I Shot a Permit Fish In Cayman Islands

June 18, 2015 by cudamanadventures

I shot a Permit fish in Cayman Island and did so with my under water camera. It was an awesome experience to swim right next to a school of permit out in the ocean and then add the hundreds of Blue Tang fish that let me join their feast on the corals. Let me just say the Cayman Islands are one of those places where I have been and where I always want to go back to. It is such a small place but has so much to offer. I just wish I had the money some people in this world have in the banks of this tiny beautiful island. The Cayman Islands was the last stop in our voyage, and as always we left happy and accomplished. We had decided to sleep in late as the excursion we chose was basically at noon. We saw the excursion information and fell for it at just $70:

All Inclusive food and drink. Check!
Beach umbrellas and snorkel equipment are available for rent. We had our own, Check!
Return air-conditioned transportation to the wonderful Tiki Beach Club located on Seven Mile Beach. Check!
Beach has natural reef areas close to shore and therefore may be rocky; extra caution should be taken. Check!

We boarded the tender boat, we cruised right by the Holland America cruise ship, landed soon enough and on to our air conditioned ride to 7 Mile Beach.

The beach as always was a nice white sand and soft to the touch. Some areas had rocks and plenty shells but there was plenty space to choose from.

One thing for sure was that if you venture pass the through and encountered rocks there would be plenty chances to step on a sea urchin. So when you go, just be very careful as there might be plenty sea urchins out there.

If you snorkel, make sure to peak under the rocks and you might find some snappers or schools of grunts lurking in.

Bermuda Chubs are regulars through out the Caribbean and they sure were here in large numbers.

The beach offered plenty rocks and scattered corals to be appreciated.

If you look well enough you will be able to see Sting Rays and some other animal life that are good at camouflaging themselves.

Brain Coral was scattered around and some had nice tones, some were just almost a plain beige, but still awesome to look at.

A lonely Blue Tang was just posing for a picture but did not allow me to get any closer.

A shy Squirrel fish also posed for me and vanished as soon as I took the picture.

This I guess is a Butterfly Fish that ran way from me but not before I had a chance to snap a picture of it.

A school of grunts was hiding perfectly under the rocks.

Then came my big surprise as I just passed the first set of rocks I looked under as hundreds of blue tangs and other fish schooled together to feed on the corals. It was amazing as they only took a couple of bites from one and went to the next as if they were schools of bees jumping from flower to flower. I followed them and as I spent more time with them they let me get closer.

As the Tangs guided me through the reef yet another surprise came about. A small school of 4 to 5 permit were feeding on the crustaceans in the sand and rocks. I followed them and I got closer and closer without making sudden movements and it was within minutes that they were swimming around me.

I found it curious that they would come from under me over and over, I hadn’t noticed that I flipped a Sea Urchin from under me while I tried to turn around and see what they were doing. I am always careful as to not touch the corals or even the live rocks as I do not want to crush any potential reef growth. The sea urchin must have been trying to move as it was swept by the current of my fins. The permits took advantage and had eaten it in seconds. I tried switching to video and captured a bit part of it then switched right back to picture mode.The fish were beautiful and had their fun with me, they swam faster and left under the fins of unsuspected snorkelers that were near by. My guess is they are now familiar with people flipping Sea Urchins for them to eat.

Once again, a Needle Fish said good by to me as I was leaving the water. It was time to get some Rum Punch and some food, yum yum.

Our all inclusive included Rum Punch and a BBQ lunch which we enjoyed to the fullest extent. They had good choices of meats, but we picked the usual BBQ chicken we would normally eat.

The Rum Punch was good enough to get you to smile for a while.Once again our vacation almost felt as if it was over, we boarded the Tender Boats and on to the ship we went.It was yet another amazing vacation. Can’t wait to see what our 30th anniversary will take us in 2016.

Thanks for reading and or looking at the pictures. Until next time!

Isla Roatan, Honduras Snorkel & Free Diving Adventure

June 17, 2015 by cudamanadventures

This was stop three of our 2015 annual Anniversary cruise vacation. We arrived at Mahony bay which is the port at Isla Roatan, Honduras. We had been here before and enjoyed the beach and surrounding areas. This was a very relaxing way to enjoy this port of call. After looking at brouchures we decided that this time we would plan a nice snorkel and free diving adventure. After talking with the clerk at the excursion desk we reserved our tickets to go to Tabyana Beach. It was advertised that pristine corals could be seen just a short distance from the beach. The clerk confirmed it as the do get to enjoy the attractions at the port of calls and most of them have actually been at the sites advertised. I must say, I fell in love with coral life. It was an awesome choice.

