Would you like this information for St. Thomas, St. John or St. Croix...??

--Islander

You didn't mention which island you were going to. Also, what type of beach fishing... fly? Artificial lures? Live bait?

I would like this info for St. Thomas please. thanks jw

i would like to have the info for st. thomas i'm interested in spinning tackle and it could be with lures or live bait. which ever would offer the most chance for success. i'm only interested in catch and release so i'm not concerned about edible fish. thanks jw

JW,

Although I have been to STT over the years, I have not done any in shore fishing by boat. That is actually on the agenda for our trip this May. However, I have always gone beach or dock fishing.

Beach: Most people frown on fishing from the beach per se as they want to swim. But don't mind if you go off to the rocks on either side. Magens bay is one. You will be more productive off to the rocks on the left as there is more structure and some drop offs. The right side is dead. Same thing with Sapphire.... head for the rocks. Coki does have people fishing from the beach but usually very early in the morning or after the crowds have gone for the day.

Off the beaten path you will need 4 wheel drive. These places include Bordeaux bay, Mandahl bay, Njelteberg and a few others. You will also need a local to give you directions as the turn offs are hard to find as they sometimes look like a dirt driveway. Hull bay and Dorothea does not require 4 wheel drive and are easy to find and get to. Brewers beach is near the airport by the university and if you walk off towards the rocks on the right you might get lucky.

Dock: I usually go to the sub base dock in Crown Bay in the early morning or late afternoon to early evening. Using live bait has been productive. To get the bait I put 4 or 5 tiny hooks on line like a sabiki and use rolled up bread as bait. Learned this from the locals. Noticed that this works better than an actual sabiki rig.

Fishing is not allowed at the Havensight pier where the cruise ships dock. 🙁

Fish: All sorts! Barracuda, jacks, tarpon, shark, snappers, grouper, rays, mackerel and a whole bunch of others.

Lures: 1/4 Kastmaster with white bucktail. White bucktail jigs for deeper water. Silver with blue top artificials from 2-5 inches work well too in both sinking and floating versions. White with red head poppers have worked for me as well.

Tackle: Light tackle is fine. I do use braided lines for the low stretch and sharp corals. Also use floroucarbon leaders. Circle hooks for bait and live bait are recommended. A wire leader is ideal if you are going after toothy critters like the 'Cuda and houndfish.

Most of the boards I have read talk about off shore fishing. So info on a good in shore guide is limited. You may want to check out www.usviyellowpages.org for a list of fishing outfits or you can ask the folks at Neptunes Tackle suply in Red Hook for ideas.
While you're in Red Hook, go over to the American Yacht harbor and see if you can spot the huge tarpon swimming around the docks and boats. Awesome!

Oh! Another thing you could try is to fish the marine reserve but you will need a fishing permit that you can get at one of the offices on the second floor of the airport terminal building. Go figure! Last time it was about two bucks. Am bringing an inflatable kayak with me this time around for more accessibility.

Also forgot to mention that hermit crab is an outstanding bait for fishing off the rocks.

Email me if you have any more questions.

By the way, when will you be going? We will be there from May 10 until the 24th or thereabouts.

Thanks Patrick for your information. Hope your trip in May goes well!!

--Islander