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Day 4 - August 31st, 2004
Another hot, sunny and windy day. At the risk of putting my
relationship on the rocks, I headed out solo today and got a cab to the Sol
hoping to finally tangle with some bones. The tide was in and the high
winds once again made even the shortest casts a chore. The rocky point
where Mark caught bonefish was just about unfishable due to the wind.
After about 20 minutes of making futile attempts to cast more than 20' I
decided to trek North on foot in hopes of finding some fishable waters.
I discovered secluded cove after cove which looked as if no
human had ever visited, let alone cast a fly. Despite looking
promising, the high waters and strong winds kept me walking for at least the
next hour. Feeling tired, hot and dehydrated I soon realized that the
entire Eastern coast of Guillermo was too windy to fish. Never the
less I tried once again to my fly into the 4' waves from a rocky point.
This would be a move I would regret.
The rocks I was standing on were very sharp, without a flat surface what
so ever. While casting I lost my balance and started falling
towards my right. In an attempt to save my side from hitting the
sharp rocks I automatically broke my fall with my right arm, rod in
hand. As a result |
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my 9' 4pc Cross Current GLX is now an 8' 6" 5pc GLX. A costly
mistake to say the least. I am very glad we brought 2 rods!
Broken rod in hand and over 4 miles from my resort I started
walking back on the same deserted road which we visited on our scooter
yesterday. What a walk this was. Some sort of vulture-like birds
soon joined me on my long walk back, circling above me; what a comforting
thought. It was at least 40 minutes into my walk back before a lone
cab, ferrying tourists back from Pilar beach came by and graciously offered
me a ride back. What a relief! Lesson learned.
After getting back to the resort and
getting some much needed food and liquids, Karin and I decided to cap
off our fishing experience in Cuba with a chartered half day deep sea
fishing trip. During our outing, Karin tackled the biggest fish of
our trip not via flies, but rather cut garfish.
Although we didn't get a catch any bonefish or tarpon on this trip, I
did experience a whole new form of fly fishing, one which I am convinced
more than ever I want to know more about. One thing is for sure -
this will not be my last saltwater adventure. And the fact that
bonefish and tarpon still swim freely in Cuban waters just means I have
some unfinished business in the years down the road. |
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Written By: Nick Pujic, © September 2004
Photographs By: Nick Pujic © 2004 & Karin Zandbergen © 2004 |
