Two days away from Steppingstones.
Hi this is Chris with a report on our two days at sea. We had our friend Bryan Denton staying with us and we decided to organize a two day mini trip out at Seal Caye and surrounding areas in the middle of his fishing week.
We left bright and early from Steppingstones with top guide Ian Cuevas running his boat Opportunity. Bryan is a kayak fanatic so we persuaded Ian to allow us to carry one of our fishing kayaks on board. The last few weeks have been flat calm, and the day dawned mirror calm, so forty minutes later we were picking our way very carefully through the coral heads that surround the entry channel to this small but pretty little caye.
Bryan was unable to overcome the temptations of the shallow flats and banks of the caye, so after a brief stop to unload overnight bags, we left Bryan paddling purposefully towards the nearest coral drop off, along the edge of the flats.
For Sue and I, our task was to get lunch. This involves getting a barracuda, tough job, but someone has to do it. Naturally as soon as we put our lures out every barracuda in the Caribbean for miles around disappeared. However by experimenting with diving depths, trolling speeds, yes and lures too, we eventually fooled a six pound barracuda on a deep diving Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow. Problem solved. A nice Spanish mackerel followed shortly after, but that was it. A small squadron of dolphins escorted us back to Seal Caye.
So to an excellent lunch of fried barracuda with the inevitable rice and beans, Belizean –style. Over lunch Bryan recounted the results of his mornings prowling around the flats. Apart from a couple of small cubera snappers, two small groupers and a jack, pretty quiet. His morning was however dominated by something that hit his lure on one of the flats, ran right across the flat with line pouring off Brian’s reel into the drop off, whereupon the line parted and the fish was last seen heading in the general direction of Jamaica. After due commiserations, we settled down to discuss the afternoon’s tactics.
It was clear from the morning’s slow start that we would need to try something different so we decided to troll along the edge of the drop off using a Mann’s Magnum Super Stretch 30 on a 80lb marlin rod brought along specially for the purpose, and a Yo Zuri deep magnum L Jack Minnow also on a heavy outfit. Sue was to continue with her favourite shallow Crystal Minnow just in case we ran into something feeding on top.
This all sounded right so off we went, and it was not long before the big Super Stretch got its first hit. This lure is about the deepest diving lure around and we were confident that a mega fish was responsible. However, it only took seconds to realize this was only a small barracuda. Moments later Bryan’s rod went and the fish took off on a long run, then stopped abruptly. On getting it to the boat, all was revealed. It was a small kingfish with its tail and back end neatly sheared off.
Then followed a succession of small kingfish, barracuda, bonita and Spanish mackerel all released, and although this kept us all occupied it was not what we had come for. The afternoon was wearing on.
Meanwhile, Ian had been watching out for frigate birds circling, a sure sign of baitfish on the surface, with the promise of tuna below. Now Ian was suddenly fixed on a point on the horizon and setting off in pursuit of some wheeling frigates.
Little did we know that a few minutes later we were to witness a truly incredible sight. A school of baitfish was under attack from a shoal of yellow fin tuna from below, and a blizzard of frigates from above. Mayhem did not cover it. The tuna were 20 to 30lbs, too numerous to count, and were jumping feet out of the water in their attempts to catch the baitfish. Sheets of baitfish were flying out of the ater in all directions. At one point we actually saw a 30lb tuna hit a frigate bird in mid air as it came in to scoop up a fish.
Ian gunned the boat and set us running alongside the school which was moving at an estimated 15 knots. The game is to cut the lures into the path of the oncoming school. We hung on to our rods in anticipation of the coming strikes but sadly it was not to be. I had one hit as we passed through, then nothing. We switched lures and depths but to no avail. The school was moving at high speed which made getting the lures in the right place very difficult. Suddenly the inevitable happened. The school went down, leaving frigates circling in frustration. We motored around for a while but they did not return. So it was back to base, vowing to return tomorrow.
So it was a traditional chicken rice and beans for dinner, a few beers then bed, with agreement to be up at dawn for a morning session before breakfast. Bryan again opted for the kayak, while Sue and I decided to have a troll along the inside edge of the reef. Ian felt that if the fish were not outside perhaps they were inside the reef.
The day began with a Spanish mackerel, small king fish and a couple of reasonable barracuda, all taken with shallow running lures on light rods. I changed back to my deep Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow and was immediately rewarded by a hit. The fish came slowly to the boat without showing itself. I suspected a foul hooked barracuda. As the fish neared the boat we suddenly saw it was a nice kingfish. However it suddenly saw us too, and exploded into a series of long runs, dives and lunges. Eventually Ian managed to gaff it and on weighing it was 20lb . The best fight I have had on light tackle in a long while. It was now time to go back for breakfast.
Meanwhile Bryan had had a number of small fish off the flats but nothing spectacular. It was agreed that some action was desperately needed for the next part of our trip. So Ian suggested a run to the nearby Nicholas and Frank Cayes where bonefish are a banker. On arriving, we were not surprised to find that the stone cold certainty bonefish were not there! As we waited a pair of permit swam past. Bryan and I both hastily threw baited jigs at them but they never even paused in their leisurely swim past.
We went around the caye with eagle eyed Ian scanning the horizon for bones (how do they do it, these guides?) Apart from about seven eagle rays wafting across the flats, nothing. Amazing.
However Ian eventually spotted a patch of cloudy water and bingo! There were the bonefish in around fifteen feet of water. Not normal at all. So we cast blind into the cloudy water and within seconds Bryan was away with a bonefish boring away into the murky water. Sue and I shared a rod and for an hour or so we caught mainly bonefish but with a few grunts, and a small jack thrown in.
Time for lunch and a promised return to yesterday’s tuna killing ground. This time we trolled around with Sea Witches (mylar skirt with double ganged single hooks baited with a big flapper of bonita). This attracted a regular stream of kingfish and barracuda and Spanish mackerel to the boat. During all this time Sue had been very quiet and I was just thinking that any minute now her luck could be expected to change.
The thought was barely in my mind when her check screamed and she was into a good fish which was running hard and fast. The line went right down to the last few yards and then….suddenly nothing. The line had parted. No obvious explanation, just one of those things.
As the afternoon wore on we all turned our eyes expectantly towards the southern horizon where last evenings tuna had materialized. This time it was not to be. Plenty of baitfish around on the surface, also a solitary loggerhead turtle made its way past us. Even the frigate birds made occasional passes overhead just monitoring the situation. But no tuna.
By 4pm it was time to return to Seal Caye to collect the kayak and start the run home. One hour later we were back at our dock after a really smooth ride back.
Was this our best ever trip? No, not by a long chalk. But we had our moments, saw some amazing things, but all too little of the rod bending action the Great Barrier Reef of Belize has to offer.
There will be another time…..