Fishing

Fishing | Cayos de Villa Clara

Deep Sea Fishing

You can fish the deep waters surrounding the Cayos de Villa Clara (Cayo Santa Maria, Cayo Las Brujas et Cayo Ensenachos) aboard comfortable and fully equipped powerboats, with an experience crew of local fishermen. The capacity of these yachts is usually up to 4 fishermen plus 4 companions. The fishing base is on Cayo Las Brujas, only a few minutes by bus from every hotel in the cayos. Species found in these waters include: amberjack, wahoo, mahi mahi, grouper, barracuda, snapper, mackerel kingfish, and the mysterious swordfish. More information on the: Deep-Sea Fishing Excursions

Flyfishing and Casting

The "Cayos de Villa Clara" located in the "Jardines del Rey" archipelago, off the north-central coast of Cuba, is a world-class location for fly fishing and casting. The area is particularly famous for its excellent tarpon density, one of the best in the Caribbean. Between March and August, the large migratory tarpon abound, they can reach up to 100-150 lbs. (with an average size between 60 and 90 lb.), and between 10-60 Lb at any time of the year. Bonefish and Permits are also abundant around these keys, as well as many other species such as barracuda, kingfish, yellowtail, snapper, sea pike, wahoo, grouper, etc. The fishing base is located in Cayo Las Brujas. Fishing is done from motorized skiffs (flat bottom boats) with two fishermen and one guide per boat. Depending on the season and conditions, sight fishing for tarpon is done in immense flats or in deeper lagoons and channels. More information on the: Fly-Fishing Excursions

Shore fishing

According to the last information we had, DIY shore fishing is not legal, because fishing rights have been allocated to a commercial outfitter for the entire area. But unlike other places in Cuba (like Cayo Largo), the fishing ban doesn’t seem to be strictly enforced, which is difficult anyway given the entire length of coastline in the archipelago. So people who are discreetly fishing, not to close to the hotels’ swimming beaches, are usually OK.

Bridge Fishing on the causeway (Pedraplen)

The “Cayos de Villa Clara” are connected to the main island of Cuba by a 48-km causeway which has 46 bridges. If you hire a government-licensed guide, you can fish from these bridges but you must have your own tackle. Although DYI fishing is “officially” forbidden from the bridges, every time we went there we saw tourists who seemed to be fishing there alone.