The month of February has provided excellent fishing. Conditions have varied from hot and dry to windy and rainy. Temperatures are pretty cool at this time of year once the sun goes down. High number of big tarpon have been moving through the channel under the bridge, many of which are feeding aggressively. I have continued to use live bait with great success.
I spent almost every night of the week fishing down on the east end of Tortola and saw high numbers of large tarpon each night. Monday conditions looked good. The current was moving north and a good breeze blew northwest. Visibility was not great but I could see several active fish on both sides of the bridge. A couple tarpon were battled and lost, and at the end of the night all I had landed was a good sized jack.
Tuesday night had similar conditions. The tarpon below were quite active once again. Bait seemed a little more difficult to catch. A friend of mine named Nick joined me Wednesday night and had his first battle with a nice sized tarpon before it spit the hook on its third jump. Very large tarpon started to move in later in the evening but a lack of bait resulted in no tarpon caught. We tried out a few lures with no success.
Thursday I headed out toward the west end of Tortola to play some volleyball and made a few casts with a silver spoon at Nanny Cay Marina at sunset. After only about fifteen minutes of fishing I caught a small horse eye jack and a baby barracuda. Both fish were caught on a silver spoon.
On Friday night I fished with a couple that was visiting from British Columbia and despite seeing several large tarpon swimming around, it was difficult to trigger bites. After a few hours our patience paid off and we were rewarded with a very nice sized tarpon. Surprisingly, the large fish put up less of a fight then all of the previous tarpon I have caught. This particular fish had a small ramaroa attached to it, the first time I have witnessed this on any of the tarpon I have caught.
Thank you Carl and Nat!
Saturday and Sunday were quite windy which proved to be difficult to fish in. I did not spend too much time out on either night and decided to come back another day when the wind was cooperating.
On Monday night Nick joined me at the bridge shortly after seven. We didn’t see too many fish, but the ones we did see were feeding. After struggling to find bait, Nick located a sweet spot for bait which required casting some distance off the bridge. Generally bait can be caught by dropping a sabiki rig straight down from the bridge into deeper water. A variety of small fish were caught including jacks, yellowtail, mutton snapper and squirrel fish. Nick battled another tarpon for several minutes before suffering the same fate as before. Once we began catching bait we had several hits on the north side of the bridge, including a couple hits from fish that broke our line (most likely barracuda). Shortly after nine I landed a good sized tarpon, and Nick followed up by catching a nice horse eye jack which was accompanied by its companion that was much bigger.
Equipment Used:
Rod: Uglystik Tiger / Berkley Workhorse
Reel: Shimano Calcutta 251 / Quantum Quickfire
Line: PowerPro 50lb
Lures: Silver Len Thompson spoon, Sabiki rig, live bait
[...] The fishing here in February has been top notch thus far. Large tarpon have been moving in at night on the east end of Tortola and have been feeding aggressively. While temperatures drop to the north, the weather here has remained wonderful as usual. If you need a getaway for the winter and want to catch big fish, this is the place to be right now. Enjoy the report! Posted by Clive | Permalink | Leave a comment | Trackback [...]
My wife and I are going to be in Tortola 10/13-10/20 We are from the Alabama Gulf Coast and we would love to take an inshore charter for some reef/bottom fishing for snapper,trigger,grouper, maybe small yellowfin tuna if lucky!? any suggestions of respected captains would be greatly appreciated. Thank you sincerely for your time-Jackson Looney
I am going to the BVI in late november and was wondering what fish will be biting and what kind of tackle and lures I will need?
Hey Harrison! There should be all types of fish biting. Most commonly you’ll find barracuda, hind, snappers and tarpon. You can get away with light tackle, but I prefer using braided line (at least 30lb) with a medium heavy rod and at least 150 yards of line spooled. There is a chance to catch fish that are 50-100lbs from shore.
I am going to be renting a sailboat and heard there is very good trolling even behind a sailboat. What will I need to be able to catch fish like dolphin, wahoo, and kingfish and are there certain spots that are better than others? Thanks for your help Clive.
