PPS Destinations Report 

Posada Acuarela, Los Roques, Venezueala

Date:        March 14, to 21, 2008

Speakers and Topics:   

Dr. Ernst Schmidt; The Cutting Edge of Machined Dental Ceramics.

 Reported by Dr. Ernst 'Ernie' Schmidt, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Having decided to hold our winter meeting in a warm-water destination, it was decided to indemnify our weather and fishing opportunities by using two very different destinations.  After considerable consultations with Jim Klug and Ian Davis of Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures, we decided that those two 'very-different' venues would be the newly resurrected Bang Bang Club on Andros Island followed by Posada Acuarela (operated by Sight Cast Outfitters) on Los Roques, Venezuela.  Read on for the Los Roques trip report and click here for the accompanying trip report to Bang Bang Club.

Part II of the 2008 PPS Winter Program was to be held on the small Caribbean resort town of Gran Roque (Isla El Gran Roque) on Los Roques.  Being part of Venezuela's Los Roques National Park system, this is undoubtedly one of the more unique destinations in the world.  Although it would appear easy to continually compare this destination with others, such as Andros Island - our previous destination, doing so would be akin to comparing apples and oranges.  After overnighting in the Caracas suburb of La Guiara, we caught our 40 minute flight to the only tourist habitation on Los Roques.  Gran Roque (the Big Rock) is a quaint town of a few hundred people boasting numerous small Posadas (Inn-style accommodations), no cars, sandy streets and a wonderful backdrop of 'mountainous' hills.  No matter where you are in the flat archipelago of Los Roques, you never lose sight of the 'Big Rock' of your home base!  This is truly unique.

The big attraction of fishing here is the consistency of the weather patterns, being located between the equator and the Trop of Cancer.  Los Roques is a geologic up-welling from the ocean floor and, within its external shallow reefs, are numerous small islands.  Of particular interest to the bonefisher is the fact that many of the small islands, no more than a mangrove or two, are surrounded by 'pancake flats'.  Its these very flats which offer some of the very best wade-bonefishing I have experienced.  During the more extreme spring and fall tides, these flats can only be fished during certain times of the falling and rising tides.  During our week, we fished the falling tides and I was amazed at how many tailing bonefish I saw during the afternoons.  On average, I might spend one to two hours on a 1 or 2 acre pancake flat continuously fishing to scores of schools of good sized tailing bones.  Equally amazing was how spooky and finicky these fish were!  On a good afternoon, an angler could equally boast 3 good fish from that flat or complete rejection depending on which flat you were fishing.  Several things which increased my chances of success on the flats were to increase my leader length to 20 feet or longer, decrease my tippet strength down to 8 pound and my fly size to an un-weighted or lightly-weighted #8 or 10 fly.  Although I have never used this degree of finesse for bonefishing in the past, it made total sense and was recommended by the guide providing you could handle the leader length.  Nothing was more gratifying than to wade a pancake flat with the wind at your back, make a long delicate cast to a school of feeding bones and to have success.  I found that the bones on these flats were not only spooky but were also generally bigger and stronger than those caught in other areas.  An average bonefish from these flats was usually 3 to 4+ pounds.

