Aardvark McLeod

The rain was already falling as we left the dock, and I knew this was going to be difficult. The last day I was to fish with Tim Aldiss the giant bonefish catcher, and my old friend Cayito the guide. Cayito has the eyes of a hawk, and as is one of the most senior guides on Los Roques. On grey overcast days like today interspersed with rain one way around difficult light conditions is to find flats with white sand bottom as it is still then possible to spot fish at a distance. We ran for 30 minutes in the lashing rain (Rain jackets are essential on any saltwater fishing trip) down the West side towards the lighthouse channel to a large open white sand flat. Cayito’s eyes proved no exception here and despite the flat light we came up on a school of bonefish holed up near the edge of the beach. Tim had first cast and immediately hooked up as the school competed for the fly, but unfortunately the fish cam off. I whirled round and managed to shoot off a cast into the wind and nicked one fish out the back.

The light was still not good and we continued round the bay before we found a few tails waving gently as they fed on crustaceans in a weed bed. Under Cayito’s watchful he marked out the fish to Tim who was struggling to see them. He gave him a reference and Tim put the cast down with prefect precision. Cayito indicated when to start his retrieve and shortly afterwards the rod flew up and the fish screamed across the flat. We managed to produce a couple more before heading off to have lunch in the boat. After lunch the tide was dropping rapidly and our options became more tricky with the low light conditions. The next flat we stopped on can only be described as the long walk. As the tide was very low we could actually wade across the inner part of the lagoon that we did for most of the afternoon. The fish would suddenly appear out of know where and require a rapid shot. Tim and I both managed a couple more fish although we must have walked for about 3 miles before finally arriving back at the boat. The last afternoon was somewhat running away from us, so in a large ditch effort to find some tailing fish Cayito took us to one of the ocean side flats of hard coral. Sure enough as we found fish tailing and finning across the flat. This required some serious stealth, and the best way to approach them was to wade around the edge of the flat in the deeper water. Nevertheless I found it frustrating as every time I put a cast out to a tailing fish I would spook the rest of the school that I could not see in the glare and flat light. Tim was again firing on all cylinders under Cayito’s eagle like eyes and picked up two fish in quick succession, a great achievement in such skinny water.

I was just about giving up when I saw something large come onto the flat some way off below me. It was throwing up one hell of a bow wave as it came careening across the flat. I picked up the line and fired off one cast that miraculously landed the fly one foot in front of the bow wave. My heart was in my mouth as gave the bonefish bitters one small tweak and the bow wave was right on top of the fly. The line went tight, the 7 weight gave a vicious buck and line screamed out across the flat. Before I knew it I had 50 yards of backing out and was desperately keeping the rod held high above my head to prevent being cut on the coral. After some serious pumping I managed to turn the fish and make some line back. Eventually I brought to hand a fantastic bonefish of about 6 lbs. What a cracking way to finish off the trip, and the beer on the way home tasted that much sweeter!

That evening we held our annual guides casting competition which I always enjoy. The fishermen always enjoy this event as it is a chance for them to see how well their guides can perform and also to heckle them for all the abuse they have received during the week. Hower hung onto his title from last year winning with a fabulous cast of 44 yards. Weel done!

I normally notice that by this stage of the week everyone is just a little more sluggish in the morning, and this morning was no exception. There was not a huge hurry to get out the door, and in my opinion it also shows that people are actually beginning to relax on their trip. It is a pity sometimes it take so long. Ian Hutchinson and I were fishing with Hower today, and we decided to head out to one of my favourite beach flats, Cerenero. This is a long white beach flat that takes a whole morning to fish normally and the average size of fish here is high. It does take approximately 45minutes to run to, and Ian and I passed the time talking about techniques for spotting fish out there, such as looking for the white lines moving through the minnows. When we arrived I was disappointed to find that the combination of high tide and strong winds had churned it up to an extent that it was not possible to sight fish, so we headed off to another nearby flat.

