Today I was thinking about the great people I have had a chance to meet over the last year and the stories we all traded. life is a great journey and it takes us to places and to people we could have never planned to meet. Since my last blog there have been, let's say "moments". I have been to Martha's Vineyard to work with Chick Stapelton Owner of Island Spirit kayak. Yep, Chick and if there was such a thing as a 5th degree black belt in Kayaking she is it. She schooled me on the finer points of level II ACA Certification and showed me her Island and introduced me to many genuine people. I got back home to Vieques and had the opportunity to work on a project for The Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Aura 360, a cutting edge production company out of Maine, Men's Journal and some lucky contestants racing there way around Puerto Rico and beach hopping in kayaks... That will be another blog entry later this month as apart of the best of 2008. A special use permit by U.S. Fish & Wildlife was made available to us allowing access to the farthest reaches of the island for Kayak-Fishing, Biking, snorkeling and overall exploration for all sorts of weiry travellers looking for that antidote only Vieques can offer. So a friend named Martin who has been coming to the Island for more than 20yrs wanted to go and give this kayakfishing thing a try. A very smart guy who has overcome a heart attack and Cancer treatments was looking for a real experience and I am happy to say we gave him one, here are some picture and video of his day with me out on the water. We both had a great time that day and it was a real rewarding thing to see the permagrine on his face as he went for his first Vieques Sleighride while landing a beautiful fish. As a wise elder once said to me "life is for learning" and so it is......
This blog entry is dedicated to everyone who took the time to get in touch with me here in Vieques and gave the new guy on the block a chance to share what we have to offer on the island. The Mountain Bike tours have been the base of the business and is the strongest leg growing due to the overwhelming positive feedback from last years trips. Kayak Fishing as a sport is the fastest growing segment of the current U.S. fishing market and the trickle down is being felt here in Vieques, with more trips booked for next year than ever it is obvious this sport is here to stay and further pull in fringe fisherman. We were happy to be the only equiptment delivery service on the island as an added bonus to our customers we will bring equiptment to your guesthouse, or if reserved to any of the beaches in garcia gate, the Wildlife refugee. Which offers endless oppourtunity for the soloist or DIY adventure traveler. Vieques Adventure Company is proud to be the only Mountain Bike Tour operator on the island with the special permitting necessary to take you onto the 54% of the island controlled by U.S Fish and Wildlife. This license allows us to offer Interpretive Nature Tours through out the old naval land. Some of the most beautiful beaches and vistas in all of the Carrribean and U.S Virgin Islands are found here in Vieques. Pristine is an understatement, these beaches make you feel guilty that you are the only one on them and the Flora and Fauna are more diversified than our island neighbors. This year will be one of new trips like our new paddle and peddle our peddle and snorkel, Deep Sea Kayak fishing and our early morning bird and paddles will attract even the most reserved travellers. We have had the oppourtunity to host many different people looking to accomplish many different personal goals while on vacation, let Vieques Adventure Company show and tell you about our incredible Island home. Look for upcoming Blog on the http://www.enchantedisle.com/ called "The So Real Life" an other perspective of our island home.
HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
The month of July has been very hot and full of afternoon siestas, sunsets on the malecon in Ezperanza and mornings at the bakery with all those sunburned faces, mine included. Yep... it is summer, for sure. To top it off a group of my friends from Ft.Collins, Co came down for a summer get away and we have spent a great time enjoying the festivities,Beaches food and lots of laughs...Oh yeah fishing was having a hard time working itself into the rotation but one night dancing the night away to salsa with so many familiar faces in th new town square listening to a famous band calle El Gran Combo and they played one incredible song after another and everyone knew the words...even me. I had to get my old fishing friend Jason Slaughter (aka Peewee..he will explain the nickname) out to one of my favorite spots to paddle the kayaks stake off and start hooking fish that run faster than anything I have ever been tied to, including cars... So after a couple deafining exchanges at close range trying to hear each other over the blarring salsa , it was on.................. The following morning at 5:30am I pulled up to the big old house on the hill in Ezperanza to get an old fishing buddy on his first Bone fish. We squeaked and rattled down the road to the last stop on the USFW access and began to get the kayaks off "little blue" my 1993 Chevy s-10 and it has the nickname because there is very little blue left on her, but that little truck has been hauling gear and people all over this island for years and not once left me stranded. It didn't take but a couple of minutes and I could feel the wind speed increasing and the white caps on the horizon were beginning to multiply. I looked over at my fishing buddy and began to explain the finer points of paddling his Tarpon 12o Kayak through waves and wind, PW and I had fished in tons of wind in our adventures of old which took us into the Colorado Rockies, the plains and Parks of Wyoming and into a group of lakes at around 8500ft called the Delaney Buttes and we were tortured up there in the elements for the fish we would break morning ice with our 8ft pontoon boats on the lakes trying to catch the big morning bows cruising the shore looking for a few good crawfish, 10lb 25in my personal best on those lakes .....so I knew PW was up to this 1.5mile paddle straight into the wind and waves. 84degree water, piece of cake and we were going to the promise land.....Ensonada Honda and I am not talking about just the flats, but the whole bay holds a huge array of life, both above and below the surface. the paddle out was a challenge and with a little cadence and lots of patience our Kayaks sliced through the waves and wind. We had arrived at the protected coves this great piece of water offers variety in species and techniques, sure EH is know for it's great Bone fish, Tarpon and Permit opportunities but it is so much more. On a well equipped Fishing kayak you can see and get on water so thin you almost feel funny being in a kayak, but you glide over silent and touching nothing. The traditional antiquated gasoline pollution and sonic noise pollution are motivation for me to promote a greener alternative with less overall eco-disturbance. When using Kayaks...I am challenging anglers to go greener, I am challenging them physically, Mentally. The rewards are obvious and the experience is truely personal. It is a movement catching on all over the world and what a better time than now to begin to change our lifestyles to a healthier and greener way that will foster obvious benefits.
