DESTINATION ANGLER
Discover some stunning holiday angling.
THE Cayman Islands is an autonomous British Oversea Territory located in the western Caribbean to the south of Cuba. It comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, and is recognised as being one of the region’s great sport fishing destinations.
Here we are going to look at the fishing available on Little Cayman, which is an excellent location for a family holiday. Guides are on offer for both shore and boat fishing, but this is a perfect choice of destination for those who like to fish on their own.
It’s a tropical paradise, where travelling sports fishermen will find excellent and easily accessed light-tackle fishing all around Little Cayman’s relatively short coastline, as well as within the island’s famous Tarpon Lake.
KEY SPECIES
Most anglers who visit Little Cayman focus on targeting bonefish, permit and tarpon. Bonefish are especially common, and while their average size is in the region of 1lb-4lb, I have seen much bigger fish.
On a good day, you’ll cast to many bonefish swimming in large schools if you fish afloat, or smaller groups and individual fish if you wade from the shore.
Tarpon are a fish that feature on most anglers’ bucket lists, and you’ll get plenty of opportunities to hook a ‘silver king’ throughout the Cayman Islands. At Tarpon Lake, on Little Cayman, you’ll find lots of resident juvenile tarpon, fish ranging from babies of just a couple of pounds to individuals up to 20lb. You can fish from a convenient boardwalk, or hire a guide and boat. Along the coast you’ll occasionally find opportunities to cast to much bigger fish.
Permit are relatively common, especially when wading flats in the immediate vicinity to the reef. Other species caught on a regular basis from the shore include barracuda, various species of jack, snapper, and grouper, while offshore you’ll find blackfin and yellowfin tuna, marlin, wahoo and dorado.
WHERE & WHEN
The main fishing season in Little Cayman starts in November, after the end of the rain and hurricane season. Book a trip at this time of the year and you’ll likely experience a day or two of disruption from wind and some rain showers, but the fish will be fresh and eager to hit a fly, lure or bait.
The main flats season runs from December until early June, and this is generally a great time to book a trip, with minimal likelihood of experiencing bad weather. In July and August the weather is very hot, though often you’ll experience beautiful, windless days that are perfect for sight fishing.
TACKLE
For general fishing, a light and a medium weight spinning rod will cover most situations. The lighter rod should be suitable for casting lures and baits up to 1oz-2oz; the medium rod is able to fish heavier lures up to 3oz-4oz.
Use 3000-6000 size fixed-spool reels loaded with around 20-30lb braid. Pack a selection of lures and include deep and shallow-diving plugs, stick baits, soft plastic weighted shads, and don’t forget some small surface poppers, which are deadly for jacks and tarpon.
Make sure all your lures are rigged with strong hardware. A combination of braid and a 20lb tarpon heading for a sunken tree will likely end in a lost fish if you use unsuitable hooks, swivels or links.
Many anglers who fish Little Cayman plan to fly-fish. I carry two fly-outfits – the first is an 8wt rigged with a floating weightforward tropical taper line, which is perfect for bonefish and permit. The second is a 10wt that I fish with either a weight-forward floating or a sink/intermediate tip line, which is ideal for tarpon, plus casting bulky crab flies on breezy days for permit.