Glinting tails greeted us and I managed to drop one off and then land one fish of about 3lbs. Not huge, but in the conditions I was pleased. As the tide has been steadily dropping through the day it has made the fish very spooky to the extent that they will often spook away from the fly with one twitch, even if you put that fly down well ahead of them and ambush them. I actually caught this fish on a stripped minnow pattern on the flat where as normally I would switch to a Gotcha or Bone fish Bitters. Maybe this was the way to counteract their spooky behaviour and appeal to Ian had a few shots but did not manage to hook up. The water on the flat was still a little deep on with the sun flashing in and out spotting was very difficult. I stepped on more fish than I saw.

We had some lunch on the boat, did a little casting practice off the bow, and then proceeded to Francesca Cay. This cay is home is right on the extremities of the archipelago, and home to one of the lobster camps. There are huge piles of Conch shells around the island that have taken decades to accumulate. We found a couple of schools of bonefish on the small flats in between, but they were directly into the wind and Ian struggled to get a line to them unsurprisingly. Very tough cast. Hower came up with one last plan and took us to a large open lagoon area with a slightly marly bottom. Time was ticking on by this point and the sun crept lower in the sky, and in amongst the weed tufts were groups of waving tails. Perfect. Ian’s line sung out and the fly landed just in front of the nearest cluster of tails. He gave a couple of shorts strips, everything went tight and his Zane reel began to scream as the fish shot off across the flat. We were absolutely delighted as he had worked so hard all day. After a couple more blistering runs he subdued it and Hower released a lovely 3 lbs fish for him. He then proceeded to catch another three fish and I managed a couple into the wind that pleased me. The day had been a tough one, but saved at the last, and in the perfect way. Nothing beats casting to tailing fish and watching them come onto the fly.

On returning to the lodge I heard the news that Tim Aldiss had caught a bonefish estimated at 14 lbs. He caught the fish off one of the beach flats on a bonefish bitters as it cruised along the edge. As soon as it was hooked it  headed for deep water and the anchor rope of the boat which was rapidly hauled up and disentangled before the fight was resumed. After an awesome battle and a few more close calls Tim skilfully landed the fish. What a bonefish!

This morning we were again greeted with inclement weather and patches of rain. The sky is still overcast making fishing spotting on the flats tough. Right now we also have a very high spring tide in the morning, so the optimum height for the pancake flats is not really until lunch time. Today I was fishing with Alistair Robjent and Jose as our guide. Jose is relatively new to this operation, but I fished with him about five years ago and knew he was good. Jose is especially keen on tarpon and other species. We left Gran Roques and headed a long way down into the South east of the archipelago before turning into the lea of one of the cays. The mangrove shore line looked like a perfect home for snook and baby tarpon.

Sure enough within about ten minutes Alistair was furiously casting into the small holes in under the mangroves at a pod of baby tarpon. His fly was a Black Death tarpon bunny that was very mobile in the water and proved too tempting for a small tarpon that broke away from the pod and hammered the fly. Alistair struck, but unfortunately the fish immediately jumped towards the boat and spat the hook.  At this point we hopped over the side and waded along the edge, taking pot shots at any fish we saw. I found three or four snook laid up together, but unfortunately stuff the fly in the mangrove above their head and spooked them when I went to retrieve it. As the wind was still bringing the spitting rain in sideways Jose took us into one of the sheltered tarpon lagoons that proved a lovely respite, and I succeeded in catching a nice bonefish much to my surprise as it scoffed a large white tarpon fly.

As we had lunch the grey clouds lifted and the first rays of sunshine lit up the flats. We headed to a huge white sand flat around the central lagoon and began to wade with the sun lighting up the flat in front. Perfect. Soon we began to intercept small pods of bones feeding into the wind and the fun started. Over the next hour we caught and released something like six fish between us. I caught my on a small gothcha and Alistair was using a small glass shrimp that he swears by and seemed to do the trick. One fish that Alistair released we saw a little later floating belly up with no tail. At first all of us just thought it was a tailing fish as all we could see was the fin glinting in the sun. As we got closer we could see it had been cleanly cut in half by a barracuda. We then saw that the cuda was still there and it came back to grab the other half. It swam along with half a bonefish in its mouth like a dog with a bone. Alistair was trying to throw a fly at it while I videoed it, but it was quite an interesting sight. We finished off on another marly flat with the tide dropping fast. The problem here was although the wind was at our back the sun was in our faces that meant the fish could see us a long way away. Stealth was needed, and when those tails appeared it was imperative to get down on one knee before making the cast. We ended with a couple more good bonefish before heading home. Although we had not caught a huge number of fish they were in tough conditions and we had seen some good variety with Jose.

