Before leaving home I booked two fishing/snorkeling combo trips. The arrangements were made with Captain Eisley Usher, who had some good reviews on Trip Advisor. The first trip combined a little bit of reef fishing with some snorkeling in search of conch.
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| Captain Eisley Usher |
Captain Eisley sent a taxi in the morning to pick us up at our cottage. (The taxis here are really golf carts. Regular cars are banned on this island with the exception of emergency and a some commercial vehicles.) The taxi brought us to the same dock near were the tame Tarpon are found. The first stop was along the shore of a deserted island that was developed as a luxury resort complete with golf course, piers, and large villas. Totally empty now. Eisley used his casting net to catch some baitfish.
We began fishing by trolling live bait close to the reef. Eventually Cynthia caught the first fish, a large Needlefish. A little while later I reeled in a small Barracuda. Both fish were released.
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| Cynthia's Needlefish |
Being a partly cloudy day it was late morning before visibility was good enough for snorkeling. Captain Eisley anchored near the reef and we dove in. The rough water and less than deal light conditions made it difficult to find camouflaged Gastropods in ten feet of water. Though the three of us didn’t find any, the captain more than made up for our lack of skill. With a few Conch in the bag it was now time to try for some Snapper.
We anchored at another nearby spot and settled in for some bottomfishing. We all caught some fish including a couple of Lane Snapper that were big enough to eat. Satisfied with our catch and the snorkeling we returned to the island.
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| Dotty With A Striped Grunt |
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| Checkered Puffer - A New Species For Me |
Later that evening Dotty made some delicious Conch Fritters While I made Conch Ceviche. We also cooked the Snapper and some leftover Barracuda. The fritters and fish were served with mango sauce and a creamy cilantro dressing for dipping.
At this point I was pleased with the species hunting aspect of the trip having caught six different kinds of fish including one new species. The next day we would be fishing in deep water where it was very likely that other fish species would be encountered.
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| Conch Fritters! |
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| Conch Ceviche! |
