Highs and lows-some you win some you don’t.
Well for our latest guests, Billie and Steve Barlow from England, things did not get off to a good start. Four of their bags including both rod cases managed to go off on a holiday of their own to who knows where. One advantage of staying at Steppingstones however is that as former tackle dealers, we have no shortage of fishing tackle. So spare rods etc were quickly provided, and the guys rushed off down our dock to do battle with the local fish. Things started slowly, as a cold front moved over, with murky water populated by a seemingly endless stream of small catfish. Somewhat unusual for this time of year, but at least it was a diversion. However as the water cleared, the snappers and snook started feeding providing a change from the catfish. One afternoon the bigger fish moved in and a couple of sting rays provided the action, followed by something that picked up Billie’s fish fillet and moved steadily off, eventually breaking his 40lb line without stopping pausing or changing direction. Most likely this was a nurse shark, but who knows?
Next day we had a display from the local dolphins, who at one point were right close to the end of the dock, presumably feeding on baitfish.
We had arranged a couple of days for Steve and Billie to fish with George. Their first day turned out to be quite an active day with a variety of fish being taken. Steve managed to catch his first ever bonefish on a fly, and followed this up with Spanish Mackerel, barracuda (of course) and a king fish. Both Steve and Billie lost unstoppable fish trolling - probably big kingfish. The very high temperatures during the day made things tough, but a mixed bag made up for the inevitable sunburn!
In spite of this they managed to find yet more barracuda, and as Steve said, “We had our string well and truly pulled”. A succession of small grouper marked the morning session, followed by bonita, a couple of lizard fish and a snapper or two.
Next day our old friends from Virginia, Keith and Sheila arrived next, this time with their daughter Heather on a short visit to renew acquaintance with the fabulous fishing and wild life down here. Very soon there was the makings of an international competition on the end of the dock, with the usual discussions and debates on pretty well anything and everything, in between pulling in a succession of small snappers.
We had arranged a block booking with our top guide Ian for the second week to take out our guests in rotation.
First up were Steve and Billie for their third trip out, but the first with Ian. The day was dominated by very rough seas outside the reef. Fortunately Steve and Billie fish one of the roughest pieces of sea in Europe, the Irish Sea, back home, so big seas don’t worry them. They got soaked through in a rising sea, but still managed a bunch of barracuda, mostly on livebait.
Next up was Keith, raring to go, having heard all the stories from Steve and Billie and as the girls wanted a day ashore, I “volunteered” to accompany him. This seemed like a good opportunity to try out my newly arrived Rapala X Raps which Steve had kindly brought out from the UK . Ian took us down south, deep into the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. We stopped on the way where he had seen a big shoal of jacks crashing yesterday. However as usual they had moved on. My Zara Spook was ignored. We moved into the mouth of Deep River to look for tarpon, and although we did find a group daisy-chaining, they were not interested in our baits, and my Zara Spook was ignored again. We pushed on around the river delta but apart from a solitary baby jack to Keith’s crystal minnow, nothing moved, and although I switched to my new shallow X Rap, it too remained untouched.
Then we had a flurry of action with both of us getting a small kingfish in quick succession. We decided to move around the small cayes in the river mouth, but again, nothing. Ian took us around two tiny reefs just north of Punta Negra, and there we found a few barracuda, one small one to me and two close to 10lbs each to Keith. All were safely returned back to fight another day. We discussed the pros and cons of release of barracuda, and with care, we concluded, small and medium sized ones could be released safely providing they were lightly hooked. This signaled the end of our day and we made the short run home to Steppingstones. A good day? Well judged by results, no. But a great pleasure to be out at sea with a knowledgeable angler like Keith who is such good company even when fate deals a bad hand, and Ian with his local knowledge and almost sixth sense.
And my verdict on the X Rap, much praised on one of the on line forums? Well, inconclusive from a results point of view. I can say that the action, a whole body roll, does look good (the fish did not agree on the day!), and at last Rapala have produced a shallow runner in heavy duty plastic to provide genuine alternative to the Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow. Worth observing though that the X Rap is a suspending bait, running at around four feet, whereas the Crystal Minnow is a floater, running at about two feet. So there STILL is no quality marine alternative to the Crystal Minnow for ultra shallow situations. Rapala please note!
So day three for Ian, and it was Steve and Billie’s turn to hit the reef. Ian had decided to try the reef again, as the weather had noticeably improved.
The highlight of the day was a mutton snapper of 13lb 9oz, which is a new Steppingstones record. Stunning! Steve managed two cobia, some barracuda as well as another (much smaller) snapper. Billie had what we all have sometimes - a mare. His best fish of the day would have been a double figure barracuda had not two other barracuda bitten it clean in half, and not satisfied with that, another attacked the head end and ripped that up as well.
