THE ZAPATA PENINSULA (LIVE-ABOARD BOAT)
Bonefish galore, and a short ride from Havana
Getting There: Guests fly through Havana, then transfer overland three hours to port, and another three hours in yacht to moorage
The Fish: All flats species live in Zapata. Bonefish are plentiful, as are Permit, Tarpon, Snook, Jacks, Snapper and Barracuda
Notable: Shorter travel time, all species available, anglers fish more with three days in a single skiff and three days in a double skiff
that will sometimes show themselves during the late Spring and Summer. This is also one of the most reliable Permit fisheries in all of Cuba, with an enormous variety of habitats where anglers seek them with crab imitations. Many grand-slams happen in Zapata, and Super Grand-Slams as well as there are also good numbers of Snook patrolling the white sand beaches of the small islands. Of course, Snappers, Jacks, Barracuda and even Grouper are here in good numbers.
Notable is that Zapata is relatively close to Havana, keeping travel time to a minimum. Included in this trip are six full days of fishing, three of which are done in single skiffs. This means significantly more fishing time per angler. The yacht Georgiana is very comfortable, with an accommodating and friendly Cuban staff, and excellent food.
The Zapata Peninsula is important to Cuba in many ways. Bordering the Bay of Pigs, this area experienced the infamous failed invasion of US -backed troops. Zapata is also important from an environmental perspective. Similar to the American Everglades, the Zapata Peninsula is mostly a swamp of sawgrass and mangroves, and now makes up the largest national park in the Caribbean.
This swampland of mangroves creates an amazing nursery for flats fish, as well as the food that those fish feed upon. Bonefish thrive here, and there are massive numbers of them, ranging in size from true juveniles to fish pushing double digits. Tarpon also love this habitat, and are found reliably in the channels between Zapata’s many cayes, inside the mangroves, and on some of the ocean-side beaches. They range from adolescentswaiting to join the migration of mature fish, to larger fish
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