Also could you explain to me where this bridge is that holds so many tarpon on tortola and can you get there by dingy? And what type of baitfish would give me the best chance for a hookup? Thanks again for your input.
Hey Harrison, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help with the trolling, I never had the chance to fish from a boat while I was there. Tarpon are most common on the far east and far west of Tortola. The bridge is located to the east near the airport. Just about any baitfish will do, but silver ones are best and when they are really feeding, lures such as Rapalas will work.
Hey Clive,
Where do you get your baitfish on the island? I’ll be there in a few days and want to try and get some yellow tail and … well anything really!
Thanks,
Drew
There is no guarantee you’ll find baitfish in any one place. The water is so clear you’ll see schools of batfish very easily – just be on the look out and have a net or a sabiki rig!
I’m going down to Soper’s hole Tortola in mid Feb. I’ve fished the flat off of Frenchmans cay before and landed a 24inch bonefish with a rattletrap lure. Do you have any good locations near there ? what time of day? How about the small bridge at soper’s Hole?… Anywhere to buy tackle? I would really like to do battle with a tarpon, any game fish really…Thanks for any info. I’ll update you when I get back ps your site is excellent Thanks, Dan
HELP! We are leaving in a week for St. Thomas and want to make a day trip to Tortola to fish for Tarpin(well, my husband does, I want to shop and sun). Do you recommend a guided trip? Shore fishing? We are in Oregon and have no clue what to expect.
Had fun on Tortola Feb. 2009, Tarpon week was a big help..Small baitfish was the trick although the tarpon had different ideas, they will not come in on med. light line,just run it out or snap it,what beasts!!! Any tidal cut bridge or marina held big fish 3-4 footers,watch under the lights at night it seems they are all around the island in Feb. Just spot them catch a baitfish, and toss it near them and hold on tight. They showed some intrest in Zoom super flukes(white pearl)but kept spitting them out. All of my efforts were around Soper’s Hole Shepard’s Marina. Thanks Clive,You were very helpful…tight lines…Dan
My girlfriend and I are moving to tortola in about two weeks and are looking forward to the fly fishing opportunities on the island. We’ve got 9 and 10wt rods, reels and all of the equipment but are a bit clueless as to where to fish on the island.
Do you have any suggestions on where would be great places to fish for bones, tarpon, ‘cudas, maybe even some permit, without access to a boat?
Ive been doing some research and have found locations of some flats, notably by the airport, etc. Your blog is sweet and it looks like you know the lay of the water in the BVI. Any suggestions you could offer I would greatly appreciate.
Thanks a lot!
-Matt
Just sent you an email Matt, good luck!
Hey Clive,
I am going to the BVI and I was wondering what kind of bait to use and where to catch it. I was also wondering if you live line it or do you use a weight or sinker. Any great artificial lures the will do the trick? Thanks much for your help.
John
Hi Clive,
I am going to be down in the BVI in mid-February this year. We are chartering a sailboat for about a week and I want to do some fishing while we are down there. I was wondering if you can provide any insight as to where would be good spots to fish ( I am hoping to maybe catch some tuna, marlin, dolphin and tarpon). Also I was wondering what kind of equipment I should be bringing as far as lures, line etc. Any input would be great.
Thanks,
Brian
Hi clive,
I think one of my other fishing buddies,another Matt,has been in contact with you in the past. Just wanted to let you know we have a growing group of guys who are carrying on the tradition of fishing the Beef island bridge. Unlike your tarpon Tuesday we have renamed ours tarpon THURSDAY!
Live bait has been the key to our success thanks to you, we have landed and also lost some good fish. Our experienced hand, Matt Erdosy, has done a lot of research into what makes these tarpon tick and we are finally catching on a regular basis. Any more tips you can give us would be most appreciated, have caught some tarpon in cane garden and brewers spinning with lures.
Are you planning a trip back to the bvi?
Also saw your fishing fury sticker on the lamppost!
Take care,
Matt.