St. Thomas, Tortola, Samana - Trip Report

Well, in three days I am leaving on a cruise for St. Thomas USVI, Tortola BVI, and Samana DP.
I am bringing my fly rod and a few flies.
I am not going to hire a guide as they want to charge $480 for 4 hours, and I have a family I want to spend some time with.
In St. Thomas and Tortola, I was going to find some place close by the ship to fish. Samana has such bad reviews on corruption I would be afraid of the local officials trying to milk a "rich American" with fees and fines if I tried to fish. The ship does offer the Cayo Levantado beach excursion that has swimming, snorkeling, and whatever you want to do on the little island. Possibly, I might be able to fish there if we paid the $29.00 per person for the excursion.
Does anyone have experience with any of these places? Any advice? I only have limited time in each port.
Thanks,
Alan


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I am back and have my report in case anyone else wants the info.

In all cases I went shopping with my wife and kids while keeping an eye out for places to come back to. My fishing time was limited to the time the ship was in port, obviously. Unfortunately, those times rarely correspond with good fishing times.:roll:

In St. Thomas the cruise ships dock about a mile from the accessible harbor breakwater. The breakwater lines a main road that has heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic. You have to plan your backcasts accordingly. The breakwater rocks are very big but I found good footing in many places. I tried a pink shrimp pattern and a brown shrimp pattern with no takers. It was afternoon before I got a chance to get my line wet. The wind was very heavy the day I was there, it was rainy, and the tide was going out. I was told that many of the older men came to the harbor after dark to fish, but after walking close to eight miles already, and uncertain of walking through an unfamiliar and darkened town after sundown, I decided to not go out again.:(

In Tortola, I had even less time, I was told the permit would cost $45, it was rainy, and the tide was also on its way out, so I didn?t even try. However, there did look to be a nice breakwater just a half-mile from the pier.:?

In Samana, we paid $120 to be taken to a private island to snorkel, swim, and fish. I had the devious idea to snorkel out and find the fish, then go back and cast for them. :twisted: My evil plot failed. Three days before, a tropical storm ravaged the area. The water was cloudy and we couldn?t see more that five feet in front of us snorkeling. The water was filled with leaves, trash, and other debris. I saw two small fish that would be good in an aquarium. I still tried fishing, well away from all of the other guests, but again the tide was going out, and the wind was straight in my face. I was trying the Velcro crab pattern and while I got a good back cast, the line wanted to pile up going forward, and I rarely got a line out more than forty feet, which was still in shallow water. I wanted to wade out farther but the wave were kicking up some pretty big waves and kept sucking the sand out from under my feet, so after an hour of cussing, I gave up. Oh, and it was rainy?:roll:

I also want to report that I made all of my crab flies reddish brown. When I finally got to see a real crab, after I was done fishing, it was frog green in color.:roll:

In retrospect, I wish I would have had a spinning outfit and some small heavy lures to buck the wind, and not had to worry about a back cast catching a Mack truck going by. I also wish I had brought my light-weight rain gear. :(
Alan

To see the crab pattern I used check out the fly tying forum.

Not the most wonderful results for you, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Thanks so much *S*

I don't know how the fishing is on the islands, but when left to my own devices in Florida, I like to fish the beach - just before high tide seems to work for me. Wade out through the first trough and the water will get shallower again. Cast back into just where the waves are breaking. Big snook will run that slot after baitfish and crabs being kicked up by the surf. Sometimes you can see a whole pod of them coming down the beach. Try to catch a morning when the high tide is around 8:00 A.M. and start fishing around 6:00. Watch for sting rays in the morning - shuffle step works to keep from stepping on one.