– CAY0 romano –

On a typical fishing day at Cayo Romano, the skiffs will depart from the dock near the hotel each morning and, depending on the guide rotation that day, you may be heading to any number of areas to spend the day. From Cayo Paredon Grande in the north to Cayo Guanaja in the south, there are countless islands, lagoons and bays that will keep anglers occupied. Much of the fishing takes place back towards the mainland, in and around the massive island of Cayo Romano. The average boat run to the fishing areas is about 20 minutes in length and in some areas, you can be into fish within 5 minutes of leaving the dock. It just depends on where your guide wants to take you that day and what you are interested in targeting. With 50 square kilometres per boat, the options are just about limitless. 

The first thing that guests need to know about when considering this location, aside from the exceptional flats fishing that is found here is that this new fishery is still very much in its infancy. The flats are an inviting combination of hard packed white sand and a semi-firm mottled bottom that still provides good wading. There are places here where you can wade for 4 straight hours without heading back to the boat!

The average sized bonefish is a healthy 4 pounds and during the course of the week it is not unheard of for guests to land a fish or two in the 8-10 pound range. Tailing bonefish are common and guests can expect to see bonefish in singles and doubles, all the way up to schools of several hundred fish. What really sets this location apart from so many other fisheries is that guests can expect to encounter and get shots at good numbers of permit each day. There are very few places on earth where guests can fish for big bonefish each day and also get shots at tailing permit. This combination may take place in other locations but not with the consistency that is virtually guaranteed at Cayo Romano. It is a rare day when you don’t encounter and get shots at permit. The permit will range in size between about 8 and 30 pounds.

The flats at Cayo Romano are a little deeper than those found in other areas of Cuba, which means that the bonefish and permit are still found in excellent numbers throughout the year.

There are two locations within the Cayo Romano that offer very good tarpon fishing. Guides tend to save these areas for when an angler has already boated a permit and is looking for a Grand Slam. These fish will range from 30 to 90 pounds. Besides the fishing for permit, bonefish and tarpon, you will also cast for other challenging species during your stay, such as mutton snapper, snook, cubera snapper, jack crevalle, barracuda, and more!