The day again started overcast and cloudy with some occasional spots of rain. I was paired with Rick Scott with Jesus as our guide. We ran out through to the spray to a small ocean flat I had not fished before. Jesus took Rick along one edge while headed down the other. The wind was quite strong, although Jesus made sure it was always on our back. I headed down the edge of the mangroves and turned out of the wind a beautiful little bay opened up in front of me. It was completely flat calm in the lea of the island and out of the wind. The water was crystal clear and very soon I began seeing fish. There was a huge amount of minnows in there and the bonefish were charging them in packs, unusual behaviour for the so called ghost of the flats. One fish struck the fly hard, but I did not manage to hook it. Rick hit a good sized fish out of a marauding herd as they came charging into the bay into the clouds of minnows and it ripped him well into his backing before being brought under control.

The tide had now dropped to a better height of water for the pancake flats so we motored over to see what was happening. Sure enough we were greeted by the sight of tails of happy bonefish on the edge of one of the pancake flats. These raised areas of coral covered in turtle grass are the perfect environment to stalk large bones in very shallow water. Rick picked up a good fish almost immediately with Jesus pointing out sign in the water miraculously. I only succeeded in stepping on a few for good measure, but did notice the tide was dropping fast and thought this may be contributing to their extremely spooky nature. At one point I practically had my face on the water as I inched back from a school heading towards me, trying to drop the fly well ahead of them and allowing them to come onto the fly. Almost as soon as I gave the fly a tiny twitch I was rewarded with a huge splash as the school spooked down the flat and left me feeling bemused.

After lunch with the flats in that condition we went off to check one of the beaches at Crasqui to see if they would be more productive. Almost immediately after landing a school of huge bonefish came charging down the beach to intercept a pelican that had just dived into the minnows. I cast a Burke’s hot flash minnow at them and had one come up and take it off the surface, but I was way to slow on the strike to hook up and the fish left with a departing splash. Rick missed another before I finally managed to connect with an extremely athletic 3 lber that took me a little while to gain control of. Even when the tide is not right for the pancakes the beach flats always produce fish, and Crasqui is a stunning white sand beach surrounded by azure coloured water.

Jesus decided to take us to a secret little spot he kept up his sleeve for tough days, and having scrambled through some brush our little party arrived on a stunning white sand flat hidden away that I have never had the pleasure of fishing before. Having waded across it for no more than 10 minutes a small school of large than average size fish came sliding across the flat and I quickly switched from a minnow to a very small amber bonefish Bitters. Getting down on one knee to keep my profile low I flicked it out at rod length and let the fly sink. One of the fish trundled past and I gave the fly a small crustacean like tweak. The fish veered left before pouncing on the fly. I set the hook and before being rewarded with a sever buck in the rod as the fish tore off. I was immediately out to at least 50 yards of backing before I managed to turn it. This year I have been fishing with a 7 weight to gain a lighter presentation and I have really noticed the difference, especially in the fight! Shortly afterwards I landed a lovely 5 lber and we decided to call it a day. Jesus did well and showed us a lot of fish under difficult circumstances.

The first day fishing out on the flats was tough. As the boats departed we were met with squalls of rain and without spray jackets the crossing from Gran Roques would have been a little wet. I fished with Ian Hodge and our guide was Raphael. Raphael took us round the corner to some stunning ocean flats, and with the wind behind us and despite the rain the visibility was not too bad as the bones were running over hard sand.  Rain has a funny effect on the flats in that it tends to make the water go a translucent opaque and I often find the bonefish easier to spot.

Even though conditions were against us we took a couple of good sized fish off those flats before heading to the pancake flats. On arrival some flashing tails greeted our arrival, and having not seen that sight for a little while I had forgotten how excited it makes me. Ian went one way round the pancake with Raphael and I headed across the wind. With a back hand cast I managed to pull a nice 5 lbs fish out of the cluster of tails that was deeply satisfying. Spotting fish on the turtle grass really was tough as the only way to see fish was to be looking at the water, not in the water. I have found that tough days always make you a better fisherman as you have to be just that more alert. All that give away a bonefish feeding on the flats in these conditions can be the tip of a tail or dorsal fin, a V- wake or nervous water pushing into the wind. Then there are those that you practically step on before discovering them. The two of us finished the morning session with five fish between us before heading to the conch shack for lunch.

