November 2006
Greeting from Vieques.
 One
of the benefits of spending nearly all my adult life as a
fishing guide is knowing a great waterfront bar when I see one.
From southern New Jersey down to Grenada, I’ve hit a lot of good
ones, but here in Vieques, Puerto Rico we have one of the
Caribbean’s best. Al’s Mar Azul, or simply “Al’s” to the locals,
is perched just ten feet above the beach on Isabel Segunda, and
is a true waterfront classic.
For starters, the beer is only a dollar during happy-hour and
not much more anytime else. The atmosphere of Al’s is just about
as perfect as the beer prices. The place is essentially a wide
open patio under a concrete roof to keep out the rain. It has a
pool table, a dozen or so barstools, and one of the world’s best
decks overlooking what Buffett called that “One Particular
Harbor.“ Like all truly great waterfront bars, Al’s ceiling is
decorated with old license plates, a few articles of women’s
underwear, and a piece or two of military ordinance. If you walk
into the bar with a sample of any, chances are you’ll get it
hung up in the rafters before the night is over by Al himself,
along with a shot of Cuervo for your troubles.
Nighttime at Al’s is usually a spectacle here in Vieques, but
for the last two weeks, the real spectacle has been happening in
the ankle deep surf right underneath his famous deck. As the
summer ends and fall begins, subtle aquatic changes bring huge
schools of bait into the shallows all along the north coast of
Vieques. One of the factors that attracts these schools so close
to shore is the nutrient rich runoff from the fresh water
arroyos, or small streams, that flow down from the island‘s
hills. Wherever these arroyos hit the sea, dense clouds of glass
minnows and pilchards stack up to feast on the microscopic life
that blooms there. This bait, which can turn the water black and
constantly dimples the surface like an invisible rain shower,
quickly attracts many predators that start feeding with wild
abandon.
The first to show are usually the brown pelicans. These are
nature’s version of the Navy’s old Grumman dive-bombers. Seeing
these birds hit the water from 50 feet is a sure sign that a
heavy concentration of bait is right below the surface. You can
also expect to find a good amount of snook and barracuda
attacking the minnows from below. Mixed in with this frenzy will
inevitably be the top dog of all shallow water game fish, the
tarpon. These big silver predators, called by their Spanish name
of sabalo by the locals, are every fly fisherman’s dream. Tarpon
are true tackle busters that are rarely caught from shore.
Several weeks ago, when our afternoon showers became steady
enough, the arroyo running between Al’s beach and the ferry dock
began dumping steady rainwater into the town’s harbor. When this
happens, I start taking a fly rod with me to happy hour and lean
it by the front door alongside the pool cues. Sitting out on
Al’s deck, I keep an eye on the water below and watch for the
unmistakable sign that the tarpon have arrived; a shower of
minnows followed by a cannonball sized explosion in the surf.
Quite often, the tarpon will shoot completely out of the water,
turning perfect back flips before crashing back into the bait.
At this point I’ll be hustling towards the door and my fly rod,
stopping to grab an extra beer or two for the beach. Within
thirty seconds I’ll be standing in the middle of the bait and
casting to rolling tarpon sometimes less than a rod’s length
away. I even have the video to prove it.
As I mentioned earlier, this is not an everyday event.
Predicting when the tarpon will start busting in Isabel Harbor
is not an exact science. For the visiting angler I would simply
suggest the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared. Come down with an 8 or
9 weight fly rod and keep it with you wherever you go on
Vieques. I’ve been walking around
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with mine long enough that I
don’t get a second look anymore at Al’s. Keep the rod strung
up with a 10 foot leader and no less than 20 pound tippet. Most
of our shore tarpon are on the small side but every now and then
a nice 50 pounder sneaks into the fray. The standard streamer
flies work great but when the fish are really smashing the bait
one of the new synthetic patterns may be the ticket.
Over the past two weeks I’ve thrown everything in my box at
these shore-bound tarpon and everything has worked, but only
once or twice. They’re not consistent when they show up and
they’re not consistent in what they eat. But when you’re
literally standing in the middle of a tarpon feeding-frenzy,
they will consistently amaze you, and Vieques is one of the few
places on Earth to experience this.
One final piece of advice: Break down your fly rods before you
walk into Al’s. His ceiling fans are a killer.
Capt. Gregg McKee,
WildFly Charters
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