We arrived at Mahogany Bay, the area specifically made for the ship’s arrival. A few nice shops and restaurants to make you feel comfortable and entice you to open your wallet and have some fun. They really work at making you forget your busy life and enjoy your true vacation.

We went straight to take a mini bus that took us to the beach Upon arrival we were some of the first to get there. that was great. I was able to prepare and get to the free diving part.I spoke to one of the workers and asked what were the boundaries and what area was safe out of the currents. After a few suggestions I went in the water and started to snorkel my way to about 20 feet were I dove down to get some pictures of the corals.

The area was well taken care of, they even had signs in different languages to basically guide you away from the shallow areas so you would not touch the corals.I was in just 2 feet of water when this Palometa fish pass by saying HI!The corals were pristine, the area was well taken care of. It was an awesome sight and delightful free dive and snorkeling. From the beach it was not even 10 feet of water and the corals were there already.

After an hour or so I went back to the beach to join my wife for a local beer and some patties.

Once we took a break we went back in the water to continue enjoying the sights of the reef and the colorful fish. Once again I encountered more signs, this one in Spanish.From the water you can appreciate the natural contour of the Island.And then back under water we continued to appreciate what nature has to offer.Shcools of Blue, Brown, mixed in with Parrot fish and other species were the constant sights all over the reef.

It took us quiet few hour to explore and enjoy the reef. It was getting late so we decided to go back in relax and get on our way back to the ship. Below are the restaurant and shop areas of Tabyana beach.

Below is an interesting stop to get the sand of your body.

On our way to the boat we were.I snapped some picture from inside the bus. I always like to remember how things were when I visited a destination.

One last taste of the local brew and on to the ship we were.

Thansk for stopping by, our next stop would be Cayman Islands!

An UnBelizeable Day In Caves And Zip Lining

June 16, 2015 by cudamanadventures

“Are you ready to have an un Belizeable day?” That’s what the guide said and we were hoping it would be. We had tried to go to Belize before but were not able to as our itinerary was changed due to some ruckus in the Island (so we were told). This time we were hoping to land and explore a little of Belize. Our plans were to be able to do some zip lining and cave excursions. Upon arrival it was a good 20 minute short boat drive on the tenders. Some of the tender boats were on the small side and some like the one we took were very comfortable. Nothing to complain about they were there in numbers and they got us to land quicker than I thought.

Once we landed we took a bus to the zip line and cave area. Quite a ride that reminded me of my old days in the Nicaraguan Atlantic Coast. Small towns here and there with roads that seem to go no where but passed by places you would not think people would be at since there were no houses to be seen. This is because of the forest hiding them out of sight, then in the distance you can notice an urban area here and there.

On the way out of the city we passed by an old cemetery where they even utilized the median between the main roads, very interesting.

An urban area can be seen at distance from the main road.

We got to the Jaguar Paw Jungle where we were to do two excursions, one was the zip lining and the other the cave tubing. I had just passed the shop and the restaurant area when I took the picture below.The lockers were of good size, with all the towels and extra clothes that we took we were able to fit all in just one locker.

Once we reached passed the Jaguar Paw Jungle gift shop and the changing area we saw a nice pool area and no one in it. I wish we could have had the time to take a nice swim in it after we finish our tours.

The Zip Lining

Once we put on our swimming shorts and water shoes, we gathered to get our zip lining equipment.

It was a nice walk to get to the top and we had to be careful as we stepped on the sometimes slippery steps. It is a rainforest so expect for it to always be a bit muddy and very humid.

It was nice to see the trees in such a natural area, almost undisturbed but of course you cold a bit bit when something was arranged for the aesthetics of the tour, or was it?

We have zipped lined before but many haven’t and the couple of times we have done it there was some different instructions as there was different equipment to be used.So I would absolutely recommend to always pay attention when they are giving instructions.

So here we were, ready for action and as to my wife? For some screaming fun 🙂

Zip lining was tons of fun and was faster than us climbing to the top, but that is to be expected on all zip lining. We ended at the start of the next adventure, Cave Tubing! something on our to do list and so we scratched if off, we started the Crystal Cave Tubing part of our excursion.

Here is a short video of the Zip Lining.

https://youtu.be/NKLGLhDuR_4

The Cave Tubing

Got to love his job! The minute we got there we were all with our tubes and ready to go.We picked up our tubes and started to descend towards the caves.

