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"Where the trout have shoulders and the |
Gordon Honey's #16 - 763 Front Street |
Cuba and Bone Fishing Our WayWhat the heck is Cuba Our Way you ask? Well here is the deal. We did the Bahamas (Sandy Point) and Mexico. It was, and still is, fantastic but very costly! This is the way my wife Debbie and I now enjoy flats fishing. Our way: We now go to central Cuba to an Islet called Cayo Coco. It is considerably less costly than a Bone Fish Camp and works for both of us in that Debbie loves to fish but she also loves the beach life! Here is a cost comparison: Our current cost for a 14 day trip to Cuba and Cayo Coco is approximately $7000 CND for the two of us, all inclusive from Vancouver. Our trip to Sandy Point in the Bahamas was $10,000 CDN for 8 days; pretty simple math! Cayo Coco has a very nice four year old airport 20 minutes from the hotel. We stay at the Melia Cayo Coco in the Lagoon rooms and have been doing so for four years and we LOVE it. We fly directly out of Kamloops to either Vancouver or Calgary, then onto Toronto. This may seem a bit circuitous but you can’t there from here! There are no flights from Vancouver to Varadaro -- Havana yes, but not from Vancouver. Big benefit of the Toronto connection is that it is only a three and a half hour flight to Cayo Coco.
The Melia has a beautiful beach, is an adult only, smaller property (260 rooms), food is good, and staff are fabulous! Another plus; it is the last resort on the strip, makes for great beach walking. Last year on the first day while waiting for our rooms, we headed for the beach. I put on my snorkeling gear and guess what? 20’ from shore in 10’ of water a school of Bones; I nearly drowned yelling Bones, Bones into my snorkel! Now to the fishing we met Orlando and Duniesky four years ago and have become good friends with Orlando and his wife Ivis. The fishing is laid back and is all walk wading on the flats or on the beaches. A typical day would be as follows; we are picked but by the guys at the hotel, time is all based on tides and then drive to the flats 20 minutes away. We fish for four to five hours then return for a late lunch at the resort. Our typical fishing is three days a week and we choose our days based on the weather; hopefully avoiding windy, cloudy days. Let me emphasize that this is fishing Our Way and not a hard core trip to a pricey Bone Fish Camp, where if the weather is poor you have no options. Our expectations are based on this casual approach, meaning we may not get as many shots at Bones as one might spending a week at a Bone Fish Camp. For example our best day last year was four or five fish each with a nice double to boot! (Note that Debbie’s fish is of course BIGGER than mine) Later that week Deb stayed on the beach I landed six good size Bones and had shots at three or four more, my buddy Lloyd Horwood had a great day as well, not bad for a four hour walk wade. *Note Costs for the fishing is $70 Convertible Pesos (equal to the US $) per person
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