After lunch with the tie dropping on the pancake flats Ian and I decided to head back to Gran Roques and try for some tarpon in the bay. Out came the big guns, the 12 weight rods and the heavy lines. The tarpon in the bay here move in and out with the bait fish. We had fishing rolling around the boat but could not get them to tough a fly. Some of these fish were really big, 100lbs plus, but we gave it a good crack before heading home for a shower and a well deserved beer… it is thirsty work throwing a teeny 450 grain head around on a 12 weight all afternoon. That evening it turned out that everyone else had had a similar experience, but a spirits were high and some good fish had been caught. To catch any fish in these conditions was somewhat of an achievement! Angelo and Mimo outdid themselves at dinner again with fresh tuna Teriyaki, fresh pasta with homemade pesto and last sear snapper . The food here is simply fantastic and there is no chance of me going home any thinner.

This year we have added a blue water fishing option for clients at Los Roques. Captain Alejandro has a one month old 36 foot Contender with twin 350 horse power engines. Alejandro has been doing offshore charters from Los Roques for the last 5 years and has considerable experience for conventional or fly fishing. What I was unaware of is just how good the fishing is here in Venezuela. The fishing here has huge veriety including all 5 species of Marlin. Right now we are in prime blue marlin season, so Alejandro took us out to give us a quick taste of what was beyond the flats.

After an hour of trolling with a pattern of teasers out they were hit by a 200 lbs blue marlin that took four of us an hour to bring to the boat. It still staggers me how powerful these fish truly are. We are in prime marlin season right now as they migrate up the coast feeding on the bait balls around right now.

The 54’ “Tijareta” left La Guaira early on the Thursday morning with four of us on board bound for Las Aves, a small pair of islands 95 nautical miles off the coast of Venezuela. The crossing was to take us a little over six hours, and the weather was less than good. Eight to ten foot swells threw us around a little. Finally after a few were quite sea sick the intrepid party of explorers managed to arrive on these deserted islands to see what could be found there.

Ian Hodge, Rick Scott, Owen  Jones and I were joined by Chris Yrazabel from our operations on Los Roques along with two of his guides, Callito and Efren. The guides came over from Los Roques with Alejandro, the owner of the new offshore boat that we are using from Los Roques. This 36’ Contender is stunning and kitted out to the gunnels and was the perfect vessel for moving us around the various flats and islands.

The first afternoon we found some lovely open flats, very much like some of the flats on Los Roques that we waded line abreast Seychelles style. Unfortunately we saw very little, and it always difficult in these situations to know the difference between lack of fish or wrong state of the tide. A few hours later we found ourselves walking the beaches, and this time we found some good sized bones chewing minnows along the edge. Rick hooked up the first, but got bust up on the coral, and almost immediately Owen also hooked up. After filming the fight it too parted company. I wandered a little further up and saw a small pod of large bonefish headed in my direction and managed to punch a line into the wind to be rewarded with a lovely fish of about 5 lbs. These fish were voracious and competed to eat the fly. It is unlikely they had ever seen a fly fisherman or a fly.

The following morning brought calm weather along with clear skies that removed most of the memories of the crossing and allowed us to head off to the four or five small island surrounding the main island of Las Aves to investigate. We waded many of the coral ocean flats here but did not see many fish apart from the odd Jack that proved good sport on an 8 weight. Finally we came round the corner of one stunning sandy beach and found 1000 – 2000 fish feeding  there. There were at least three instances of triple hook ups and we found a good number of small Pompano mixed in. So this was where the fish were hiding!

All in all this island of Las Aves has some very interesting fishing possibilities and I am excited about the prospects of it being an ad on to our operations in Los Roques, but I would have liked to spend more time there to investigate these flats and beaches at different tide phases. It is always difficult to tell the nature of a fishery with so little time. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to fish the other main island so a return visit will be necessary. We also hit a couple of great Wahoo heading back to the boat for the night.