Will be coming to Jamaica for our first visit on 2/28-3/4. Will be staying at Jake's. I am thinking of bringing fishing poles. Any help on the fishing would be greatly appreciated. Are there fish to catch from shore/wading? If so what? Any barracuda, snook, or bonefish? Also thinking of a charter for a day, any idea of what to expect at this time of year? Thank you in advance and hope to see you there. Can't wait.

I'm sure you can find some local fisherman to take you out. I don't think they use poles, though. You may catch barracuda. Not sure re snook or bone fish.

Check out Fi Reel Fishing Tours for information on their tours. In addition, other local fishermen will take you out. Kingfish, Jack, barracuda, crossbar, and many more are out there waiting to be caught.

fishing from the rocks/beach not particularly productive. sea trolling with feathers/spoons for typical caribbean fish better. kingfish will be in season but you can also pick-up spanish mackerell, mahi mahi, crevalli jacks, barracuda and seveal of the smaller tunas + a whole lot of other possibles. several of the boatmen at frenchmans bay only too willing to take you out and prices are reasonable but do not expect boats equipped with fighting chairs, harnesses & outriggers etc. The expertise of the fishermen varies as some, whilst keen to take you, don't know the fishing areas that well. Jakes can advise. You'll find snook & tarpon in Black River.

Thanks for the info. I want my girlfriend to catch a really big fish. I am not expecting state of the art equipment, I just got back from Puerto Vallarta and there we fished from a water taxi turned fishing boat with our own equipment. Had the best trips I have ever had, not due to the fishing, it was not that good, but due to the great people we were with(I was with my Dad, not my girlfriend). Last year we went to the Florida keys and my girlfriend had on several large fish but lost them all, she is still dreaming of them and I would like to see the dreams come true. This looks like the place of my dreams, hope to see you there.

Kory South just sent this photo over for me. He caught these a few days ago. One is 39 pounds and the other is a 55 pound Mahi Mahi!

Yep,the fishing is good!

Where was this photo taken? What part of Treasure Beach? White sand? - doesn't look familiar to me!

Both fish shown are wahoo or, crossbar as they are known locally. Not a mahi-mahi in sight!

The photo is taken at Sunset Resort. As for the type of fish, I will let you and Kory dispute that, I just wrote what he told me.

The Fish in the picture are definitely wahoo and they are my favorite ones to catch, although there is a huge variety of fish to catch in Treasure Beach everything from amberjack or grouper to huge tarpon and snook.No bonefish sorry. I have been fishing these waters for years and the wahoo is for sure a prize catch We caught these 2 wahoo at the same time and the guests in the boat could not beleive how strong these fish really are, they swim 98 miles an hour and strike like you hooked a tanker truck going the opposite direction down the freeway,!!! that is the best way i can explain it!! yahoo for the wahoo. for further information i can be contacted at Sunset Resort and Villas. Enjoy your fishing!!!

Where can Tarpon be caught? And the fish pictured are definately Wahoo.

Shows you what I know about fish! Sorry for the confusion.

Wahoo are VERY tasty!

The following photo is of a 15lb kingfish caught by myself and Bernard Sutherland in November, 04. This is one of 4 similar sized fish caught in a 3 hour trip.

Looks like I started a good topic by the response. I think that as a fishing community at heart and as a community that basis the things to do as same as the things the local people do at work and at play that fishing should have a major section in this site. If not a large section under see it and do it, it's own section. Could discuss the use of pots, the tradition, what can be caught at various times of the year,etc. Not only would it be an interesting part of the culture, but sport fishing is big business and may open some eyes for other things to experience in TB. Too often I see fishing mentioned as an after thought, but, in my opinion, with this fishing town it should be at the forefront. I read someplace that some of the fishermen live on an small islands 60 miles south and rarely come to town. Would be interesting to me to hear more. For both tradition and culture, but also for the benefit of the fishermen and for the visitor, it should have a more prominent section. Just my two cents. Thanks.

Cudalover, thanks for the feedback. We're always interested in our visitor's opinions of the site.

I believe the island you're referring to is the Pedro Keys...anyone want to supply some information on them?

