Written by Frank Thompson. Photos by Captain Jimmy Nelson of Extreme Fishing Adventures
The Cayman Islands are a well-known vacation destination offering beautiful beaches, clear water, and great diving. The islands are easily accessible with regular flights from Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, New York, and other cities. Flight time from Miami to Grand Cayman is only 1 hour and 5 minutes. Accommodations range from private villas to luxury condos and five-star hotels. There are lots of activities for the entire family to enjoy during a Cayman vacation, both above and below the crystal clear water. In this article, we will focus on the great
Starting inshore, battles with Bonefish can be enjoyed year-round on all 3 islands. Anglers can cast a fly or shrimp to the Bones on the flats in Little Cayman or drift through the Bonefish muds in the North Sound and engage in a memorable tug of war with these majestic fish. Tarpon in the 30 to
Moving offshore, anglers can test their skills with Tuna, Wahoo, Dolphin or Marlin. Blackfin Tuna and Skipjack are great fun to catch on light tackle, especially for novice or budding anglers. Crews regularly troll small feathers on 20-30 pound reels for Blackfin and Skipjack, then use them as live bait for Yellowfin Tuna or Marlin, as well as, strip baits for trolling. Yellowfin are generally targeted off the West End of Cayman Brac, East End of Grand Cayman and on the Cayman Bank (12 miles west of Grand Cayman). Chunking is the preferred method to catch Yellowfin in Cayman. Captains start their drifts up current of the bank in a depth of around 1800 feet and will drift into 200 feet before retrieving their lines and starting another drift. During each drift crews chum with Barracuda, Blackfin, Skipjack or Sprats. Hooks can be baited with cut bait, however, live Flying Fish, Goggle-eye or Blackfin seem to attract the larger Yellowfin. In recent weeks, Yellowfin caught on the Cayman Bank have averaged 80 pounds with the occasional 100+pounder being boated off the East End of Grand Cayman.
Wahoo can be caught throughout the year, but are more abundant during October through March with the full moon in February traditionally yielding the bigger fish. Most
Dolphin
Blue and White Marlin are caught during every month of the year, however, higher numbers are caught in the spring and summer months. Blues can also be found along the weed lines feeding on younger Dolphin and some crews will troll for both Marlin and Dolphin at the same time. A typical Marlin spread will consist of 4-8 lines with a mixture of lures and rigged horse Ballyhoo. Most Captains target the Blues north of the island between the drop and 10 miles off as well as between the Cayman Bank and the Northwest point of the island. Blues in the spring range from 100-250 pounds and the 400+ pound fish show up in June and July.
There are a number of tournaments held in the Cayman Islands each year with the largest being the Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament held each spring, which offers over $200,000 in cash and prizes.
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