It was time for Keith’s “family day out”. Ian took them out to a nearby patch reef for a session of bait fishing. The girls caught a cooler box full of snappers etc which were sent down to a very grateful village. After lunch Ian took Keith up Monkey River looking for tarpon. Keith managed to turn a few over but no hook ups.
Later, Keith and I had a try in the back lagoon for tarpon. They were there, but deep in the timber and almost impossible to lure out into open water. I lost a snapper back there, and we both turned over tarpon.
Next up, the dynamic duo were out bright and early on their way out to the reef for another livebaiting session. True to form Steve hooked the biggest fish which ran backwards and forwards, up and down, ahead of the boat and behind it, while Ian and Billie debated what it could be. They were all wrong. It turned out to be a 15lb 9oz Blackfin Tuna, which is an exceptional size for here. This was followed by a filefish. This is the first of these weird looking fish landed at Steppingstones. Not really a sport fish, but technically a record!
Later in the day Steve hooked two fish in 200ft of water which ran irresistibly into rocks under heavy pressure. Hard to know what these were, but big grouper looks the best guess.
We all had tuna steaks for dinner. There is nothing in this world to match fresh tuna on the BBQ with a salad (homegrown) and a glass of chardonnay.
Last day of Ian’s booking fell to Keith. By all accounts he had a ball, with a double figure kingfish heading a full fish box of barracuda , snappers , etc. The biggest pair of barracudas were released back safely. Keith’s complaints of sore shoulders and strained muscles were not met with much sympathy. But the twinkle in his eyes told a different story!
During this period, Steve and Billie also found time to get out in our kayaks and had some decent fish on the patch reef in front of Steppingstones, and also around Greater Monkey caye. Steves best fish was a 20lb stingray which he managed to unhook at the side of the kayak.
All in all this has been a pretty eventful fortnight, with three new records, the blackfin tuna and the mutton snapper and (grudgingly) the filefish all caught by Steve. Both Steve and Billie lost big fish to livebait in deep water, which raises yet again the question of whether we should have a serious effort to catch one of these monsters.
Please note that all the fish brought to the dock, except those kept for our own consumption, were taken down for distribution in Monkey River village.
Pics will follow - the internet is on go slow right now.
Well for our latest guests, Billie and Steve Barlow from England, things did not get off to a good start. Four of their bags including both rod cases managed to go off on a holiday of their own to who knows where. One advantage of staying at Steppingstones however is that as former tackle dealers, we have no shortage of fishing tackle. So spare rods etc were quickly provided, and the guys rushed off down our dock to do battle with the local fish. Things started slowly, as a cold front moved over, with murky water populated by a seemingly endless stream of small catfish. Somewhat unusual for this time of year, but at least it was a diversion. However as the water cleared, the snappers and snook started feeding providing a change from the catfish. One afternoon the bigger fish moved in and a couple of sting rays provided the action, followed by something that picked up Billie’s fish fillet and moved steadily off, eventually breaking his 40lb line without stopping pausing or changing direction. Most likely this was a nurse shark, but who knows?
Next day we had a display from the local dolphins, who at one point were right close to the end of the dock, presumably feeding on baitfish.
We had arranged a couple of days for Steve and Billie to fish with George. Their first day turned out to be quite an active day with a variety of fish being taken. Steve managed to catch his first ever bonefish on a fly, and followed this up with Spanish Mackerel, barracuda (of course) and a king fish. Both Steve and Billie lost unstoppable fish trolling - probably big kingfish. The very high temperatures during the day made things tough, but a mixed bag made up for the inevitable sunburn!
In spite of this they managed to find yet more barracuda, and as Steve said, “We had our string well and truly pulled”. A succession of small grouper marked the morning session, followed by bonita, a couple of lizard fish and a snapper or two.
Next day our old friends from Virginia, Keith and Sheila arrived next, this time with their daughter Heather on a short visit to renew acquaintance with the fabulous fishing and wild life down here. Very soon there was the makings of an international competition on the end of the dock, with the usual discussions and debates on pretty well anything and everything, in between pulling in a succession of small snappers.
We had arranged a block booking with our top guide Ian for the second week to take out our guests in rotation.
First up were Steve and Billie for their third trip out, but the first with Ian. The day was dominated by very rough seas outside the reef. Fortunately Steve and Billie fish one of the roughest pieces of sea in Europe, the Irish Sea, back home, so big seas don’t worry them. They got soaked through in a rising sea, but still managed a bunch of barracuda, mostly on livebait.