Other than fishing the pancake flats, other fishing areas commonly included the shoreline of many of the small islands as well as other large flats not unlike those seen in  the Bahamas and Belize.  Never the less, fishing opportunities required a boat ride of up to 40 minutes or less using one of Sight Cast Outfitters' 31 foot canoe-shaped fibreglass boats.  In the past, I had heard reports of bone-jarring rides across the open rough waters, however, these boats made the ride quite comfortable and I found the transfers not only shorter than anticipated but far more comfortable.  In the event that your guide decided to move to another flat, it was not always a simple matter of moving a few hundred yards to the next flat but could easily require a 20 minute boat ride across open water.  Typically, two anglers were accompanied by a guide and the boat was handled by a qualified boatman.  What I liked about this system is that you were constantly fishing.  In my case, my guide was constantly taken up by my 13 year-old fishing partner, however, the guide was never more than 100 metres away and could easily be available for assistance or help.  Once I got the hang of it, I found that my catch rates, fishing on my own, varied from  2 to 4 fish per day and up to 15 per day with the guide depending on a variety of conditions.  Yes, I did experience that one day where I had almost 20 hook-ups in the afternoon and the fish did not stop coming and every fish seemed to be hungry.  As usual, other times were slower and we had to wait for the tides to change.  At the end of the wade-session on a flat, our guide would motion the boatman and he would quickly come  and pick us up and transfer us to the next flat.  I'm happy to report that my 13 year-old son and fishing partner never tasted being blanked on any given day.  Obviously, the guides knew what they were doing. 

I would be remiss if I didn't comment on two particular fishing experiences during the week.  In addition to catching bonefish on the traditional waters, we had the opportunity to go after baby tarpon and snook in sheltered waters.  On the last morning, our guide Jose, took us to a sheltered shallow inland lagoon where we were able to catch several baby tarpon of 5 pounds or less as well as several snook.  One of the snooks hooked by my 13 year-old son was estimated at 7kg (about 15 pounds plus) and was lost after tangling in the mangroves after a 5 minute fight in close quarters.  During the week, my son managed to catch bonefish, baby tarpon, snook and a small permit.  On another day, our guide Jose felt that the tides made the day tougher than expected and sought to make amends for the scarcity of our catch rate.  After lunch, we headed back to the village beach where we were told that the biggest bonefish are to be had.  Before we get onto the fishing, let me digress a moment!  For whatever reason, the beach right in front of the village had such a concentration of pelicans and other shore birds owing to the huge clouds of baitfish/sardines.  At any given time, there was a constant cacophony of noisy pelicans and gulls feeding on these baitfish.  It was truly a sight to see a hundred or more pelicans take to the air and then simultaneously dive-bomb the bait fish.  This has to be seen to be believed.  What's even more  remarkable is the relationship between these pelicans, the gulls and the bonefish.  Every time a pelican dove into the school of baitfish, it was usually joined by one or two gulls which would characteristically sit on the pelicans head and/or back looking for a free meal.  It was only after being informed of the bonefish's role in this relationship and after careful observation that I saw what was even more remarkable.  As soon as the pelican hit the water and the gulls alit on the pelican, a large bonefish would quickly - within a second or two - swim into the pelican's distended pouch as the bird was filtering the water out in order to realize it's meal.  What a sight!  A Pelican with it's distended pouch and bill under the water, two birds sitting on it and one or two bonefish with their heads in the open pouch.  Many visiting anglers, realizing this relationship, would stand on the dock or wade on the beach and, as soon as the pelican hit the water, would quickly fire a cast right to the pelican's head.  I think that as many pelicans got hooked with this method as did bonefish.  Ok, end of digression and back to the fishing.  So, after arriving at the beach, Jose finds the nearest fisherman's hut and borrows a small circular net and quickly proceeds to show how, with the use of both hands and the teeth, you throw the circular net onto a school of baitfish.  After a few kilograms of baitfish are caught, the boatman jockeys and anchors the boat just off the the beach and the other anchored boats.  Jose, grabbing a handful of sardines, throws them overboard and instructs us to 'cast 1 meter', obviously right into the middle of the chum.  Amazingly, within seconds, a group of large bonefish are hungrily feeding on the sinking sardines and, with a bit of luck and a realistic Gummy Minnow imitation, you are hooked up.  Now, although I didn't quite understand at first what he was proposing - due to his limited English - my son had no problem with the ensuing action and was quickly into a 4 pound bonefish.  I admit giving this a try and, using the gummy minnow pattern, quickly caught my biggest bonefish of my two week trip, a nice, fat 4kg+ fish.  Not only was this fish strong, but the challenge was to control the fish and its searing runs, amid the surrounding anchor lines and the heavy vegetation.  What I could not totally understand was, of all the places we had fished, why was the only place of such concentration of vegetation, baitfish, bonefish and birds was right in front of the village?  I still don't know but I have my theories.  Oh yeah, in addition to the bonefish, there were also rolling tarpon in the small to 50kg class just off the dock.  It as a common sight to walk down to the dock at first light and to see visiting anglers fishing for bones and tarpon right off the dock.  Also, there were times when the guides came back early to fish just for the rolling tarpon.  I heard of several being hooked, however, the challenge of catching such a large fish and landing him amidst the adjoining boats and their anchor ropes was more than could be overcome.

