THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

CUBA
Cuba for me is a country of contradiction. Its
geographical position and political isolation suggest
it should have lots of fish. But when you go there
looking for them, you can't help but wonder where
they all are.
The simple answer it seems is that for the most part
the locals have caught and eaten them. Forced to take
anything and everything, regardless of the
consequences, austerity is a powerful driving force.
Add to this the fact of the state owning and having a
monopoly on everything, lack of incentive is another
reason why the fishing is poor. Even if the fish were
still there, local people it seems are not in a position
to help anglers exploit them.
Two examples of this that I came across are that when
I did find a boat to fish from, because it was
government owned and the crew received a regular
wage, even the weakest of excuses not to sail was
enough to cancel trips. So I went off looking for
alternatives, and eventually found a chap in charge of speed boat trips for tourists, who, after much third
party cloak and dagger arrangements to go out after normal work time into the mangrove swamps and
fish, never turned up.
I had to endure similar experiences with so called fly fishing guides working outside their normal day
jobs too, though in fairness, I did see them turn up occasionally for some arrangements. So, a country
lacking incentives, and for the most part also lacking fish. But not everywhere.
Having watched TV programs about the wonderful fishing potential in and around Cuba, I can't help
wondering just how genuine these reports are. You never seem to see much in the way of hard evidence.
The odd fish here and there, but certainly nothing that you couldn't get as regularly and with much more
ease in nearby Florida.
The truth of the matter seems to be that if you want to do well in Cuba, you have to go to areas where
the locals can't fish, and that means officially restricted areas of which there are just a few.
The main angling centres are guided operations, usually run by outsiders given permission to set up in
the national parks, where for obvious reasons the locals either cannot or dare not go in to fish, or in
areas where the locals are excluded for 'other' reasons.
I first investigated the former, and while the fishing looked interesting, decided against it as I was there
for a family holiday wanting to take days out rather than committing to a full week at a time.
The latter however was much easier to come to terms with, though it still had limitations of a different
sort. You needed to base yourself within a restricted area, which looking back at the location I chose,
was no hardship whatsoever.
My choice was to to book a stay at Cayo Coco which is located towards the extremity of a long isolated
finger of land terminating in a few small islands along the north coast of Cuba, stretching from around
Nuevitas to well beyond Moron.
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