As soon as we got closer we were able to appreciate the stalagmites forming right at the entrance of the cave.

Once inside you could see more and more formations. I had a lot of trouble with my camera and tried my best to take pictures, below are a few.

At some point after tubing and seen formations that looked like dogs and other animals, we got of the tubes and were guided through the caves where we had to duck and walk in true darkness while we listened to stories of the Mayan civilization, how they might have used the caves and about the entrance to Xibalba. Very interesting stories.

Our cave adventure had ended, my camera batteries died trying to take pictures in the dark. But was able to get one camera going after we got back on the bus.The trip towards the dock started and went from the dirt roads and rural areas to the paved roads and the city.

I just had to have a taste of one of the local brew. A dark beer with a sweet taste. What a treat a the end of the trip.

Good bye Belize, all your people were good to us and we did have an unBELIZEable day!

Thanks for reading or looking at the pictures, next time it’s Isla Roatan Honduras with some snorkeling and free diving the awesome coral reef.

2015 Xcaret, Mexico excursion.

June 15, 2015 by cudamanadventures

This one is an oldie from earlier this year. Once again my wife and I went on our yearly anniversary cruise vacation. This time we decided to redo a trip that was previously canceled. A few years back we were to visit Cozumel, Belize, and Cayman Islands but we could not make Belize as it was canceled and destination was changed to Costa Maya. This year we did our research and made sure that Belize was still on the itinerary and there were no problems there. Last time visit to Cozumel we went to visit the Mayan ruins of Tolum. This time around we decided this trip would be about Zenotes and Caves so we decided to visit Xcaret. It was an awesome experience and we recommend you experience at least once.

Our trip was cut short, some times the docking takes much longer than anticipated and that can make your excursion a bit shorter. So as always be ready for any last minute changes.

We took the Ferry from Cozumel to Playas Del Carmen. The boat ride is only about 30 minutes, but some people not used to boats do and did get sick in this short ride. I recomend that you take your seasickness medicine the night before and a couple of hours before getting in these kind of boats. Luckily for me I do not suffer from this problem but I know many others do.

We arrived at Xcaret, our driver gave us a few tips on how to make our experience better since we had such a short time to enjoy the water attractions. We chose the underground river that was natural and partly man made, there are other two that are man made as we were explained.

Right when we entered the park there was a nice little shopping center were you can get some arts and crafts to take home or simply enjoy a drink of your choice.

Pass the shopping area we went straight to get our gear and passed by the first entrance of the underwater cave.

While inside we were surprised by a beautiful pool and waterfall.

On we went to the river and started to appreciate our surroundings right away.

There were several small Cenotes, some man made and most were natural.

Some areas are just awesome to stop and appreciate.

In the ins and out of the rivers there are areas a bit dark but with enough light for you not to get disoriented, then you can see some ropes on the sides where you can hold as it gets a bit deep for you to walk.

Past the darkest and deepest areas you will see the mangrove trees, a nice sign that the trip has ended and clear sign that the ocean is on the other side.

The water are a bit chilli and crystal clear, it’s just an awesome place. I wish we were able to experience the other two rivers, this one left a great impression, we will be back.

Below are fish therapy tanks, right after turning in our gear you can see these on your right hand side.

Click on the image below to see a full map of the park.

Past the Aroma and fish therapy area is the entrance to the beach. It looks awesome.

In case you get lost you’ll know hot to get back to Alaska or anywhere else.

I must say, we ate like kings and tasted the best fish and seafood I have had in many, many years.

Past the restaurants there are many other things to see or experience.

Below is a panoramic picture of the dolphin area.

On the other side of the dolphin area they have a nice beach and lots of tikis to get away from the sun.

We then found our way to the Coral Reef Aquarium. This place was great, most fish were swimming in what seemed well taken care of system of pools.

Below are pics of baby turtles that will be released into the oceans. A sign asking you to not touch them so they will not get used to humans is set on rocks by the pools.

Stingrays swimming.

They have a snorkel are that I wanted to get into but unfortunately was running out of time. from were I was the water was still crystal clear.

Below are pics of the fish tanks, there is a small yet nice area in the shape of a circle with several fish tanks.

Below is a depiction of a Mexican Mayan ruins, an amphitheater, and a depiction of a Mesoamerican ballgame stadium.

past the stadium wand it was back to the shopping center where I just had to have one local refreshment before leaving to the boat.

