As we flew into Anguilla from San Juan, Puerto Rico we were struck with how quiet and laid-back this beautiful little island was. It is a typical flat Caribbean coral island only 18 miles long and 3 miles wide. Although there are some nice hotels and excellent restaurants on the island, for the most part swimming, sailing, snorkeling, windsurfing, and beach combing make up Anguillaís recreational opportunities. The Rampoosin is the only real charter boat on the island. It is kept on a mooring at Sandy Ground in Road Bay since there are no marinas on Anguilla.
We left the pier at 7:30 the first morning and began the one and one-half hour run around the East End of the island and then south to the drop located 15 miles southeast of St. Martin. The Rampoosin handled the typical four to six foot seas well although we found its 17-knot cruising speed a bit slow. We had several wahoo chop-offs and a billfish knockdown that we reasoned was a white and caught a 25-pound bull Dorado. A French boat from St. Martin did catch a 500 pound blue marlin that day. Thereís was the only other boat we saw on the water.
Day two was sunny and gorgeous and the water was flat. We didnít see a billfish and only experienced a single wahoo knockdown all day. Jeanne-Pierre, our French friend from St. Martin, caught another fish that day which he estimated at 400 pounds.
Our last day on the water was a bit breezier and rough. Jeanne-Pierre was fighting a fish as we arrived at the drop and landed the 600-pounder right next to us after a 25-minute fight. We had a brief hook-up with a small fish of about 300 pounds shortly thereafter but he was simply bill-wrapped and came unbuttoned before I could even get the rod to the chair. That was the only action we had all day.
Anguilla appears to have significant potential but the fishery is still in its infancy. Roddy and Captain Jeff Thomas his mate have seen a few fish of Madeiran proportions but most of the marlin there are in the 300 to 400 pound class. The best time to fish Anguilla is probably June through October but that is not wholly clear just yet. It is interesting to note that there were two fish caught on the drop on July 4th during the World Cup that were over 650 and 750 pounds respectively and would have won that tournament had their boats been entered.
The relative lack of infrastructure on Anguilla has led Captain Hayes
to investigate other options. It appears he will be moving his operation
to St. Martin within the next month. There are several nice marinas on
that island with immediate fuel access and with wonderful restaurants and
hotels adjacent to them. It also is only a 45 minute run to the drop from
there which will halve the fuel expense and be a great deal more comfortable
for the anglers.
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| Road Bay, Anguilla | Arsenal of rods and reels |
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| 600 pound blue marlin | Videographer Derek Fisher |