I've been back in Southwest Florida for over a week now chasing the tarpon, redfish, and snook of Pine Island. So far they've done their part, which is to simply show up for me. Now I need to do my part and get my act together and actually catch a few. At least the winds have been exceptionally calm in the mornings, quite the opposite of what we've experienced over the past few months down on Vieques. I do miss the place already but I'm always glad to be up here and have the change in scenery.
So once again, Capt. Franco Gonzalez has sole custody of the bonefish on Vieques. For those of you who don’t know him, Capt. Franco was the first, and for several years only, full time fly fishing guide on the island. He started the Caribbean Fly Fishing Co. over ten years ago and introduced the bonefish and permit of Puerto Rico to the angling public. One particular angler he made a big impression on was me.
Back in the summer of 2004 I was just finishing up my ninth tarpon season in Key West and I wasn’t happy. The wind had been blowing a solid twenty knots since New Year’s and didn’t stop until right after my last charter headed home. Just spotting a fish in those churned up conditions was a minor victory on some days. In addition, the number of guides working around Key West had practically tripled from the previous decade. Even if you could find a good spot out of the wind, someone else was usually there already. I wanted out of the Keys and Vieques was the most likely candidate at the time.
I knew I wanted to live on this island before the wheels of the Twin Islander even touched the runway. Mile after mile of shoreline and no other charter boats except Capt. Franco‘s. I envied the hell out of the guy and I hadn’t even spoken to him yet. And truthfully, I was afraid of actually doing that. Franco had something down here that was completely unheard of up in Florida. Absolutely no competition.
When I first got started in Key West there were about twenty five full time guides and some of them welcomed me like the news of a tumor. One notable veteran threatened me with a serious beating after I got too close to him on a big tarpon flat. I apologized profusely back at the dock and then pointed out to this particular vodka-sponge that I was twenty years younger and twenty pounds heavier than he was, and I‘m not a very big guy for starters. We settled on an uneasy truce after that and I never crowded him again. Petty little guide-wars were just another part of the Key West landscape and I quickly got sick of them. But what would it be like down here on Vieques where there was no guide community, and only Franco to contend with?
I got the answer on my second trip to Vieques when I spent a month down here looking at real estate, fishing from shore, and asking everyone who knew him if Franco would tolerate another guide fishing alongside him. I finally worked up the nerve to call him on my next to last day of that trip and book a charter. I decided on the phone to spill my guts and tell Franco that I was another guide hoping to move to Vieques and start running trips in a few months. I braced myself for a barrage of Spanish profanity but instead got a very measured response of, “Well, thanks for telling me that.”
So long story short: Franco took me out the next day, showed me the entire south side of Vieques, including his two most productive tarpon bays, and hooked me into my first Puerto Rican bonefish within five minutes of stepping onto his favorite flat in Ensenada Honda. I put a deposit on a house later that day.
Capt. Franco Gonzalez had the island of Vieques to himself and could have said “No way, Gringo. Don’t even think of stepping on my toes down here.” A lot of other guides would have done exactly that, but Franco didn’t. He did the exact opposite and I can’t thank him enough for it.
Over the next few years we saw a big increase in tourism on Vieques and two boats were a necessity on several occasions when groups of anglers would visit. Our guide services complimented each other for the most part and Amanda and I have really benefited from having Capt. Franco as a friend down here.
So once again I’ve handed my share of our Vieques bonefish back to their original owner. They’ll be in great hands. Capt. Franco Gonzalez is a not only a rock solid fly fishing guide but a true conservationist and the perfect ambassador for the flats of Vieques. If you’re coming to the island anytime soon and want a perfect day on the water just give him a call at (787)450-3744.
Tight lines, Franco. See you soon.
Posts
