New Skiff From Beavertail

If you've fished with me either on Vieques or Pine Island over the last two years you know what a fan I am of Beavertail's excellent line of flats skiffs. They've finally introduced their new model, the Vengance, and it looks amazing. You can click on the photos above to see the boat in more detail. They haven't listed a price yet but I'll be talking to them this week and post any details they'll give me. My guess is that this skiff will cost at least several thousand less than a similarly rigged Maverick HPX run rings around it on the water. Stay tuned.

More News From The W Hotel

I keep hearing from a lot of folks involved with reopening the Martineau Bay as the new W Hotel on Vieques. I was forwarded this article a few days ago:
www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/17/02844/6735/hotels/Try_Out_for_W_Vieques_s_Talent_Show_

I'm really happy to hear that 250 jobs will be created on Vieques with the opening of the new resort. At first I was concerned that the company would import many of it's new hires from its existing properties. That would be a quick way to get such a high dollar resort up and running quickly but would have earned it no popularity with the locals. This resort simply won't survive on Vieques unless it has the total support and good will of the folks that have been born and raised here. So far it seems that the management knows this.

At $675 per night, the W Hotel would be way over my budget if I were a tourist. Vieques has always been one of the Caribbean's most affordable islands but we can also have an upscale resort and not loose any of our charm. The new W Hotel is an example of genuine economic stimulus for an island that could really use it in 2009. I hope they pay attention to the needs of the locals and keep themselves part of the community. If the W Hotel becomes something "separate from the masses" they won't succeed.

West Indian Manatees

My friend Ron Mayhew sent me these photos of a mother manatee and her newborn calf that were exploring his St. James City canal at the southern tip of Pine Island, FL yesterday afternoon. Although they're listed as an endangered species, the west indian manatee is a very common site in this area. It's not uncommon for us to come across dozens of them on a daily basis while we're out fishing the flats. They routinely swim right up the canals in search of a drink of fresh water from a dock hose. Manatees in Florida have no natural predators, and at the same time no fear of people. This is kind of ironic since boat collisions are a common occurrence, even though they're rarely fatal. The large white stripe down the mother's back in the top photo is the result of being run over at one time in her life. In fact, I've never seen an adult manatee in Florida that didn't have some scarring on its back. It's sad to see these wounds but the manatee's elephant-like hide and thick layer of fat protects them quite well. The pristine condition of the baby in these photos shows how extremely young it is.

The west indian manatee can be found throughout a good deal of the Caribbean but they're nowhere near as common as they are in South Florida. We come across a manatee or two about once a month when I'm fishing on Vieques, especially in the former Navy restricted zones. This is also the only place I've ever seen adult manatees without any boat scars whatsoever. Fifty years of keeping people out of these areas sometimes does wonders for the wildlife.

Vieques Hot Spots

While I'm currently guiding here on Pine Island, FL for the rest of the year, I still get daily calls and e-mails from folks on or heading to Vieques. If you happen to be one of these people and can't book either Capt. Franco (787-450-3744) or Capt. J (787-502-3839) for a fishing charter, you're in luck. I've been working on a website for the past few months that details all of the best spots on Vieques where you can fish from shore. I've posted some of this information on this blog already but I've gone into much more detail on the new site, including driving directions and GPS numbers that you can plug into GoogleEarth. The site is a work in progress that I'll expand to include other locations but most of the Vieques info is complete. Check it out and feel free to send me any thoughts or ways to improve it: http://www.better-flats-fishing.com/

Big Sea Trout In Matlacha Pass

Lately it's been hard to catch a sea trout that was under the 15 inch size limit. The two pictured here were caught yesterday on a topwater Bagley Mullet just south of the Matlacha drawbridge. The grassfields just east of the island have also been producing a number of keeper size trout and you can easily access these areas with a kayak. I love targeting trout since they're one of the most user-friendly gamefish in all of Florida. Working a topwater lure is easy for anyone and you get great visual strikes. A pair of sea trout like these will easily make a meal for four people and you can release everything else you catch.