Trinidad's Open Water Tarpon Adventure
Even if you’ve only dreamed of hooking a tarpon on the fly, you’re probably familiar with the basic scenario. With the help of a guide, you’ll most likely be sight-fishing the flats in an exotic destination while hoping for a glimpse at a shadow cruising broadside across your bow. If all goes as planned, you’ll lead your target perfectly and quietly slice your offering across its path. It’s then that the water erupts with a huge boil as your streamer pattern is viciously engulfed. Instantly, the drag begins to scream. Seconds later, backing shows on the reel spool – and then a huge silver beast goes airborne with a shaky-head leap.
While the above may be the classic tarpon fly-fishing image, as with most trophy fish species there are other ways to connect for those open to new ideas. White Water Outfitters’ Capt. Jeff Lomonaco proved this premise on a trip to Trinidad and Tobago he took with his wife, Alanna, and a couple of his friends last October.
Alanna and Jeff with a good-sized Tarpon at boatside.
“We experienced some great tarpon action over deep, open water with Capt. Johnathan De La Rosa of Monsta Tarpon Sportfishing in the Bocas Del Dragón region on Trinadad’s northwest corner,” revealed Jeff upon his return. “It turned out to be a vastly different way to work up tarpon from a fly-fishing perspective. Challenging, effective and fun, it’s certainly worth a shot if you’d like to try something new while pursuing the silver kings. The area features a small system of islands and passes where unique structure, deep water and strong currents conspire to present some curious challenges to fly-casters – challenges that can be overcome to best the biggest tarpon of your life any day of the year. You could be fishing over 200-feet of water here, along shear shoreline cliffs, reefs or slopes with all sorts of boulder fields, outcroppings, humps and valleys,” he recalled. “The possibilities and combinations are amazing.”
Although it takes some time to get the hang of the proper fly presentations with this kind of action, Jeff described the fishing as “ridiculously good,” so you shouldn’t have much problem hooking-up if you decide to give it a shot. In his first visit to the area, he managed to hook a dozen tarpon on the fly over the course of three days, landing six. His biggest on the long rod checked in at about 60-70 pounds, but he also coaxed several in the 40-pound class, plus a few in the 20- to 30-pound range. Others on board the vessel also scored well with spinning gear – the route which helped Alanna connect with her first tarpon ever. Alanna also caught the biggest tarpon of the trip, an estimated 140-pound beast taken on spinning gear.
Tarpon on the fly rod airing out, with Jeff angling. Photo by Capt. Jonathan De La Rosa
“I really enjoyed the 30-pounders most of all because dealing with a fish twice that size in such deep water is an arduous task,” laughs Jeff. “Those big ones jump all over, of course, but the end of the fight can be torture as a monster circles like a tuna in deep water under the boat.”
Those are typical catches for this area from May into December, points out Capt. Jonathan. “That’s the peak of the season for tarpon action here, and we can see as many as 50 hook-ups a day with fish in the 30- to 60-pound class. Through the winter months, we’ll see five or six hook-ups per angler each trip, but the fish generally run bigger, often pushing up over 100 pounds. Still, you can run into a ‘monsta’ tarpon weighing 150 to 200 pounds here any day of the year - and in any spot we fish.”
Decent sized tarpon caught on an LI Flies "Deceiver Plus".
What makes the waters so productive in this area? Capt. Jonathan believes they are enriched by all the nutrients that flow into the region from Venezuela’s massive Orinoco River system. “All that richness attracts and holds bait for our resident fish during the winter months, then even more tarpon arrive to spawn through the spring and summer,” explains the skipper who has been chartering here for over 25 years. “The topography makes a difference, too. There are serious channels and structure between each of the islands here, so the fish have plenty of great habitat and choices.”
To be sure, this is a deepwater fishery with reefs that can come up to 20 feet from the bottom, and other spots where you can catch tarpon in 120 to 150 feet of water or even deeper. “When the fish are holding close to the bottom, you’ll have to use lead and live bait with spinning or conventional gear, notes Capt. Jonathan. “Live herring and Spanish sardines work really well, but to entice real monsters we like to use dead ribbonfish.”
A "Bluewater" style fly rod with an extended grip and fighting butt makes it a lot easier to fight these beasts in deep water. Photo by Capt. Jonathan De La Rosa
As for fly fishing, Jeff noted the early morning in some spots offers a chance to cast to tarpon rolling atop the deep waters. At other times - especially when the tide and drift slow a bit, you can cast out and allow your line to sink down 5- to 25 feet or more and then strip your streamer back with sharp twitches. With a bit more current, you can also simply let your streamer sink and swing if the boat is drifting slower than the fly. In either case, you’ll be fishing blind, just waiting to feel a pick-up before setting the hook on fish holding in boulder fields like stripers do at home. As a rule, 5- to 7-inch bulky Deceiver-style streamers in olive or chartreuse over white score best, but you’ll need them tied on strong hooks because these fish mean business.
“Most of the time, I was blind casting, allowing my line to sink and then slowly stripping it in without knowing if anything was chasing my offering until I felt a bite,” says Jeff. “We fished anywhere from 40- to 100-foot depths, often along magnificent shear rock faces lining the islands. You could only imagine what kind of structure was down there in terms of submerged boulders and ledges. There’s a ton of structure, and the current rips through the passes, so it’s a much different way to target tarpon than most anglers are used to.”
While they are difficult fish to fight, this fishing can be fun for angler's of all skill levels depending on how you approach it.
Naturally, you’ll need to choose some quality heavy fly-fishing gear to be successful with the heavy hitters and varied conditions here. Jeff recommends a 12-wt. “bluewater” style fly rod since they have a little fiberglass built into them, which can be a big help when trying to lift heavy fish fighting straight up and down at the end of its battle. Think TFO Bluewater SG Fly Rods, or something similar. If all you have is a “regular” 12 wt., that will do. Just be careful, watch your rod angles and drag pressure.
Your choice of fly reels should also be robust and dependable because if something breaks or fails, there’s no one local that can fix it. Jeff suggests a Hatch 11+, Tibor Gulfstream or similar high-end choice. Reels should be loaded with a quality 500 grain sinking fly line, and 65 lb. spectra backing. As far as leaders go, it’s not necessary to go crazy with tapers here and line class tippets unless you’re trying to go for records. Sharks are not a problem here at all, so you don’t need to worry about having to break fish off. I prefer a straight 60 to 80 lb. leader, which makes it easy to get the fish to the boat in a reasonable amount of time. Be sure to bring lots of flies in the 5 to 7 inch range. Deceivers with a bulky tie, Enrico Puglisi style flies, Sedotti slammers, and Hollow Fleyes tied on heavy duty hooks like an Owner Aki all work well.
As for getting there, you can fly into Florida and then on to Trinidad where a car service will pick you up and drop you off at the marina, where a short boat ride will take you to the Monsta Tarpon Lodge on Gaspar Grande (Gasparee) Island (you can arrange for a group of four to eight people to stay on an all-inclusive basis), or at a hotel two minutes from the marina. If you’d also like to do a little touring, note that Trinadad has one of the largest leatherneck turtle nesting sites in the world, great birding, and Tobago not very far away. For more information on travel, fishing and lodging arrangements, contact Monsta Tarpon Sportfishing.
- Bryce Poyer
