Spinning in Cuba

[Bronze]

Hi folks,

Just wanted to get a couple of bits of advice. I'm off to Cuba in April, will be travelling about a bit, trying to do some fishing along the way.
I wanted to take my light-medium spin outfit. Will this be OK? I've never been much of a fly fisherman – does that matter?
I've heard that Las Salinas for example is fly only. Anybody know if this is true?
Any help greatfully received!

[cubafish]

What spinning outfit you take depends on your defination of "light-medium." *If you are fishing from shore or in a boat near shore like you will be doing at Las Salinas, anything over 10 lb test is overkill. 8lb is best, but 6 lb is also OK as you will not find any near shore fish that 6 or 8 can not handle. Whoever told you Las Salinas is fly fishing only does not know what he is talking about. If you are fishing the Las Salinas area with a spinning rod you would be wise to take some 1/8-1/4 oz bonefish jigs: 1/8-1/4 oz assuming you have 6-8 lb test line. If you have heavier line you will need heavier bf jigs and with heavier bf jigs you will spook more fish as the heavier jigs make more noise when landing and if you have not bf'd before you will soon learn why you need 6-8 lb test line and 1/8-1/4oz bf jigs.

Maybe you have already done this, but if not, take a little time to read all of the old posts here and you will find a wealth of information. Not so much about tackle, but more information about fishing various locations in Cuba than you will find anyplace else.

[Bronze]

Many thanks Cubafish. Very helpful indeed!
I shall be amending my tackle accordingly. Must say I'm a newcomer to this site – it really is excellent. So much stuff I didn't know.
I take it it's probably worth taking some slightly heavier line as well, just in case I get the chance to fish for baras or tarpon?
Also, how much do you reckon I would have to pay for a guide for the day in Las Salinas? Do you happen to know any? :)

[cubafish]

A heavier outfit, 15-20 lb is fine, but you won't need it at Las Salinas as the tarpon there are babies & fun to catch on light (+/- 8 lb) tackle. *Baras the same - they are not big: *take a couple of chartreuse bara tube lures. *You may find a place where you can use a 15-20 lb outfit, but you will mostly need an +/- 8 lb rig. There is no fishing equipment, lures, etc., available in Cuba so you will need to take everything you need, & consider leaving some of what you bring with the guides as you are their only source of fishing gear.

Guides at Las Salinas get $75/day, at least they did last year and I have no reason to think that has changed. *Be mindful that all of the $75 goes to Fidel, so you should also give the guide $10-20 (depending on the service you thought you got) as that is all he will get out of the days fishing.

There are two fishing areas in the Zapata Swamp National Park: *Las Salinas and the Rio Hatiguanico. *Las Salinas is located in the SE corner of the Park and the Rio is closer to the middle. *You should also consider fishing the Rio.

If you do not already have one, you should get the "Lonely Planet's Cuba Handbook" as it is invaluable for pre trip planning as well as for reference once you are in Cuba.