Fishing parties in Aves
Monday 21 November –
50 miles west of “Los Roques” and after a navigation
Quiet under SPI, We touch the “Aves”. The Aves are
two groups of Venezuelan islands separated by about thirty
miles: to the east the Aves Barlovento (winnow) and to the west the Aves
Satovento (downwind). We will stay almost two weeks in
This scenery of islets that barely protrude above the water, from
thick mangrove, coral reefs with their clear waters and
White sand beaches… Finally, A dream place… especially
that these islands are uninhabited
Of the 21 to the 28 November: The Aves Barlovento. “The aves” Means “birds”… And indeed on this first group of islands each branch of the mangrove is a perch for a gannet or a pelican… Frigates fly high… Egret, ibis and other waders watch for fish at every turn… In annex we penetrate deep into the mangrove to see them more closely… We row slowly… The crazy are the least fierce… Some give us an intrigued or curious look but quickly return to their business… Musings, feather cleaning, Discussion with your neighbour, flirting with the daughter of the top branch… It is a total indifference to us! They barely fly away when our appendix touches the branch on which they are placed.!
Immediately
Arrived, Steph (The Albatross) Identifies places for the best
Fishing areas… The verdict is not long in coming… “there must be
Have snooks (Sea pike) in this mangrove… and can
being tarpons” . Two names that mean nothing to me, but
fish that, Apparently, are highly sought after by fishermen
athletes for the difficulty of making them bite on the hook and
especially by their fighting spirit. I'm up for a first
Fishing trip the next day with a departure just before sunrise
sun…
Step
a breath of air, everything is still, The body of water is a mirror,
The birds are barely waking up and we are moving quietly to the
oar… The Nonos (no-see-ums or other name given to these cubs
invisible mosquitoes) have already spotted us and attack voracious
Our calves to tear off pieces of skin… But the Snook
waiting for us and we throw our hooks just on the edge of the
mangrove. This is my second fishing lesson… It's all in the
finesse and precision to launch as close as possible to the mangrove, if
possible under the branches, without hanging his hook on it… and everything
chasing the nonos from our legs. Easier said than
do… and instructions rain… “closer to the
mangrove”… “Go ahead, If you don't take risks you have no
chance to take one”… “brakes the wire by hand before the
lure touches the water”… “makes the lure swim… Faster… less
quickly… Small jerks…”… Steph's light canes and
especially its reels “Tech” without resistance lend themselves to it
Ok… it goes on its own… and after a few throws I start to
control… A little! Of course we do not count the number of times when
It is necessary to recover a hook hung high and far in the
mangrove… but as the master says, “You have to take
Risks!”.
Small
aside on the equipment we use: Of course there are the
Canes and reels, but also the braid so fine that it is difficult
to grasp it between the fingers, the bottom of the line attached to the braid
by an almost invisible splice, and… The panoply of decoys that
are usually soft or hard forms of fish of all
Sizes, Shapes and colors… It is still necessary to have the technique
to make them “swim” as it should be! For an overview of this
equipment connect to Steph's website: www.albatrosvoyage.com
He
It must be said that Steph is not of a very patient character or
tolerant – actually not at all!… but as a fishing instructor
There is nothing that seems to bother him. It even seems to take
pleasure to see me try, to repeat his advice, to ask his
Equipment to help me or replace my lure or replace my stocking
broken line, to operate the annex to clear the line of a
root…. to bring on board a pelican or a madman who has taken himself
in our thread and that must be grasped with full hand by the beak for the
Release from a bag of knots…
One
key… The cane folds in half and the reel whistles… then
A huge silver fish jumps entirely out of the water at a
Twenty meters from the annex… “TARPON!!!”… “Go ahead,
Dates back, does not leave him slack”…. Too late, A second jump
and it unhooks. Good news, There are tarpons in this
mangrove! Then the attacks on our decoys follow one another… some
SNOOKs! pretty brown-green fish with a head like a pike…
He dies frankly and tries to quickly take our hook
Under the cover of the mangrove and in the roots… We must
stop him and the fight begins to bring him back to a few
meters from the dinghy and take it out of the water for a photo before it
give back his freedom. The sun is already high… to both of us
We had to bring back a dozen snooks when we decide to
return… but “We will be back” for Tarpons!
Two
days later, Tarpon expedition! Rising sun… finally you
Know the routine… But surprise and shock!… the channel leading
to the mangrove is barred by two fishing nets… Not a chance
to escape for all fish trying to return or
go out… And when we think that the mangrove is a spawning ground we
can expect that with these fishing techniques there will no longer be a
only fish in a few years… and therefore more birds!!! That
will do us when all these “paradise” will be dead and lifeless???
We
Let's still go over the nets and for two hours
Let's launch our lines… not a single touch!!! Disgusted by the little
of respect and education of these Venezuelan fishermen we will
Try our luck in a small bay lined with mangroves… In
Transparent water We see turtles swimming under the dinghy
In less than a meter of water and fish run away at our
passage. Step observe… He looks for tarpons… these
“Roll” or “Marsouinent” slowly bringing out their
dorsal fin – A bit like dolphins… “Tarpon to
right!” We launch our lines, but too late. “Right tarpon
in front of! Throws in front of him as close as possible…” the jurisdiction of
The rod propels the lure in the right direction… and as
“Magnetic” The lure falls a few meters from the area indicated by
Steph… The result is not long in coming… and the cane is
bends to the limit of breaking… “Shoots… You have to
Hang it…” And I pull as much as I can, hoping that the
cane resists. Steph hardens the brake on my reel… A leap
out of the water… Two Leaps… it is! It is a
big! 1,20m??? more than 15 minutes of belief
several times be able to enter it on the edge of the annex… and the
see give a tail to leave at fifty
meter of us…. It is therefore necessary to start grinding again, to “pump”
and earn every meter of wire… In fact he is hooked by his
dorsal fin which fortunately seems very resistant!
Finally his strength is exhausted and after a dozen tries,
Steph manages to grab him by the mouth with a special tweezers that
does not damage the fish. Quickly some pictures of this fish
impressive – as if out of prehistory – and we hand over
This wonder in its natural environment. That's action! who
said that fishing was a peinarde activity? and to say that the
fishing enthusiasts travel thousands of miles to have
the opportunity to catch such a fish! I measure my luck of
be able to live such an experience.
Before
to leave the Aves Barlovento, We recover a piece of wood
Floated, The engraved with the name of the boat and will deposit it on the
“Boat Monument” where many sailboats leave a mark
of their passage in this corner of paradise…
Of the 28 November to 2 December: The Aves Satovento.
Although the twin sister of the Aves Satovento, We didn't see it
A single bird… The mysteries of nature or the ravages of a
overfishing? This island group is part of a natural park and fishing
commercial is prohibited… a little late! Maybe the
Will the authorities wait until there is no more life on the Aves
Barlovento before declaring them a natural park and forbidding the
Commercial fishing??? Damage!
So
no fishing for us… lack of fish! We take advantage of it
to improve our navigation techniques between reefs and in
very little water. Water is so transparent that we avoid
easily the coral heads and we venture far between
reefs. The underwater landscapes are beautiful and
Fortunately there are still many colorful fish… but not
A lobster in sight although the environment is conducive!
Another result of overfishing!!!
One
little too much idleness for our taste and we set our sights on
Bonaire which is about forty thousand further west…