Los Roques, Venezuela, April 21-28, 2012
Dates: April 21-28, 2012
Accommodations and Meals: Accommodations are at Acuarela Lodge, which is located within the village of Los Roques on the island of Gran Roque. Anglers stay in tasteful double and single occupancy guestrooms, each with a ceiling fan, air conditioner and a private bath. The lodge is very tasteful and appropriate for non-anglers as well. Owner and chef extraordinaire, Angelo Belvedere, serves wonderful four course dinners that showcase the region’s fresh seafood and there is a great roof top sitting area for enjoying the evening breeze.
Cost: $3,995 (double occupancy)
$4,655 (single occupancy room, double occupancy boat)
Includes: 2 nights at Hotel Eurobuilding in Caracas, 5 nights lodging with full meals at Acuarela Lodge, 5 ½ days guided fly fishing, jumper flight from Caracas to Gran Roque, vehicle transfers in Caracas.
Not Included: Travel to and from Caracas
Meals in Caracas
Exit duties
Gratuities for staff and guides
Flies and equipment
Lodging and Guides: La Acuarela Lodge, Sight Cast Guide Service, Gran Roque
Reservations/Deposits: 50% deposit to reserve your space
Balance due January 21, non-refundable
Cancellations prior to 90 days may be applied to another reservation, but no refunds available.
Itinerary
Saturday, April 21: After clearing customs at the airport, we will be met by a representative of the lodge’s transfer service, JonJac, who will be holding a sheet of paper with our names on it. This person, most likely John Salazar, will then take you to the Hotel Eurobuilding, which is about a 5 minute drive.
Sunday, April 22: Our driver will pick us up at the appointed time set the night before and take us directly to the domestic terminal. Once there, we will each need to pay about $10 US (national departure tax).
The flight takes approximately 35 minutes. Upon arrival to Los Roques we will need to pay $30 US to enter the National Park Archipielago Los Roques. We will be met by a member of the Sight Cast team who will lead us on a five minute walk to our accommodations for the trip, Acuarela Lodge. We will check in and have a quick breakfast before heading out for our first full day of fishing.
Monday-Thursday: Four full days of guided fishing (5 1/2 fishing days total for the trip)
Friday, April 27: This will be our last day of fishing and our departure day from Los Roques. We will fish until about 3:00PM and then finish packing our gear to get to the airport for our 5:30pm flight to Caracas (approximate times). In Caracas we will be met by our driver and taken back to the Hotel Eurobuilding.
Saturday, April 28: Fly home.
Fishing Program: With more than 250 square miles of fishable water, the Los Roques area is a wade fisherman’s dream come true. While many of the more productive flats are covered with turtle grass, coral flats and hard sand flats also abound. Virtually all the flats fishing in the Los Roques’ region is done while wading, greatly adding to the region’s appeal.
Regarded primarily as a bonefish fly fishing destination, the vast and varied waters surrounding Acuarela Lodge also provide ample opportunities for species such as barracuda, tarpon, jacks, blue runners and Spanish mackerel. During the prime months of February through mid-October, Los Roques offers impressive numbers of bonefish that average 3-4 pounds. Bonefish over 5 pounds are common, and good numbers of bonefish in the 7-10 pound range are present. Bonefish over 10 pounds have been taken, and the lodge record is an honest 13 pounder! The Los Roques bonefish season runs from mid-January through October. Fishing is done from 28 foot fiberglass boats with one guide and one captain per two clients. The fishing day is approximately 8 hours, but times vary so as to hit the best tides. If the best tides for tailing fish are late afternoon, the fishing day may be from 10:30AM – 6:30PM. When fly fishing anglers tire of walking the flats or tides are not optimal for wading, anglers can fly fish from the boat’s casting platform. While these boats are too large to be poled effectively, the boatman can “walk” the boat across deeper flats, while the guide helps anglers to spot fish from the bow. The guides can also take anglers to deep-water “muds” or "secret" bonefish holes where even beginners can catch an abundance of bonefish.
Fisheries: The Los Roques Archipelago is a 22 mile ring of small islands in the Caribbean Sea located 80 miles north of Caracas, Venezuela. While the area is often referred to as an archipelago, technically Los Roques is an atoll within the Lesser Antilles characterized by magnificent coral beds, diverse and varied flats, sandy beaches, clear waters and incredible natural beauty. The entire atoll was declared a national park in the mid-80’s and since that time there has been very little development, thus insuring the pristine nature of the area for generations to come. There are in excess of 300 distinct fishing areas/flats in the region.