2014 in review – Shorebound Adventures Blog statistics

December 30, 2014 by cudamanadventures

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 45,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 17 sold-out performances for that many people to see it. There were 858 pictures uploaded. That’s about 2 pictures per day. I hope that all my efforts to bring you god content will help you in some way. Thank you for visiting my blog. 🙂

* Views ByCountry

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o 38 Taiwan
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o 1 Guatemala
o 1 British Virgin Islands
o 1 Bahrain
o 1 Lithuania
o 1 Suriname
o 1 Slovenia
o 1 Saint Lucia
o 1 Estonia
o 1 Slovakia
o 1 Czech Republic
o 1 Paraguay

Dry Tortugas With Captain Shane Leonard – Nov – 2014

November 19, 2014 by cudamanadventures

I spent a couple of weekends getting my jigging gear ready and couple others catching bait for our trip to the Dry Tortugas. On one night I had hell netting with a 3 foot cast net but managed to net 136 ballyhoo of which I a gave a bag of over 20 to each on the trip. Before the trip we had one more night scheduled to catch bait and this time I was to bring a 6 foot cast net to make things easier once I got to the dock Adam got the boat ready to go but it was a no go. The bridge between the dock and the liberty of the ocean was blocked by higher than normal low tide, we were not able to get past the bridge to get fresh bait that we would keep brined to take the same day. In the end of bait gathering we all managed to get a few goggle eyes and bought a few as well. With the bait in our freezers and our gear ready to go we thought all was 100% when all of a sudden we were on weather watch as the weather could make a bad turn to cancel our trip as it did in 2013. It was the last day and we got the go ahead to drive to Stock Island in the Florida Keys. I had to leave some gear behind as this boat only allows 5 rods per person. It was tough for me to do so as I like to bring 7 rods with me. I ended bringing one bottom rod, 2 jigging rods, a top water rod that could double as a jigging rod, and a bait rod to catch gogs and Yellow Tail Snappers. I also brought a YO-YO reel just in case. On the way we were notified that Captain Yury was on a hunting trip and Captain Shane Leonard was to be our Captain for this trip. Most of us had fished with him three times before so I had no worries.

On the way to the boat.

I picked up Nilson for the drive down to the Keys. We played Tetris with our gear and coolers to get everything in the back of my Scion XB box car. We did it and did not leave anything behind. On we went for a few bait stops so we stopped at Key Largo Fisheries for some fresh ballyhoo, but they had none so while we were there we went over our memory list of things needed and of course we forgot a few things. Towels, toothpaste, and soap, need to take at least one shower on this kind of trip you know plus you do need to brush your teeth everyday day. After getting that plus a few unneeded things like chocolate bars we went on the way to catch some bait. This time to the well known not a secret spot No Name Key where the boys loaded a 15 gallon bucket with live pinfish and prayed they made the journey to the boat.

At no name Key

Well, we got to the boat and had to wait for Stevie the Wonder to finish cleaning it. We let the boat dry out a bit and loaded our gear in it.

As we were waiting just about all of us had good hope for a good fishing trip as we stared at the fileted fished in a cart. These were from the trip before us. Looked like a nice load.

Fishing got started.

Things started slowly with me getting a small Cobia on bait. Robert started with the mutton snappers by nailing a decent size one then Rory put a bigger one in the box. A bit later I switched to a jig and then got another small cobia, and then another. I thought there might just be one out there that was of size but there was no luck for me.

In the morning

I started jigging and was able to connect with a Red Grouper a story that would repeat over and over for about 20 times. On this trip the Red Groupers seemed to like jigs slowly moved near the bottom. Below is a Red Grouper on a Supplex jig.

Next I got a porgie on the same Supplex jig.Rory was onto the Mutton Snappers with live bait.When he decided to jig a shark came up and claimed it’s Dry Tortugas taxes.Adam got this nice Scamp Grouper on a vertical jig.At noon I took a rest from the jigs and used a live bait to get this nice 12 pound Mutton Snapper.Shortly after at 1:15 pm I got another beauty of 12 pounds as well.

Nilson joined us and got his Mutton Snapper.Adam went back to bait and landed his Mutton Snapper.I decided to go back to jigging and landed a nice Red Grouper.Adam kept on bait fishing and landed the biggest mutton of the trip, a 14.5 or so Mutton Snapper.Nilson went on and also got a 14 pound Mutton Snapper.

The First Night

Night time came by and I do not know what happened, I fell as sleep. Yes I did! I guess I am getting to that stage in my age where the non exercise couch potatoness is setting in and by 9 pm I start to get sleepy just to wake up at 5:00 am. Oh well I missed out on some good fishing, I think. Well, I was told that the seas would be rough so we were to move behind the Fort for cover.

