Fishing in Aruba

[keeperreaper]

got back from a vacation in Aruba. The fishing was moderate at best. A few sailfish, a couple of wahoo and a barracuda. Not the best trip but it beat the snow up here. I will post more pics when they are sent to me.

[keeperreaper]

another pic.

[Rip Runner]

Did you take a boat from town or behind the high rise hotels? I'm going back in February and will most likely book a trip. Would you recommend the charter outfit you went on? Aruba is not really the best spot for sportfishing, but some good fish can be had on the right boat.

[keeperreaper]

We took a boat from the highrise area. We fished the northside. The captain was average, the mate was so so. Ended up working the cockpit after he cut his hand open. To be honest I wouldn't go with this outfit again. The gear was subpar and the boat was old and not in great shape. Personally I thought it was borderline unsafe. The "energy" of the mate and captain was not what I would put into a charter. Very disappointed in that aspect. We did catch but I think the experience was a 5 out of 10. PM me for more details and the boat and captains name.

[5/0]

You gonna bring one of them bastages over my house so we can deep fry it arse?
Nice pics,glad to hear you had fun in the Sun,we sucked snow piles on Thursdays commute home.

[RickBomba]

Yeah, I went out when the ex won a trip on the radio in 2002.
Got into some really good wahoo off the dump side, and the mate sucked on our boat, too.
Ended up having a bull shark decimate my wahoo, tried to get down to business with the shark, and the line parted as we swung the boat around.
Bad news is my ex-wife got sick on the way in and she made me give about 100 of wahoo to the Capt. because she couldn't stand to be around fish.
Oh well (actually, the Capt that I went out with had caught a 750# blue marlin earlier that season, so we were "marlin" fishing at the time).
Later,
Rick

[InTheHole]

Congrats, those wahoo are one of the best eatin fish in the ocean!

[EarnedStripes44]

Originally Posted by InTheHole

Congrats, those wahoo are one of the best eatin fish in the ocean!

Last summer, a good friend of mine, caught a stray wahoo off the outer banks in North Carolina. He said the same thing.

[keeperreaper]

We fed the place we were staying at. BBQ'd the fish. Amazing eating and not bad fighters either.

[fish4striper]

sounds like a nice trip Matt, sure beats the 2 ft of snow in my boat

[Van]

Yea down there its all about the $$$$$$$$$ not the fishing.

They know you will most likely not be a return customer.

I opted to lay on the beach and do a bit of shore casting for bones.

[fishpoopoo]

i took a 1/2 day out of downtown oranjestaad on xgiving morning (trolling southwest of the san nicolas refinery area).

we (party of two) had one hookup and several LARGE sails (enormous, a few hundred pounds) strike but they all spit the hooks. (wired 'hoo).

i think the waters are naturally fishy. when it comes to sails, the mates make or break the trip, IMO.

$350 for a half day targeting sails ... NOT BAD for a non-peak season trip.

I was told that the earlier in the morning you leave, the better.

BTW - SICK bottom fishing by the downton docks and coast up through the hi-rise district. Buy frozen squid at the local (Chinese!) supermarkets and you're good to go. Make sure you wear beefy shoes - the coast is like RI in parts, except it's sharp volcanic rock under your feet!

[fishpoopoo]

...and if you guys have snorkeled the west-facing beaches by the high-rises ... the jetties actually don't hold much life.

however, there is some INTERESTING man-made structure that hold LARGE.

i saw some keeper-sized snook holding tight to concrete blocks on the bottom in 10 feet of water.