Winter escape south

The winter has been, well....not much of one so far but the opportunity to head south for a week was too much to resist. I recently spent a great week just outside of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I know the theme of Ontario Outdoor Adventures is shot with a report on fishing in the Dominican republic but maybe some of my experience will help those who venture south get out to enjoy some deep sea fishing.

For most of us freshwater anglers, the draw of big water and big fish is very attractive. Open ocean,salt spray and deep blue water bring out the Captain Ahab in us that rarely get the chance to try searching for species like marlin, sailfish, mahi mahi, wahoo and others. This was our second trip to this area of the Dominican Republic and my second chance at trying deep water.

My first experience was amazing, easy to book at the resort, decent boat, English speaking crew, good weather and most important lots of fish. The price was fair, at $75 US for a half day charter. The boat was clean and drinks provided. I was one of a group of unrelated anglers and this is normal unless you have enough cash or people to fill the boat. The usual set-up seems to be head out for 20 minutes and then start trolling, although after setting the rods the first mate settles down for a break, meaning don't expect any action for a while. For this trip we had 8 lines out and two fighting chairs, anglers took turns sitting in a chair 20 minutes at a time, if you caught a fish you were done unless everyone caught something. After 1/2 hr of trolling we approached some floating debris and schools of flying fish started to scatter, now the first mate stood up beside the rods and withing 50 feet we hooked up a mahi mahi. These fish are awesome and besides being great eating and hard fighting the fact they rapidly change colour while fighting is incredible to watch. Blue then green then yellow and silver all in quick succession.

It became quickly obvious to watch the first mate, when he rush around or stood in the rods, something was going to happen. Makes sense these guys spend everyday running charters, they learn to read the water. The baitfish fascinated me, flying fish are probably the coolest fish I have ever seen. 10-14 inches long and silver they glide along just above the surface of the ocean for surprising long distances. They scattered from the boat when we were around the debris lines. The floating wood, plastic and everything else that floats form a line where the warm water meets the deeper cooler water. This was the spot on the spot. Staying along this line kept us in the fish zone. Many of the baitfish and larger predators cruise this line and use the surface cover as ambush spots. This pattern lead us to one of the greatest hook ups of my fishing career. A triple header with two sailfish and a blue marlin all hitting within a couple of seconds. The 3 fish were all in the 100lb range and with all the jumping and confusion one fish broke off. We did land a sailfish and the marlin.

The totals for the trip were 4 mahi mahi, 1 marlin, 1 sailfish and a wahoo. Not bad for 5hrs fishing. The crew keep the fish to feed their families or sell to help pay the bills.
My second trip was slightly different. The rate was the same but the boat was older and the crew spoke no English. The person who booked my day messed up my pick-up time so I went out in the afternoon instead of morning, plus they tried to pick me up to go fishing with a scooter. Nope.

The day was windy but it wasn't until we cleared a main point that we hit the big water. Waves from 12-15ft rolled around us making standing difficult and fishing tough. I have no problem with weather throwing a curve ball but it could have picked another day. The 6 anglers on the boat were all assigned 1 rod each and you had it for the trip. Different approach but at least you had something to focus on. The rough seas scattered the debris line and fish were tough to find let alone hook. We ended up with 5 hits and landed 1 mahi mahi and a wahoo. The diesel exhaust and rough water were a little too much for a few of the russian anglers out with me....
So what did I learn? Ask lots of questions and record the answers because things may change after you book the trip. I asked up front about the size of the boat, length of trip, form of transport to boat (no scooters) and of course the price.
Pay with a credit card. This is a poor country and sometimes your standards are higher than theirs. If you pay cash and something goes wrong your done. Good luck getting your money back.
Watch the weather. Pick the best day for wind if you get a choice, mornings are calmer than afternoons.
Bring your camera. The flying fish, warm ocean and saltwater fish are not common in Ontario so take lots of pictures.

Have fun and enjoy the experience.