Our accommodations at Posada Acuarela were visually appealing to say the least.  In fact, the whole community is a feast for the eyes with all the Posadas and buildings being well-maintained and painted in pleasant pastels.  Our lodging at Acuarela was a beautifully appointed courtyard setting with many attractively laid-out seating areas and nooks with a roof-top garden all enhanced with lush tropical flora including full grown palm trees.  Meals were served under a covered portion of the open courtyard and was located right next to the open kitchen and its busy cooks.  Meals were supervised by our pleasant Italian chef/host Mimo and offered two choices of starters, desserts and the main course.  To say the least, our stay was most comfortable, the food and service was of a high quality and our rooms were very pleasant and well appointed.  The only curiosity and criticism was that there was only one water tap - Cold!  Showers were taken with tepid water and, after the initial 'shock' was quite pleasant considering the warm climate.

An option presented to us fishermen was the possibility of a lobster lunch on a secluded island.  On the last full day, I was surprised to pull up to this island, with its few decrepit shacks and to have a feast of fresh lobster and other seafoods under cover from the blazing sun.  This is one of those experiences not to be missed.

Gran Roque is deserving of some comment as well.  This is a party town!  At night, many young people would drink, sing and carouse until the sun came up.  This is more than a fishing resort and held many attractions for young people including my 15 year old daughter!  In addition to the scores of young people vacationing on this island, this is also a family destination and one that my wife and daughter really enjoyed.  Apart from strolling the palm and garden-lined sandy streets (no cars!) of this quaint tourist town, programs offered lunch excursions to nearby islands to enjoy snorkelling/diving along the sandy lined lagoons or to visit the nearby Turtle Research Station.   Whether you were fishing or just a tourist, it was always pleasant to take a short climb up the small mountain-like hills only 5 minutes from your Posada.  Regardless of where you were in the archipelago, you were never out of sight of these pretty hills.   In short, the week went very fast for everyone.

Los Roques is accessible by a 40 minute flight from Caracas' international airport at La Guaira.  Although Los Roques is completely safe, the mainland is not!  Everything you hear about Caracas is true and it would not be wise to wander around the garbage-strewn streets.  Even the locals advise against it.  Of particular amusement is the general disdain of the people for their 'populist' Presidente, Mr Hugo Chavez!  2012 is a date etched on the minds of all those we talked to and represents the next Federal election and, for these people, the hope of ridding themselves of Mr. Chavez.  Still, the majority of people live in 'Ranchitas' which are very basic housing and we did not have a chance to mix with the less wealthy Venezuelans.  The short of it is we were advised not to leave the secure hotel complex area without appropriate escort.

The logistics for this trip were handled by Jim Klug of Yellow Dog Fly Fishing.  Once on the mainland, we were met and hosted by the very able Tony (Antonio) who was there to facilitate all aspects of our Mainland stay while in transit.  While on Gran Roques, our stay was supervised by Chris of Sight Cast Outfitters.  Chris spoke excellent English, however the English skills of our guides ranged from Fair to non-existent.  Still, they were a lot of fun, helpful and hardworking and for those not minding a bit of an adventure, this is an excellent destination for the adventuresome traveler. 

Following are some thumbnails of trip photos.  Please click on them and then return to this page by hitting the ' back ' button on your browser.