Prey
M o l e C r a b s
A couple of interesting prey species occur on semi-protected
Caribbean beaches with consistent wave action. If wave action
is not too rough, bonefish, permit, and other gamefish will
cruise along the beach, riding the wash in and out, and readily
slurping up mole crabs. Common species of mole crabs in the
Caribbean include Cuban Mole Crab, Common Mole Crab,
Puerto Rican Mole Crab, and the Purple Surf Crab. There are
several mole crab fly patterns made of wool, chenille, spun deer
hair or a combination of these materials. Choose weighted
patterns designed to ride on the bottom. Small, heavily-
weighted, tan Clousers are also productive. It is rare that
I use a sinking line when fishing shorelines in the Caribbean,
but dredging the bottom with a mole crab pattern on an
exposed beach is one of those rare occasions. A sinking line
with a short leader will allow you to fish the fly so that it
bounces along the bottom, making a good imitation of a
mole crab.
B a i t f i s h
If you are lucky, you may come upon schools of baitfish moving
back and forth along beaches, especially in larger embayments.
Often, smaller fish species (like anchovies or dwarf herring) will
be closer to shore and larger species (like herring) will be farther
off the beach. However, this pattern may change depending
upon how active predatorial fish have been. For example, I have
seen schools of large sprat packed tightly against the shoreline
when tarpon are present. Finding these baitfish schools is not
always easy because they blend in very well with their
surroundings, are often well below the surface and can be
somewhat scattered if they are not being actively pursued by
predators. Often these unmolested baitfish schools appear as
shadows over the bottom. If baitfish schools are near the surface
and packed tightly together, tarpon may be nearby. Even if no
obvious predators are visible, it’s still worth a few casts since
tarpon and other gamefish sometimes stay in the vicinity of
baitfish schools even if they are not aggressively feeding.
I like to walk large, semi-protected bays looking for signs of
baitfish. If I find baitfish, this is where I concentrate my efforts.
It also pays to watch for pelicans diving for baitfish in a
concentrated area, as this is usually a sign of a school of baitfish
that is being harassed from below by predatorial fish. While it
is common to find jacks and barracuda eager to take a fly from
midmorning to midafternoon, it is morning and evening that
generally fish best for tarpon.Even if you have experience fishing along
the beaches of warm-temperate and
subtropical regions, you’ll have to adjust
your strategy a bit for the tropics.