But first you have to go where the tarpon are. So when our original plan to fish the Keys went awry, Captains DiPaola and Felker did a little internet research and set up a trip to the Rio Indio Lodge in San Juan de Nicaragua. The lodge is located a few miles north of the border with Costa Rica, a short boat ride from the small village of San Juan de Nicaragua (or its British name of Greytown). It sits right in the no kidding jungle; monkeys everywhere, crocodiles in the river, bugs galore. But the lodge is very accommodating, the staff phenomenal, and the rooms extremely comfortable (with working AC).
Getting there was a trip in itself. We overnighted in San Jose Costa Rica, then on Saturday morning took a short flight to the airport in Greytown. After clearing customs we hopped a boat (the only means of getting around ... there are no roads in this part of the country) for the 5 minute ride to the lodge. Once we got our gear stowed we were out on the water by about 1030. Weather was what you would expect in the jungle; temps in the 80s, humidity hovering around 90 percent or so. We headed out to the coast, which in May is where the tarpon were allegedly hanging out. After two hours of drifting around, our guide Rosendo Ruiz decided it was time for lunch. Meals at the lodge were local fare; pork, chicken, beef, rice, black beans. Uncomplicated, but extremely well prepared and delicious. After lunch it was time to hit the water again. For about an hour or so we continued drifting with no sightings. The tactics for the three days were pretty simple. Unless we saw fish, Rosendo would position the boat about a mile or so offshore, we would strip out about 40 feet of line (sinking lines a must to get the flies down), and as the easterly winds pushed the boat toward the shore we would keep the flies moving either by stripping a few feet, or jigging the fly. It may seem pedantic, but if you don't see fish breaking the surface, there's really nothing else to do but keep the fly in the presumed path of the fish. The other advantage is not wearing yourself out casting a 12 weight fly rod.
At about 3:15 Joe noticed a flash near the boat. As my line was about 5 feet away from his, I started striping to see if I could entice a strike. Then it happened. My line went tight for a brief moment, then the reel started whining as line started peeling off. Tightening down the drag slowed the fish, which apparently jumped out of the water soon after I strip set the hook. If it did I can't remember. The first 30 seconds of the fight was a blur. After that my brain caught up to the fish and then the fight was on. For about 20 minutes the fish rushed the boat, ran away from the boat, jumped, rushed the boat, went under and around the boat (which put a bend in my Sage 12 weight that was hard to believe), a sequence that was repeated several times before the tarpon tired enough for Rosendo to grab the leader and control the 30-40 lb fish until it could be brought into the boat. A few pics later we put the tarpon back in the water, ran him back and forth through the water until he was revived enough to swim away.
Mission partially accomplished. We returned to our previous tactics, and I was rewarded with a second fish that went about 80lbs, which we were able to get a leader touch before the fish bolted from the boat and broke off the fly.
As it turned out, from a gear perspective we were both over prepared and underprepared for the trip. While 12 weight rods are a must, we should have brought some 8 wts for Snook. We bought a bunch of pre-tied trapon leaders, but watching our guide cut up our leaders made us realize we could have gotten away with a spool of 80lb flourocarbon line. As for flies, I recommend when going to a remote location to stay away from the big box fly fishing companies and call an outfitter to tailor your flies to the location. A huge shout out to the staff at Blackfly Outfitters in Jacksonville Fl (https://www.blackflyoutfitters.com/), who tied the flies that caught fish.
Sunday night a massive storm blew through that changed conditions significantly. For our first two days we fished under partly cloudy skies and winds around 10 knots. Monday morning we were greeted by easterly winds easily in the 20 knot range, with swells averaging 3-4 feet, with several that easily went 6-8 feet. It didn't seem like conditions conducive to hooking a fish, and after an hour or so of being thrown around in the 27 foot boat Joe and I looked at each other with that "why are we out here in this stuff" look. It wasn't long after that moment of doubt that Joe shouted "I'm on!" and was into a fish that the guide estimated went 100 lbs. A couple of glimpses of the fish as it jumped confirmed it was the fish of the trip. And, had conditions been a little more reasonable, Joe would have boated the fish. As it was, the weather and the fish conspired against him. The tarpon got on the other side of a 6-7 foot swell, and the extra tension broke the big fish off. But Joe was rewarded a bit later, when a 48 inch barracuda hit his fly that, despite a mono leader, he managed to bring the toothy fish into the boat. With that Rosendo decided that we'd be better off heading back to the lodge for lunch. Good call. And with the winds expected to only increase, we decided to fish calmer waters, and headed up the river to fish for Snook. While it was fun traveling up a jungle river, the fish were not accommodating. Fortunately, the staff had caught a couple of nice Snook that morning, so we at least got to enjoy some fillets at dinner.
If you're into adventure, the Rio Indio is the place to go. And, according to the owners, September and October see the arrival of calmer weather and a migration of tarpon from Venezuela that tip the scales over 200 lbs. As for the staff, we could not have asked for a better guide. Rosendo put us on fish, but more importantly kept things calm in the boat. As he put it best ... "no pressure." Which was how fishing for tarpon ought to be. Whether you're rewarded with a photo or not, just being around the fish, with the chance of getting the fight of your life, is worth the trip. Like I said, it's all about attitude.
Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing
No comments:
Post a Comment