Fly Fishing in Los Roques, Venezuela

Los Roques, Venezuela - The Mecca of fly fishing

Who wouldn‘t dream of spending their time in warm crystal water that softly caress your knees, in a beautiful natural and protected environment in the Caribbean Sea, home of some of the most remarkable saltwater fish, the challenging Bonefish. Los Roques, one of the wonders of Venezuela, offers this and much, much more

Fly fishing paradise Los Roques

The coral island are located 150 km North of mainland Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. There you will find 45 islands and 300 coral banks. The gorgeous white sands and the sparkling waters make these islands unique. In 1972, these islands were declared a natural protected environment. Half of the islands are not accessible to tourists and are used primarily for nature studies.
Los Roques is considered on of the last paradises on earth, serving as home for several endangered species of birds, turtles, and underwater habitants that may be discovered through snorkeling and scuba-diving. Average temperatures of this region ranges from 28° C - 30° C.

Grand Roque is the only Island that is inhabitant by humans. There you can find fisherman's houses, which have been converted into little hotels, „Posadas". Apart from the landing strip for small charters planes, the island consists only of sparkling white sand.

Fly fishing on Los Roques Island

Los Roques has served as a secret paradise for both Americans and Italians, mainly due to the challenge Bonefishes, as well as Barracudas, Coro-Coro, etc.

The Bonefish

Almost no other fish has much power as the Bonefish exhibits, once hooked by the fly. Even if a normal sized Bonefish weights between 2 and 3 pounds only, he fights as much as a 10 pound trout! Even after the Bonefish bites the fly, the fish will run first for 100 meters, at least (careful with your fingers!! No mistakes allowed...). Bonefishes can weight up to 10 pounds. The IGFA world record of a Bonefish catch weights 15 pounds. The Giant was caught in Bimini, Bahamas in October 1983.

 The biggest challenge is the approach and sight of the Bonefish. He lives in warm flats. The fish is caught by carefully throwing the fly as close as possible to him. Since the Bonefish is quite shy, maximum accuracy is requested. You can catch the Bonefish all-year-round.

The fly fishing equipment

A 7 to 9 fly line, a salt resistant reel with at least 15o meters backing are needed. Leader between 20mm and 30mm. The typical fly used is the Crazy Charly. Other important gear are a hat, sunglasses, and neoprene shoes, due to sharp corals and shells.

Diary of Los Roques - Arrival/Departure
We took the plane from Zurich to Caracas, and after a night in Caracas we had an easy and relatively quick connection, continue on a plane to Los Roques (30 minutes trip).

Lodging
Our lodging was in one of the nicest „Posadas" on the island (ventilator, safe, refrigerator, shower and toilet). On the patio, there was plenty of room to prepare all our gears. Next day...it was fishing day!

Fly fishing trips

Every morning, Captain Polito (a lobster specialist) brought us to the best Bonefish flats, in approx. 30 minutes, with his fisherman‘s boat. A small fisherman's house was also located in vicinity, to enjoy, after the fishing efforts, some good relaxation. We were guests of this fine lobster specialist and ate some of the freshest seafood available.

For companions/non-fishers, this was the ideal place to swim, snorkel or soak in the sun. From this island, all other islands are only few minutes away.

Los Roques is also a paradise for non fishers. When snorkeling or scuba-diving (there is a scuba diving school in Grand Roque) in the reefs, there are the nicest fishes. In the evening everyone was meet together to socialize and talk about daily experiences, in all the languages of the world.

Information about Los Roques at www.korallenarchipel.de