Okay back to the story, we get to the fishing grounds and begin looking for our first target and we saw plenty of choices, the wind direction and distance pretty much made the choices easy, it took a few attempts for PW to get the distance down, when you are out there with so wide open water and sky, everything becomes relative especially the distance to a tailing Permit...as soon as he was there he was gone ...the ghost teaches and another lesson that day, preparing PW for his first bone. I could see weather moving in and we got to see tropical rain closeup and personal, we took cover and waited for the Chubasco cloud to pass.The front passed and the wind calmed just enough to see Pw's first bone coming into range, silvery glisten reflecting on the tail like a signal mirror telling where hhe was and what his feeding dispositon was... first cast way short, picked up his line I told him to just relax and cast. Next shot was a couple feet off target which ended up being great. I pulled out my Olympus 1030 and began to record, watched and waited, one small 3in strip fast and short, it was all this wiley bone needed to decide he would eat, the take was soft, the s shape your line makes when on the water, I instructed PW to watch his line and sure enough we could see the line slowly growing tight, "Fish On".......Yeah explosion and the run almost put Pdub on his knee, it took seconds for that bone to take PW"s backing to places it had never been before hit a tangle............."Game Over" He battled his first monster on video for almost a solid minute.Now I have seen PW hook into more fish than anyone else , I mean Hogs!! I know in most any place he goes with a rod , it's bent this guy catches and it was great to see the respect in his eyes once he realized what he had just experienced...he was ruined for ever. PW got the bug after his first success with an Ensonada Honda bone and will be back for more. We got into the typical Barracuda and Pargo (Mutton Snapper) who inhabit the mangrove lined Shore, on the paddle back to the car he looked at this place and knew he would be back and could have some of the best memories ever fishing in Vieques with friends. Fishing green is not as hard as people who have never tried it would want you to believe, Kayaks slow you down to natures pace and this is the next level of do it your self guide excursions, with the correct guidance and gear, you will gain the experience and confidence to go to destinations like this on your own to explore your fishing dreams in the most beautiful place I have ever called home. Good luck on your journey and happy fishing. Mi Isla Nena Contact us for information about the outdoors at http://www.viequesadventures.com/
It was just another one of those days in paradise and I was not sure what was next and kayak-fishing was on the brain. I loaded up the boats and headed for one of the not so popular places to launch from PG, we battled the waves and got out beyond the breakers...time to fish. With my 12ft Wilderness System Tarpon 120 and my Penn rod and 309 reel the game began. After a little paddling into the wind my reel began to sing an all to familiar sound click.click..yeah! My friend Alex was besides himself with the prospect of dealing with this fish and well honestlly i was not much better. What's it going to be this time, to my surprise what ever it was it was taking multiple runs and on this rig this fish felt big..... The closer it got to the kayak my heart rate escalated and I was face to face with a pissed off 3ft plus barracuda. If a 6in rapala with multiple trebles and rows of razor sharp teeth is not enough to keep you on your toes I just happened to be ...oh yeah.. in a kayak. I landed and released him, as I watched him slip into the depth's I was thankful for yet an oppourtunity to be that close to mother nature and for her allowing me to enter and exit her world unscathed and able to fight fish another day. As for my friend Alex he will never look into the water the same again. If you want to try your hand at some kayak-fishing whether it is trolling, spincasting or fly-fishing, contact garry@viequesadventures.com. or http://www.viequesadventures.com/ Look for more postings about Kayak-Fishing in and around Vieques.
Today I was thinking about the great people I have had a chance to meet over the last year and the stories we all traded. life is a great journey and it takes us to places and to people we could have never planned to meet. Since my last blog there have been, let's say "moments". I have been to Martha's Vineyard to work with Chick Stapelton Owner of Island Spirit kayak. Yep, Chick and if there was such a thing as a 5th degree black belt in Kayaking she is it. She schooled me on the finer points of level II ACA Certification and showed me her Island and introduced me to many genuine people. I got back home to Vieques and had the opportunity to work on a project for The Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Aura 360, a cutting edge production company out of Maine, Men's Journal and some lucky contestants racing there way around Puerto Rico and beach hopping in kayaks... That will be another blog entry later this month as apart of the best of 2008. A special use permit by U.S. Fish & Wildlife was made available to us allowing access to the farthest reaches of the island for Kayak-Fishing, Biking, snorkeling and overall exploration for all sorts of weiry travellers looking for that antidote only Vieques can offer. So a friend named Martin who has been coming to the Island for more than 20yrs wanted to go and give this kayakfishing thing a try. A very smart guy who has overcome a heart attack and Cancer treatments was looking for a real experience and I am happy to say we gave him one, here are some picture and video of his day with me out on the water. We both had a great time that day and it was a real rewarding thing to see the permagrine on his face as he went for his first Vieques Sleighride while landing a beautiful fish. As a wise elder once said to me "life is for learning" and so it is......