Peter sent this picture in of Quest...
"...with his tarpon caught in Calabash Bay in the dead of night on a handline – picture sent to me by Sally Henzell. Anyone can have a try to catch one if they are prepared to endure the sandflies!

-Peter"

OK, I'll bring along a lot of bug spray with DEET. Tell me how to do it or is anyone interested in going to show me and I'll supply the Red Stripe? I assume it is fishing from shore. Sounds like a blast. I just looked at the clock, I should be at Jake's almost exactly now in 1 week. See you there. I have to find a place around here that sells 80 lb test, I had a blast shark fishing in Mexico with a handline and now maybe for tarpon. Hope time flies til Monday!

Cudalover & Co - I've enjoyed these posts immensely and look forward to some of my own time on the water from March 9-17 (based at Jake's). I'd love feedback on recent activity or suggestions. I'll have my fly fishing gear with me, but any method will do!

jrioff, I'll be there in 3 days and will be there until 3/4(Friday). I'm hoping to fish for tarpon in the bays, sharks at night in the bays and go out for probably 1 day. Drove a 160 mile round trip yesterday to get what I think we might need. I don't plan on any flyfishing but I will let you know what and where when I get back. Should be able to give you a head start. Doug a.k.a. Cudalover PS: also hope for Cuda from shore with tube lures-I love them-amazingly fast!

I hate to say it but I'm back. I can let you know about the fishing though. We only fished about 9 hours total time over 3 days. The first day we went down to the Black River. We fished for about 2 hours while we did the river tour, my girlfriend had 2 tarpon jump but we didn't land any. There were a lot of tarpon in the river that day but we were also touring the river and going to the Pelican bar, so fishing was kind of a side thing. We had a incredible time, especially at the stop we made above the bridge, take the tour and you will see what I mean. The next day we went to sea, we only got to fish about 3 1/2 hours and my girlfriend got too sick so we had to quit. She caught a Spanish Mackeral and we briefly had on a wahoo. Saw a lot of local guys fishing for yellowtail snapper with both nets and handlines. Wish I had more time to explore that possibility. The next day we went back to the river on our personal quest to catch a tarpon. No luck, I had a hit and missed him and saw a fish that I pitched out a jig and he swirled on it but missed it, the guide caught one on a handline though and that was a lot of fun to see. I did catch a fish while trolling on the way back that day, my only fish in Jamaica, actually 2 of the same thing, I think they were called Balligash. About 11" with a big mouth and lots of little sharp teeth. If you want details and prices e-mail me at bitofsquidd@aol.com.

Sorry, ended up with visitors yesterday and we were sampling some Jamaican rum that I brought home so I cut it short. If you are going and plan to fish, I would say to hook up with Kory South from Sunset Resort. You can believe this or not, but I went out with him chopping fish. Can't say that I ever heard of it either, but it was fun. Before we went out I asked him if this was like snipe hunting in the US, where you go out with an unsuspecting idiot, hold your nose, call the snipes and catch them in a bag. He assured me we would get fish. Armed with machettes and a spotlight, we went to Billy Bay and I chopped my first gar in half. We then searched for lobster, crab and octopus, but couldn't find any that night. Then we went down to Jack Spratz Bay and though it was full of gar, we only managed one more. That was an experience I will never forget. If you are into adventure and experiencing unusual things, this is a must. We went out with Cpt. Kirk on the Enterprise for all our trips. He likes to troll and they prefer to use techniques that they know will work. Might not be the best, but they are time honored techniques that will catch some fish in most situations. jrioff, if you have the fly gear with you, I would plan on some streamers to troll with and bring some flies to fish if you have the opportunity to cast to some. The ocean fishing may be more difficult, I was told that the shallow fish have still not recovered from the hurricane. I can tell you that there was not too many fish up shallow, notably, barracuda. Though we did not catch much, we had a great time with Cpt. Kirk and Kory, we had the opportunities with tarpon and wahoo but didn't have the luck. Do the river tour with Kirk and you will have an incredible experience. You will even find cockles. I don't have Kirk's #, but Kory's is 876-965-0143. Cell # 876-852-5166. With these guys you will see some of the real Jamaica. Enjoy yourself and walk good, Doug.