The island Gran Roque is the largest of the archipelago and has a permanent population of about 1,500 people. The island is very safe, clean and popular among foreign tourists and affluent Venezuelans alike. There are no cars on the island, leaving folks free to walk the quaint sand street barefoot.
Located 11 degrees north of the equator, Los Roques’ air and water temperatures vary little throughout the season. The area is also characterized by a dry climate and is relatively unaffected by cold fronts and hurricanes. These factors make Los Roques one of the safest bonefishing locations in the world in terms of weather and water conditions, much like Christmas Island. Chris Yrazabal, owner of Sight Cast, is a fourteen-year veteran to guiding the Los Roques region. His guests are housed at Acuarela Lodge, a small elegant lodge which is located only five minutes from the airport on the atoll’s largest island, Gran Roque.
Non-Angling Activities: The lodge’s boat can take non-anglers to a nearby beach to relax. Other activities for non-anglers include scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, kite surfing and sea kayaking.
Recommended Equipment
Rods: 8 ½’-9’ saltwater fly rods for lines 7, 8, 9. 10-12 weight rods are suggested for tarpon, but most anglers will fish primarily for bonefish on this trip. We strongly recommend fast action fly rods from Scott and Sage. These are proven favorites that we’ve fished for years in the salt.
Reels: Saltwater class fly reels (we strongly recommend Tibor Abel and Nautilus. Reel failure is common on saltwater fly fishing trips).
Lines: Bonefish: Bonefish or Redfish floating line (Scientific Anglers Redfish taper or equivalent).
Tarpon: Tarpon Taper floating or intermediate sinking line.
Flies – Not available on location. Buy your flies from Telluride Angler in advance!
Clothing
Flats wear from Ex-officio, Columbia, or equivalent. We recommend long sleeve shirts and pants for sun protection and general comfort
Flats boots (Simms, or equivalent)
Sun Gloves
Broad-brimmed hat
2 pairs polarized sunglasses
Rain Jacket
Accessories
Flats butt pack with water bottles
Saltwater pliers (Abel, Dr. Slick or equivalent)
Hook file
Leaders and tippet (10 lb – 20 lb tippet spools, butt section materials)
Wire leaders
Sun block
Insect repellent
Travel Documents: A valid passport is required for entry into Venezuela. Passport must be valid for 180 days beyond anticipated date of departure.
Traveler’s Insurance: Highly recommended. Telluride Angler cannot take responsibility for “circumstances beyond our control,” which do occasionally occur on destination fishing trips.
Christmas Island, April 3-10, 2012
We are pleased to announce that we have secured 8 spots at the Villages at Christmas Island fly fishing resort for April 3-10, 2012.
Here are some trip details:
Fishing: Christmas Island is one of the finest saltwater fly fishing destinations in the world. On our 2011 trip to Christmas, we caught countless bonefish and several species of trevally, all in classic sight fishing situations. Offshore fishing is also available. In 2011, Richard Knackendoffel landed a nice Wahoo, which rounded out the table fare. The flats fishing is 100% wade fishing on super hard, shallow flats. For those who seek fly fishing overload, Christmas Island is an unsurpassed destination.
Lodging: The Villages at Christmas Island is a relatively new lodge, located on the lagoon. It has several advantages over the Captain Cook hotel and Mini Hotel, formerly the two preferred lodges: a) It’s small, lodging only 12 guests. The Cook, by comparison, lodges 30 guests. b) The food is good. Guests report that the food is better than in Honolulu, which is saying something. Jack Nicklaus has stayed at this lodge 5 years in a row. c) Rooms are air conditioned. This is unique on X-Mas Island d) You’re on the water, with no drive time to the boat ramp in the morning. This earns us a full extra hour of fishing time each day. e) There’s a flat right in front of the lodge. Bummer, huh?
Price, dates and logistics: Dates: Tuesday, April 3-Tuesday, April 10 (There is only one flight per week from Honolulu!) 7 nights/6 days fishing $2,195/double occupancy. Single occupancy rates tba. Charter flight from Honolulu $900 (approx.)
Note: the flight to Christmas Island leaves early on Tuesday, April 3th, so it is necessary to arrive in Honolulu April 2th. We’ll get some rooms down on Waikiki for Monday night. On the return trip, you may schedule a late afternoon flight back to the U.S. mainland. Our charter flight from Christmas Island arrives in Honolulu around Noon.
Troy Youngfleish is the trip host this year.
More on The Villages? Click Here for the Fishabout website.
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