Fly fishing forum user: “I am headed to Jamaica next month with the family and hope to squeeze in some fly fishing. Does anyone know of any flats I can wade or guides I can look up?”

Reply: “I too am headed to Jamaica. I haven’t found anything but I’ll keep looking. Let me know what you find.”

Type Jamaica in on any forum where fly anglers meet and you’ll soon see this common thread or a variation of it. Some date back to the mid 90’s, some from last winter. All are followed by radio silence, testament to the fact that though hundreds of would-be fly anglers want to pack a rod on the family vacation to Jamaica, they leave it behind due to the lack of fly fishing opportunities… Until now.

For hard core fly anglers winter getaway choices are many. Christmas Island, Andros, Los Rocas, to name a few. However, there are a problems with many of the best tropical fly fishing destinations. Outstanding as they are, they are usually incredibly remote or undeveloped. Which is great if your main goal is to throw the line but not too cool if your spouse or little ones don’t share your joy at screaming reels courtesy of fooled bone fish. And, if it’s truly a family vacation you seek, there are far better choices than a mosquito rich cay in the middle of nowhere.

Enter Jamaica

Always one of the top vacation spots, Jamaica’s rugged, hilly coastline offers spectacular vistas of water and its warm climate and tropical playground welcomes millions of tourists each year. Its proximity to deep water makes it a terrific destination for deep sea fishing and there are several charter boats who for a steep price will gladly take groups out for a variety of deep water wahoo and dolphin.

Yes, there are the occasional opportunities to tease a larger fish from the deep and throw a fly from a rollicking boat, but fly anglers who have packed the rod have been largely disappointed when looking for more substantial opportunities. Most give up quickly and find solace in the jerk spiced food, curried goat, warm trade winds and of course the Pina Coladas.

A new sheriff in town
After five years as a part time snook guide on the upper Texas coast, Galveston Bay and Gulf of Mexico, Vic Shirley took his first trip to Jamaica in 2000. Vic soon found the reason for the hundreds of dead end forums and the lack of apparent fly fishing opportunites in the country.

By and large, Jamaican culture has always fished for survival. Catch and release sport fishing is not so well understood and with the mainstream fishing tourists happy trolling in deep water, fly guiding was never seen as a viable way to earn a living. Vic decided to investigate the local waters more intensely and liked the potential. He soon packed up his family and headed to Montego Bay, where he set up Salty Angler Fishing Charters , believed to be the first fly guide operation in that country.

Not so easy
Vic’s first battle was to understand the complex nature of the fishing industry. A hundred years of massive over fishing has lead to some recently adopted fishing regulations, including establishing certain tightly patrolled fishing sanctuaries. Through friends working for the Montego Bay Marine Park , Vic secured valuable fishing permits. His Salty Angler Charters is labeled a “sustainable marine resource use,” meaning it gets support from the MBMP and provides them with regular, important fisheries data. His daily presence out on the lagoon also seems to divert illegal fishing.

Vic’s home port is an area called the Bouge Lagoon. A shallow lagoon loaded with eel grass in a no bait zone, the lagoon is only minutes from the international airport and offers fly anglers the chance for snook, tarpon, a variety of jacks and the occasional bonefish.

Says Shirley: “We are creating an industry from scratch in a political and social climate heavily polluted with tradition and archaic thinking, particularly when speaking about tourism. Catch and release fly fishing is only now getting on the tourism radar screens. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”

Now, to be perfectly blunt, this is fly fishing, and there is abundant fish to be had. However, the aquatic conditions in the lagoon make this a real challenge. On the positive side, the weather patterns on the island almost guarantee a calm morning. Yet, just as the sun gets high enough to feed the possibility sight fishing, the wind kicks in, erasing any real chance of sight casting. In addition, the leeward areas that offer wind relief are accompanied by murky water from the silt of the river outflows.

There are several other areas that the Salty Angler is investigating. As the only business in the country with an eye towards fly fishing, it could take some time to uncover the potential. The Salty Angler will also guide in the Great River mouth, White Bay in Trelawney (Falmouth), Rose Hall Beach and is at present investigating spots in Hanover (Negril).

Long way to go
In need of a shave and a haircut, Shirley truly looked like a pioneer. Friendly accommodating, even if a little under equipped. It was immediately evident that Salty Angler Charters was in prime start up mode. While the 19′ Wellcraft Aquasport was in decent shape, Shirley was stretched thin on equipment. The boat was down to one beat up old Browning rod and reel combo with no working drag system (apparently an earlier guest had thrown his “good” rod over the side). We brought our own equipment, so it didn’t matter much, but a temporarily jammed reel forced us to use his for a while. Let’s just say it’s a good thing we didn’t hook into a tarpon!

In terms of accessibility, well, as long as you are staying in or near Montego Bay, you are not far away. With enough notice there are some resorts on the water from where Shirley will pick up and drop off right from the resort dock. We stayed at the Round Hill Resort and received door-to-door service. Shirley is dedicated to making this operation work, and we think he has enough quality water and experience to make the Salty Angler a legitimate business (He is soon to add a second boat and guide).

Now…let’s see if any of the Internet forum boards respond!

What to bring
Flies: This is still a work in progress. As most of the water is too deep for the traditional crazy charlies or crab patterns, we suggest a variety of clousers, deceivers and shrimp as well as traditional tarpon flies. Each area has unique water and wind qualities and will require an amount of trial and error.

Equipment: Until the Salty Anglers restocks the rod holders, we suggest you bring you own. A 9 or 10 weight rod with a flex capable of cutting the constant wind is a good place to start. Line should be intermediate shooting line. You’ll also want to bring a sinking line spool when the conditions and tides dictate - conditions can quickly vary from quiet mangroves to open, windy flats.

Useful links
www.airjamaica.com www.montego-bay-jamaica.com www.luxuryjamaicavacations.com www.jamaicaresorts.com www.montego-bay-jamaica.com/salty_angler www.caribbeanedge.com/jamaica/activities/fishing/salty_angler_fishing_charters.html www.jamaicanegril.com www.montego-bay-jamaica.com/houseboat/index.html