dean_mt
Well-known member
My brother and his family moved to Grand Cayman Island last summer so my family had been planning/dreaming of a trip there this spring. I had never been to the Caribbean and have long dreamed of standing in that emerald water, casting to visible fish. We left Montana on April 7 for a 10 day spring break trip. It's a long way from Montana to the Caymans.
Our first layover was 12 hours in Las Vegas, another first for me. After a few hours walking the strip I had seen enough, but the day went on and on. We departed on a red-eye and got to Houston early the next morning, and slept sitting up at an empty terminal gate. We didn't leave till noon or so, my daughter and I were ready to give up! We got to the island and the humid ocean air hit, finally at my brother's apartment the view, breeze, and cold beer made the previous 27 hours fade away.
We didn't do any real fishing until the end of the week when my brother and I flew out to Little Cayman Island. We flew to Cayman Brac and then got on a twin Otter for the last jump to the little island. Open cockpit, really fun flight.
We were picked up at the "airport" by a dude that works as a fishing and scuba guide at the small resort we stayed at. They call all the places resorts but they are small, laid back, and unpretentious. We head out on his boat looking for "a mud" -- a place where so many fish are actively feeding on the bottom that you see a big plum of white mud in the water. The wind was cranking 20+ knots and casting was of course and issue. But fishing in these muds is pretty simple, cast and let your fly sink then retrieve with short strips. The hook snags grass often and it's hard to tell if its a fish or not. I was strip setting a lot grass. I did manage one small Jack, two small yellow tail grouper, and one bonefish. It was small and made a couple hard charges but not the instant run straight away like I was told every fish does. After working the mud to death we hit a nice flat on the lee side of a small island. We saw some fish and made some casts but no luck. We went back for a late lunch.
We rented a couple scooters for 24 hours and had access to the entire island basically. The dude from the resort showed us all the potential spots and protected flats and we were off.
The next morning we hopped on the scooters and went up the road to a different resort that rents kayaks. We paddled out to the island to stalk that flat for a few hours. I got pretty good at spotting fish but they were either too close or too far off and moving the wrong way. At the edge of the flat on the corner of the island there was a little sandy point and some really bones kept cruising through there occasionally. Some small groups of 3-4 fish went by me but I was exposed to the wind again and couldn't get a cast out in time. Then I saw a large school of 10-15 fish come off a grass patch and moving toward me. I'd try to get in a position where I thought might work and then they'd veer off. We had them sort of trapped as they would head toward my brother then spook and head back to me. I'd cast out in front and wait, then strip when I thought they were close to my fly. It was fun but quite frustrating. A whole lot of waiting and watching then a frantic moment of stripping line, shoot a cast... nothing.
It was super beautiful and a great experience. That little island was a lot of fun.
Our first layover was 12 hours in Las Vegas, another first for me. After a few hours walking the strip I had seen enough, but the day went on and on. We departed on a red-eye and got to Houston early the next morning, and slept sitting up at an empty terminal gate. We didn't leave till noon or so, my daughter and I were ready to give up! We got to the island and the humid ocean air hit, finally at my brother's apartment the view, breeze, and cold beer made the previous 27 hours fade away.
We didn't do any real fishing until the end of the week when my brother and I flew out to Little Cayman Island. We flew to Cayman Brac and then got on a twin Otter for the last jump to the little island. Open cockpit, really fun flight.
We were picked up at the "airport" by a dude that works as a fishing and scuba guide at the small resort we stayed at. They call all the places resorts but they are small, laid back, and unpretentious. We head out on his boat looking for "a mud" -- a place where so many fish are actively feeding on the bottom that you see a big plum of white mud in the water. The wind was cranking 20+ knots and casting was of course and issue. But fishing in these muds is pretty simple, cast and let your fly sink then retrieve with short strips. The hook snags grass often and it's hard to tell if its a fish or not. I was strip setting a lot grass. I did manage one small Jack, two small yellow tail grouper, and one bonefish. It was small and made a couple hard charges but not the instant run straight away like I was told every fish does. After working the mud to death we hit a nice flat on the lee side of a small island. We saw some fish and made some casts but no luck. We went back for a late lunch.
We rented a couple scooters for 24 hours and had access to the entire island basically. The dude from the resort showed us all the potential spots and protected flats and we were off.
The next morning we hopped on the scooters and went up the road to a different resort that rents kayaks. We paddled out to the island to stalk that flat for a few hours. I got pretty good at spotting fish but they were either too close or too far off and moving the wrong way. At the edge of the flat on the corner of the island there was a little sandy point and some really bones kept cruising through there occasionally. Some small groups of 3-4 fish went by me but I was exposed to the wind again and couldn't get a cast out in time. Then I saw a large school of 10-15 fish come off a grass patch and moving toward me. I'd try to get in a position where I thought might work and then they'd veer off. We had them sort of trapped as they would head toward my brother then spook and head back to me. I'd cast out in front and wait, then strip when I thought they were close to my fly. It was fun but quite frustrating. A whole lot of waiting and watching then a frantic moment of stripping line, shoot a cast... nothing.
It was super beautiful and a great experience. That little island was a lot of fun.