Next up was Keith, raring to go, having heard all the stories from Steve and Billie and as the girls wanted a day ashore, I “volunteered” to accompany him. This seemed like a good opportunity to try out my newly arrived Rapala X Raps which Steve had kindly brought out from the UK . Ian took us down south, deep into the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. We stopped on the way where he had seen a big shoal of jacks crashing yesterday. However as usual they had moved on. My Zara Spook was ignored. We moved into the mouth of Deep River to look for tarpon, and although we did find a group daisy-chaining, they were not interested in our baits, and my Zara Spook was ignored again. We pushed on around the river delta but apart from a solitary baby jack to Keith’s crystal minnow, nothing moved, and although I switched to my new shallow X Rap, it too remained untouched.
Then we had a flurry of action with both of us getting a small kingfish in quick succession. We decided to move around the small cayes in the river mouth, but again, nothing. Ian took us around two tiny reefs just north of Punta Negra, and there we found a few barracuda, one small one to me and two close to 10lbs each to Keith. All were safely returned back to fight another day. We discussed the pros and cons of release of barracuda, and with care, we concluded, small and medium sized ones could be released safely providing they were lightly hooked. This signaled the end of our day and we made the short run home to Steppingstones. A good day? Well judged by results, no. But a great pleasure to be out at sea with a knowledgeable angler like Keith who is such good company even when fate deals a bad hand, and Ian with his local knowledge and almost sixth sense.
And my verdict on the X Rap, much praised on one of the on line forums? Well, inconclusive from a results point of view. I can say that the action, a whole body roll, does look good (the fish did not agree on the day!), and at last Rapala have produced a shallow runner in heavy duty plastic to provide genuine alternative to the Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow. Worth observing though that the X Rap is a suspending bait, running at around four feet, whereas the Crystal Minnow is a floater, running at about two feet. So there STILL is no quality marine alternative to the Crystal Minnow for ultra shallow situations. Rapala please note!
So day three for Ian, and it was Steve and Billie’s turn to hit the reef. Ian had decided to try the reef again, as the weather had noticeably improved.
The highlight of the day was a mutton snapper of 13lb 9oz, which is a new Steppingstones record. Stunning! Steve managed two cobia, some barracuda as well as another (much smaller) snapper. Billie had what we all have sometimes - a mare. His best fish of the day would have been a double figure barracuda had not two other barracuda bitten it clean in half, and not satisfied with that, another attacked the head end and ripped that up as well.
It was time for Keith’s “family day out”. Ian took them out to a nearby patch reef for a session of bait fishing. The girls caught a cooler box full of snappers etc which were sent down to a very grateful village. After lunch Ian took Keith up Monkey River looking for tarpon. Keith managed to turn a few over but no hook ups.
Later, Keith and I had a try in the back lagoon for tarpon. They were there, but deep in the timber and almost impossible to lure out into open water. I lost a snapper back there, and we both turned over tarpon.
Next up, the dynamic duo were out bright and early on their way out to the reef for another livebaiting session. True to form Steve hooked the biggest fish which ran backwards and forwards, up and down, ahead of the boat and behind it, while Ian and Billie debated what it could be. They were all wrong. It turned out to be a 15lb 9oz Blackfin Tuna, which is an exceptional size for here. This was followed by a filefish. This is the first of these weird looking fish landed at Steppingstones. Not really a sport fish, but technically a record!
Later in the day Steve hooked two fish in 200ft of water which ran irresistibly into rocks under heavy pressure. Hard to know what these were, but big grouper looks the best guess.
We all had tuna steaks for dinner. There is nothing in this world to match fresh tuna on the BBQ with a salad (homegrown) and a glass of chardonnay.
Last day of Ian’s booking fell to Keith. By all accounts he had a ball, with a double figure kingfish heading a full fish box of barracuda , snappers , etc. The biggest pair of barracudas were released back safely. Keith’s complaints of sore shoulders and strained muscles were not met with much sympathy. But the twinkle in his eyes told a different story!
During this period, Steve and Billie also found time to get out in our kayaks and had some decent fish on the patch reef in front of Steppingstones, and also around Greater Monkey caye. Steves best fish was a 20lb stingray which he managed to unhook at the side of the kayak.
All in all this has been a pretty eventful fortnight, with three new records, the blackfin tuna and the mutton snapper and (grudgingly) the filefish all caught by Steve. Both Steve and Billie lost big fish to livebait in deep water, which raises yet again the question of whether we should have a serious effort to catch one of these monsters.
Please note that all the fish brought to the dock, except those kept for our own consumption, were taken down for distribution in Monkey River village.
Pics will follow - the internet is on go slow right now.
posted by Sue Harris @ 5:26 pm
2 Comments:
Thanks for the "cast by cast" recounting of the recent activities at Steppingstones! If you ever want to give ice fishing a try, come visit us during a Minnesota winter ...
What a week! My only regret is that the quality of the fish and the skill of the guides far surpass my angling skills. All you can do is hang on when one of those tackle-busting beasts empties your reel. As for that international challenge, the Americans are demanding a rematch and screaming for vengeance. Many thanks Chris and Sue for another perfect holiday.
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