Cheap Fishing

[armada]

Has anyone had luck casting out on the shore near the Eagle Beach hotels?

My question is - what kinds of fish are near the shore?

I surf-cast b/w the Divi Village and the Manchebo, or by La Cabana. So far, I've gotten a handful of big bites.

The fishes I lured in on my 3" Yozuri and rattling lures were about 1-2 feet long and pinkish or silver/white, possibly with some spots or markings.

But I can't see the fish close enough to tell their exact size or species. Those big guys always take my line. =P

REF: (cut and paste this, i cant post URLs yet):
http www ournewoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/aruba-reef-creatures-card.jpg



Thanks for your experiences/knowledge!

[Schnauzerjoy]

Early morning (5.30-7) and in the evening (6-8), you can have ok fishing from anywhere on Eagle Beach.

It is not an area where the same fish will stay, so you can catch many different fish there, such as barracuda, various spices of Jack's, permit, rays etc. etc.

Not a spot to drive to (there are better spots), but great to walk out the door and cast if you stay on Eagle beach already.

Carsten

[armada]

Originally Posted by Schnauzerjoy

Early morning (5.30-7) and in the evening (6-8), you can have ok fishing from anywhere on Eagle Beach.

It is not an area where the same fish will stay, so you can catch many different fish there, such as barracuda, various spices of Jack's, permit, rays etc. etc.

...

Carsten

Thanks for the response, Carsten.

I guess the list sounds great for gamefish, but not so recommended for tablefish (barracuda, various species of Jack's, permit, rays etc.)

While I practice catch and release whenever I'm not eating what I catch, I do hope to reel-in at least one keeper for dinner, during my week staying at the low-rise hotels, this August.

I am wondering -- what tasty tablefish might be out by the shores, to reel in for supper?

Kind of hoping there's some good snapper, or something that comes into the surf to feed...

I am not interested in charters or deep-sea... just relaxing and casting out when I walk out the door onto the beach, at dawn and dusk.

[Schnauzerjoy]

Barracuda and Jack's are great fish for eating.
Today we took the small boat out for a quick trip and pretty close to shore we hooked small tunas, rainbow runners, Spanish mackerel and a very good size snapper, so you definitely have a chance for lots of different fish from shore, also for eating.
But it is fishing, not catching, so it all depends on the tide, the moon, the right or wrong lure, time of day and lots of luck .

Carsten

[armada]

Originally Posted by Schnauzerjoy

Barracuda and Jack's are great fish for eating.
Today we took the small boat out for a quick trip and pretty close to shore we hooked small tunas, rainbow runners, Spanish mackerel and a very good size snapper, so you definitely have a chance for lots of different fish from shore, also for eating.
But it is fishing, not catching, so it all depends on the tide, the moon, the right or wrong lure, time of day and lots of luck .

Carsten

Well, Carsten, thanks for the encouragement and good info! (I looked up Barracuda and Jacks on wikipedia.)

So what about rod length? What rod length were you casting with?

Am all set with my 7' Ugly Stik (Hark! Who needs a 10' rod when you've got an Ugly Stik!).

Now I'm pondering fishing from piers -- (maybe @ the watersports center on the pier at the Holiday Inn beach).

Do you know of any piers, good for fishing from?

[Schnauzerjoy]

Like mentioned before I normally fly fish when I fish from shore, so I don't do piers .

Some of the piers will probably not allow you to fish from them, so Eagle Beach or the rocks at Malmok is probably your best bets.

Rod length is fine, as long as you use the right size lures for the rod.


Carsten

[Capt. Mike]

I have been to Aruba 3x and haven't tried the fishing yet, I fish often in NJ with my 12 yr. old son and we are looking for a recommendation on a good boat because that can make all the difference on a trip. Looking to fish for Mahi or Tuna. Thanks for any help. Mike.

[Arubalisa]

Originally Posted by Schnauzerjoy

Like mentioned before I normally fly fish when I fish from shore, so I don't do piers .

Some of the piers will probably not allow you to fish from them, so Eagle Beach or the rocks at Malmok is probably your best bets.

Rod length is fine, as long as you use the right size lures for the rod.

Carsten

In all of our trips I have never seen anyone fish from a pier or dock, so there must be a reason why not?

Originally Posted by Capt. Mike

I have been to Aruba 3x and haven't tried the fishing yet, I fish often in NJ with my 12 yr. old son and we are looking for a recommendation on a good boat because that can make all the difference on a trip. Looking to fish for Mahi or Tuna. Thanks for any help. Mike.

Sorry I cannot be of more help Mike, but here is a bit of info:
http://www.aruba.com/forum/tags/deep%20sea%20fishing.html

[armada]

RESULTS from 8/12-8/20 2009 shore-fishing in Aruba, from Eagle Beach...

Obviously there are tons of bait-fish everywhere - just use a cast-net or use a light fishskin sabiki hage rig on your spinning rod to get them. Locals call them "sardinas" - I'm not certain if they are any different from "piskechi" or what "piskechi" means to everyone in Papiamento.

Best for catching baitfish early, around 8-10am, and afternoon around 3pm-5pm - easier to see them through that clear blue-green water, when glare was diminished.

Using a fish-trap (minnow/crab trap) baited with calamari, caught 1x yellow snapper, 3x small baby redfish, and 1x baby grouper (released them all).

Cast netted many "sardinas" and we even caught a baby Palometa on the sabiki rig.

Between 9am-11am, noticed dozens of small-medium Redfish (aka Red Drum Fish) right at the shore, by the rocks at the end of our hotel's beach. (I would guess they were about 14-16" long.) They were hiding like greyish-red ghosts in the sand-clouds of the crashing waves. Magnificent - no hookups.

Many crabs were all over those rocks... would have made nice bait if I had caught any.

Cast out with aspirations of hooking into Snook or Redfish - caught none.

Was mostly surf-casting live-bait ("sardinas") on a 20lb-test rig with two snells, and a 1oz weight at bottom. Tried using calamari strips on the rig, not even one nibble -- also tried using various artificial lures, including Gulp Shrimp and D.O.A. Shrimp and also a Crab lure with treble hook -- no nibbles. This was with my casting about 25-40 yards from shore.

Saw either a 24" Barracuda or Snook, stalking for 15 minutes along the shore, cast out a PowerBait Shrimp to it a few times - placed it within 12-24" inches in front of its direct swim-path, but no interest was given. Stealthy hunter. Swimming in shore, 3-4ft deep, right between and amongst swimmers and people.

Notes:
Compared to the mangrove channels of Florida, it seems like the Aruban Snook or Redfish would hug the shoreline much more than I could have ever imagined.

Might try fishing the Rennaissance Hotel next time I head back to Aruba -- there are some channels or inlets all around the Seaport and that area that look very promising.

Also, the Spanish Lagoon has an inlet and the Bird Sanctuary (estuary) has brackish inlets that look like prime fishing spots.


Hope this helps.

[cindyo]

Originally Posted by armada

RESULTS from 8/12-8/20 2009 shore-fishing in Aruba, from Eagle Beach...

Might try fishing the Rennaissance Hotel next time I head back to Aruba -- there are some channels or inlets all around the Seaport and that area that look very promising.


Hope this helps.

When we there 2 yrs ago a small boy caught a barracuda off the docks while we were eatting breakfast at the little german place ( Villa Germania). Anyway, the owner of that took the fish into his restaurant to serve that nite. He gave the little boy some $$. All the child was doing was fishing off the corner of the dock closest to the red telephone booth. SO..there's hope