CAYO CRUZ, CUBA 26 NOVEMBER - 1 DECEMBER 2023

I had the distinct pleasure of hosting a group of 8 anglers to the flats fisher's paradise that is Cayo Cruz.

The experience of the group ranged from complete beginner to seasoned angler but no matter what your level of competence, all anglers were appropriately catered for.

The week began with unseasonably hot and calm weather and even the guides complained of the heat! Such settled conditions are not best suited to permit fishing, but this was more than compensated for by some excellent bonefishing and the unexpected presence of good numbers of tarpon. During several trips to Cayo Cruz at this time of year I have never witnessed such high numbers, with pods actively feeding in both mangrove channels and the open sea.

During this initial period, anglers enjoyed great sport with bonefish of a high average weight. Bill accounted for 4 fine bonefish on his first ever day of flats fishing and returned to the Marina a happy angler indeed, while Stephen and his father Martin recorded 15 bones to the skiff and a tarpon each.

I shared a skiff with Julian on Day 2 and we both achieved record catches of bonefish for the day, with Julian claiming 11 fish and a further 20 bonefish coming to my own rod.

The excellent bonefishing continued into the third day, before a quickly moving front cooled things down and introduced a gusting wind on Day 4. Low light conditions saw the skiffs mainly concentrating on deeper water and the margins of mangrove cays in search of snapper, jacks and Barracuda. The sport provided by large snapper which flew out from the mangroves to chase a chartreuse clouser was exhilarating and tremendous fun. Many flies were lost to the unexpected attention of large Cuda.

Weather of a more tropical nature returned for the final 2 days and bonefish were back on the menu. I enjoyed two days of fabulous wading in shallow lagoons, where stalking tailing bones was the order of the day. On the second morning of wading I caught a PB bonefish on the first cast, before leaving Howard and our guide Nelson to wade alone. For me, this is the pinnacle of our sport and I rejoined the boys several hours later having caught 5 fabulous bones.

Howard and Nelson were armed with a 10wt rigged for Cuda in addition to the bonefish rod, as Cuda are commonly encountered at the margins of the mangroves, waiting for bonefish to drop out as the tide falls. After a few near misses, Howard was rewarded with a hard fighting Cuda of 15lb.

Elsewhere, John was busy racking up an impressive number of bonefish along with a brace of fine tarpon. Mac joined in on the tarpon fun and caught a nice permit on the final day. Boat partner Geoff suffered bad luck with the tarpon but accounted for a good number of impressive bonefish.

Julian, Stephen and Bill enjoyed success with Cuda, while Howard added a brace of large Snapper to his tally.

We stayed at the La Marina and Spa Hotel on Cayo Cruz, barely 100 meters from the fishing boats. The hotel was comfortable and the staff looked after us extremely well. The hotel bar was the perfect place to swap fishy stories over a few cocktails each evening.

The next hosted trip to Cayo Cruz with Go Fishing Worldwide will depart on the 22nd November 2024.