The Second Morning

The morning of the 14th things got hotter, we were fishing in shallow water and fishing was hot. I was glad I slept well and so did others. It was no surprice, I spelt a hell of a lot more than I ever done on a fishing trip.

Ricky started into the good fishing by nailing a decent mutton around 8:30 am.I kept with my jigging and after catching a few more small Red Groupers I lost my Supplex jig to a King Mackerel. I switched to a Blue Blue jig and at 11:30 am landed this nice Red Grouper.Meanwhile Adam kept with the bait fishing and landed this nice 14 pound Red Grouper.My Blue Blue jig got cut off by another King Mackerel so I switched to a Maxel Dragonfly in 180 grams. The result, another Red Grouper and this time it was a double header as Adam got one a minute later with live bait.The above grouper was a stubborn one and rocked me, I managed to get it out and almost lost it as my reel drag got loose and then the Shout 1/0 hook bent but did not bend enough to loose my fish.

In the Red Grouper madness Rory and Robert also had a double header.Ricky was drifting a Hookup Jig (Troll Right) in the chum slick when a very nice Red Grouper hit the tiny morsel. He had a good fight trying to get the fish in the boat.I kept on with the Maxel jig and kept getting more Red Grouper after Red Grouper.Nilson it was still around 1:30 when Nilson also got into the hot Red Grouper bite and landed a few very nice Red Groupers.

After the bite slowed down we made a move to deeper water but the current was just too much, 2 pounds would not hold so we moved to another shallow spot. The Captain told us to get our heaviest gear and put a big live bait down. Adam decided to use his jigging gear with a Jigging Master hook, he made the right choice and was able to land a nice Goliath Grouper.Then shortly after Rory landed on of the few non Red Groupers.

On The Second Night

Night time fell upon us and was to be the last night of the trip. The highlights were Rory thinking he was stuck on the bottom and using a YO-YO to pull his rig but surprise, surprise, the line kept on coming and coming until a big Nurse Shark was revealed. Rory always seems to find one of these cats no matter where he fished, well most of the time.

After the Nurse Shark was released unharmed Adam landed an 18 pound cobia. it went nuts in the boat as they always do, so we had to put it in a cooler until it calmed down. We forgot all about it and did not take a pic. The rest of the morning we spent it catching yellow tails to make up our snapper limit. The Captain was kind enough to cook breakfast and dinner for us through out the trip. Normally he would do a breakfast and a dinner. We thank him very much for going the extra mile with us.

Back at the dock we laid our gear against the fileting station for a wash.

Our catch in garbage cans, there was more in the coolers as we were unloading from the boat.Our total catch picture is below.

High Hook for Mutton Snappers went to Robert with about 10 Mutton Snappers.

I was High Hook on Groupers with my limit of six and all by way of the Vertical Jig. Got over 15.

Rory also ended very high on the Groupers with 7 Red Groupers and one Gag Grouper.

Biggest Fish, Biggest Mutton, and Biggest Grouper went to Adam.

Stevie the Wonder fileting our catch for $35 bucks an hour, $5 more than last year. But it is worth the wait to make things easier when you get home.

All in all on vertical fluttering jigs (Slow Pitch jigs) I caught:

5 Cobias – released all of them because they were too small

15 red groupers (and even more, most where short of the legal size requirement) I kept my limit of six

3 Lane snappers

3 Vermillion Snappers

1 Yellow Tail Snapper

1 Mutton Snapper

1 Porgie – Released

1 Grey Trigger Fish – Released

The gear I used was :

-Accurate BX600 4:1 w/ 80 lb braid, top shot 100 lb mono on a GF850H Calstar (30 to 80 pound class rod).For Groupers and doubled up as a Mutton Snapper rod at night. I had 80 lb braid backing and a short 100 foot top shot that I could change when night or daytime came.
-Shimano Sustain 5000 with 15 lb mono line to catch Yellow Tails. Next time will bump to 20 lb line.
-Shimano Stella 8000SWPG on a factory Calstar 7 foot rod.
-Jigging Master PE3 filled with PE4 BB line with 40lb flourocarbon leader on a 200 gram Jigging Master Power Spell Jigging Rod.
-Jigging Master Ocean Devil PE6 filled with 65lb Tuffline XP and and 60 lb leader on a Jigging Master Terminator 400 gram rod.

Bunus shot:

Jig and assist line after getting hit after hit after hit

ShoreBound Adventures

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Author Archives: cudamanadventures