Useful information for angler going to CUBA

Fishing tackle for the Jardines de la Reina

Rods
Anglers coming to the JDR are advised to have at least three outfits to cover all the fishing. Bring one rod for bonefish -an eight or nine weight outfit is best, one rod for permit, big jacks and Cudas - this should be a strong nine or ten weight, and one rod for tarpon and sharks - this should be a strong 10 or 11 weight outfit. Anglers will want to have both a permit rod and a tarpon rod set up at the same time, as well as one outfit for bonefish. Three or four piece travel rods are highly recommended. Consider bringing back up eight and ten weight rods for every 2-3 anglers.

Reels
Good quality "saltwater" fly reels are important. These should be anodized, have enough capacity for the line sizes needed and have a smooth, powerful drag system. For bonefish, you will need a reel that has the capacity for 150-200 yd. of 20 lb. along with a #8 or #9 line. For Permit and tarpon you want larger reels that can hold up to 150-200 yd. of 30 lb. backing along with that #10 or 11 line.

Lines
Most of the fishing is on shallow flats, so floating lines are the primary line you will need, especially for bonefish and permit. For tarpon, bring both a floating line for the flats as well as one of the clear slow sink lines to fish deeper channels. There are some clear tip lines available now, which are very good for both permit and tarpon

Leaders
For bonefish, twelve foot tapered leaders with stiff butt sections and a quick taper will help you combat the wind. Ten to twelve pound tippets are normal but you can even use 15 lb. in many cases since our bones are not very leader shy.
For permit, ten to twelve foot leaders with a heavy .025"-.028" butt will help turn over heavy and more wind resistant crab patterns. Tippets should be 12 to 20 lb test. Ande Premium clear in 15-20 lb. is a good choice as well as various brands of fluorocarbon.
Tarpon leaders for baby tarpon can utilize 60 lb. shock tippets rather than the 80 or 100 lb. we use for eighty to one hundred pound fish. These should be tied with twenty pound class tippet.
Wire leaders are needed for cudas, sharks, big jacks, kingfish and wahoo. 38 lb. single strand wire or the new 40 lb. Titanium works best. Class tippets should be 20 lb.
On the Tortuga we have a supply of both leaders and tippet material for sale.

Wading Gear
Bring a pair of good flats booties. These need to give good protection from shells and coral yet have good traction in the flats skiffs.

Clothing
Your clothes will need protect you from our tropical sun and heat, yet allow the breezes through to cool you off. Bring along both long and short sleeve shirts. Flats pants or shorts are fine.

Rod Case/Gear Bags
Always hand carry your rods, reels, flies, camera and one change of clothes onboard the airline with you. Any good hiking day pack or a bag like the Patagonia MLC is ideal. You may want to bring a hip pack for the flats if you plan to do a lot of wade fishing. For luggage, be sure to bring only soft luggage

Flies for the Cuba flats
Bonefish will take a variety of minnow, shrimp, and crab imitations. These are generally tied on size 4 and 6 hooks. Bring both light colored patterns for the white sand flats and darker, more brownish patterns for turtle grass flats. It is important to bring some very light, unweighted flies as well as the more standard charlies with eyes etc. Here are some of our favorites: Pearl and Tan Squimp, Bonefish Special, Tan Crazy Charlie, Snapping Shrimp, Epoxy Shrimp, Mantis Shrimp and small Merkins. Various Clousers in white, green and tan work very well.
Permit are especially attracted to crab patterns. Del Brown's Merkin in size #1/0 and 2 are excellent as is George Anderson's McCrab in size 2 and 4. The best colours range from dark tan to dirty white. There are many species of crabs present on our flats. Some, like the small blue crabs swim very quickly, while others have only the ability to crawl thru the coral and shells. Other good permit flies include Clouser minnows, and the many foam and fake fur crab patterns.
Tarpon flies generally used are the standard flats style flies in sizes 2/0 and 3/0. Good patternsare the Yellow/ Orange/ and Grizzly, Brown Cockroach, Cockroach Deceivers, White and Grizzly Deceivers, and also poppers like Lance's Crystal Poppers in various colours.
For Cudas, bring a few good needlefish patterns. The best are flies 6-8 inches in length, using a braided silver Mylar body and tied with a fluorescent green head. Hook size should be 2/0 with a stinger hook at the tail of the fly.
Sharks are attracted to bright colored flies. white, yellow, orange and red flies work best. Divers are a great style, but any of these flies seem to work better while using them in combination with a popper head to make a lot of surface commotion. Size should be 3/0 and even 4/0 for the larger sharks.