I have yet to land one down there

The bait you are imitating are primarily pilchards (2" to 6" long, big eyed, broad-bellied white/silver hearing that the locals call Sprat, know idea why??), small glass minnows, and if they're around, Ballyhoo. Tarpon feeding on Ballyhoo off the beach at dawn is reminiscent of epic BIG Spring Striper feeds around the Merrimack! It kicks ass! The best way to hook up that I've found, believe it or not, is a weightless Sluggo fished normal, or fast on the surface if you're lucky enough to see this spectacle...

Good Luck!

[echo]

Thanks OceanRunner, that's some great info. I've spent a fair amount of time on the flats at Anneberg-only caught one bonefish there, on light spin tackle. I caught some small 'cuda and reef type fish from the point on the north side of Francis Bay. I'm thinking about this year one day renting a dinghy from the place in Coral Bay and getting back into Hurricane Hole and fishing around the mangroves there. I'm a real rookie when it comes to saltwater fishing but it's great fun to think of what MIGHT be there, and as I like my solitude, the fact that almost nobody fishes around St. John is good too.

[BobG]

OR,

We were on VG about 10 years back, and I had very little luck fishing.
There is a small flat which is located near the Bitter End resort. I fished it three times, saw bones all three times, and struck out each time.:( These flats see lots of pressure. Not only from fishermen, but from the guests at the resort. It's fairly easy to get to. Just take the free water taxi out to the resort, and walk to the left, and you'll run right into the flats. If you don't have access to a car, any taxi driver will take you there, and they will also know the water taxi shedules to and from Bitter End.
I never ran into tarpon on VG. However, the tarpon all around Tortola. My tarpon experiences pretty much mirror everyone else's on the forum though. Thousands of casts into schools of tarpon. Many, many tarpon hooked. NONE landed.--124-3

Here's a local place to check out though. If my memory serves me correctly, the place is called Rosey's:confused: . It's located on a dirt road just to the right of the main town dock. It's a funky little local Caribbean hang-out which serves up some excellent local foods. It also claims bragging rights to being the oldest dart league in the Caribbean. The wall are adorned with old photos of Caribbean dart masters & legends. It's one of those "only in the Caribbean" places. But it's a big time local hang-out, and well worthy of a visit if for nothing other that a cold Kalik and some ox-tail soup, or salt fish and beans.:cool:

[OceanRunner]

Bob,

Thanks for the tips! I’ll be sure to try the flat and definitely check out Rosey’s :)

As for the Tarpon, I’m bringing a 3rd rod on this trip, a 6.5’ MH Tiger-UglyStick with a Thunnus reel and 80# Whiplash… It’s my SBFT rig. It seems like overkill, but I’ve lost several Tarpon, and two huge HorseEye’s in the past, and don’t want to miss another great opportunity :)


echo,

No Problem! :) I did a little wading in those mangroves once (pretty mucky bottom) and caught a few snappers and a decent cudda, and spooked something pretty big, either a shark, tarpon, or most likely a ray, but couldn’t be sure what it was with the murky water...but it was freaky enough that I didn’t hang around in there much longer :)

If you do rent a little boat, and the water is calm enough, try fishing the points and little rocky islands near shore just before and after high tide if you can. Right around high tide some bigger fish (Jacks, Snapper…) move up to these points to feed for a bit. Be cautious of long fights with Jacks and big cuddas out there though… The sharks down there are hyper aggressive and love oily fish!

[echo]

Thanks, OR. We're not going 'til mid-March but I'm getting pretty well stoked already. The first cast I ever made down there in Hurricane Hole was with light spinning gear and something big whacked my lure and was gone with it-probably a big 'cuda.

[Liv2FishChatham]

I didnt get a chance to fish in VG last February - but email me if you need any other VG tips - I learned the place backwards and forwards - I know most of the food and beach spots

[OceanRunner]

Echo,

No Problem. I definitely don’t have it all figured out down there, but I’m happy to help with what I know!

Probably a cuda (thanks for the correction, I’m not sure where I was getting’ that extra ‘d’ from :) ), or a big houndfish… I’ve seen a few of them close to 4’ down there :eek:


Yo L2FC,

I’ll definitely take you up on that!

[Res4cue]

I have fished VG and Tortola a lot over the past 10 years. Inshore fishing requires patience and a jeep for scouting but you will find fish. Bring lots of different tackle, Spinning make sure you have plenty of small tins. Because the bait thefish are ganging on is very small fry. There is a fry hatch in the spring about once every couple of weeks and all you have to do is look for the pelicans, when they are diving there are fish underneath them. TArpon are hard to land down there and they can be a nice size 80-100# average is 15-30#. There are plenty of jacks, bonita (in spring), and LARGE Cuda to keep thinsg very interesting from the beach. Get permission from the Mrs to borrow the jeep every night for the last 2 hours of daylight or at dawn (she won't mind so much then) and plan to put in your time exploring the north sides of both islands.
Tight Lines, and report back!

[OceanRunner]

Any size Tarpon sounds great to me!

I plan to bring an 8wt, light spinning and MH spinning with assorted flies, tins, jigs and surface lures... As long as I get a few shots at some nice fish, I'll be happy :)

I'm staying on the North Sound of VG, and plan to fish every morning for a few hours. I'll try a few days at dusk, but it's nice to get out in the AM when few if any people are around (at least that's what I found on other islands on past trips). I was planning to focus on the western part of the island, on the north side, did you have much luck on the eastern side as well? Did anywhere look especially good?

Thanks for all the help!

I'll be sure to report back.

-Chris