Fishing Honeymoon... Where to Go?

[livetofishnj]

So long time, no see y'all. Been off in the nether world for a while but when the question of where the best fishing is going to be when I set off for the honeymoon I knew this crowd was the one to ask. Got engaged finally, and have the date set for 4/30/10 (on the beach )
So now we're planning the honeymoon, we're gonna head out for two weeks so I'll have the time, and I have the green light from the bride to fish all I want. We're not looking for long flights or far-away places but it has to be off U.S. soil, tropical with sand and sun and good fishing. We're not looking for a fishing resort, but someplace with all-inclusive packages in a place where I can blow it off and go fish.

Right now the following are on the table:

1) Punta Cana, DR - good fishing, both offshore and bottom. I'm looking for a good mix since it's just my style and cheaper on the budget so that's a plus. Downside is that it seems more expensive per day here and the average rainfall is 7in in may there.

2)St. Lucia. - looks like the fishing is good and I can't see how their fishing could be much worse than the DR at the same time of year. Haven't been able to dig as much up, and it's definitely not the headliner that the DR is. One plus though is that with less notoriety comes less expense which means more fishing overall.

3)Acapulco - Looks like it's good fishing and yet the least expensive. Haven't seen the bottom/inshore opportunities advertised there like the DR and they seem fixated on catching dodos which is fun but I can bail them here three months a year. It also seems very 70's to me so I'm not hot on the town, but I've made several trips to MX so customs, the flight in, logistics are similar and that makes it easier.

So my old friends, what do you all have to say about these places or others in the same range during the first two weeks next May. We've been to Puerto Vallarta and while it was work covering the Bisbees for you all last year, Cabo's on the been there done that list.

[SNAKE EYES SPORTFISHING]

i would definatly look into cabo, my wife and i both love it, leave dock at 7 wave to her on the balcony, home by 2 or three...

[Zummie]

Google "Palmas de Cortez" a short ride from Cabo. Amazing fishing; massages and a spa for the wife; rode 50 miles on quads we rented with the desert on one side and the sea on the other. Here are some pictures:











Room rates include 3 meals per day and fishing boats are way less expensive than Cabo. Rental sea kayaks with rod holders are fun. I skipped the horseback riding and golf. Wife did partake the spa treatments while I fished. Got fish every trip; marlin. stripped and blue, tuna and dorado.

I have been to all the places on your menu; DR best left to the golfers (not real safe outside the resorts so your like a prisoner). Only good thing about DR was that there were a lot of European women who liked to sunbath topless (wife said she never saw me sit on a beach so long before) St. Lucia was beautiful but very hot and the locals were not that friendly. Acapulco would be my last choice on the Mexican Pacific, lots of better places (my favorite is Barra Navidad; check out the Grand Bay hotel which the travel channel rated the best beach resort in Mexico). Fishing is real close to shore and very inexpensive (about $250.00 a day for a Panga and captain includes gear, drinks, and lunch) but the best fishing months are December to March. We stay at Casa de Marco in Barra and I fish there every year in season.

If your stuck on the Caribbean I would pick Antigua (prosperous compared to the other islands and the locals are very friendly). Antigua has over 300 beaches many of them very secluded. Wife and I rented a 4 wheel drive jeep and found our own private beach where we were the only ones there. Fishing anywhere in the Caribbean is usually expensive and you are often in for a long boat ride.

For your date I would say go for Palmas de Cortez. The Blue Marlin in the picture above was caught in April. At Palmas each room is assigned a shelf in a walk in freezer for your catch. Take an ice chest and some duct tape and your catch goes home with you. The blue marlin above was served at my fishing partners restaurant in Tampa as the special for a week at $24.95 and people really complained when it ran out. He charbroiled it with seasonings and basted it with garlic butter as it cooked.

[Ace1st]

Fishermans Fleet LAPAZ in Mexico I hear is excellent fishing in an old world setting.

[Squidnation]

That is prime time for Dominican Republic but I personally have never been their. Cap Cana - Punta Cana is suppose to be beautiful.

By this time the whites are probably off the waters of Isla and Cancun. Truly one of my favorite places to fish. Wild, Crazy and bustling Cancun or quiet, quaint and beautiful Isla Mujeres or BOTH. Try Anthony on http://www.islamujeressportfishing.com/

Fishing is still good in Costa Rica. Lots of guys on the board here. Lots of guys here on the board that can help out with that. Lots to do besides fishing as well. Arenal Volcano, canopy tours, National parks everywhere that are truly awesome.

[gottaflylee]

Very cool and best wishes to you (good luck) and congrsts to your bride to be. I wish you both the very best...
Oh ya, mexico, As bill said, Isla Mujeres is a great place to be.

[Over Under]

No Bahamas? Man, we can put a heck of a honeymoon trip together. Very hard to beat cruising around the Islands without a care in the world. My wife and I did a 2 week honeymoon in the Bahamas on my 32 Mirage CC and I was hooked for life. We did the Berry's, Eleuthera, then over the the entire Exuma Chain. The next year, we liked it so much we began to move further south and started in the Exumas and ventured down to Cat, Rum, San Sal. After that we really never left, and have been going back down that way for a long time. Now for the last 2 seasons, we've diversified a bit and are exploring the Abacos more, for many of the reasons this post is about....a great place for couples/families, great cruising, beaches, bars, and of course, fishing....and not just offshore...bonefish, reef too.

If you'd like to talk more about what the Bahamas has to offer, just drop me a line and I'll tell you everything I know. It's not about Nassau, Paradise Island and Freeport...

With 2 weeks, you got a lot of time to do a lot of great things. Snorkeling and Freediving is fantastic, and spearfishing can be pretty addicting. The wall diving (scuba) is world class. Bonefishing the flats, depending on where you are can also be world class. Lots of great anchorages, marinas, cool little towns to visit, etc. depends on your cup of tea...little local bars and restaurants, with lots of conch this, and conch that and plenty of kaliks. Offshore, Spring is prime time and dolphin, tuna, some wahoo still, and billfish should all be around. Depending on where you visit, you can get into remote beaches/islands that are uninhabited and you will have them to yourself for the afternoon. I could go on, but this is the flavor of the Out Islands of the Bahamas.

Check out the winds for the DR...i hear they can be very tough in the Spring. Sometimes tough for us in Bahamas too...but we find other things to do, when the wind howls...

[thums up]

It is not the best time of the year for fishing. A lot of in between seasons.

Squid is right we still have some good fishing in CR then. Isla Mujers still has some good fishing and I like the Abacos in the Bahamas then. DR is slow overall in April. The west coast of Mex is pretty slow then, you will get some fish but nothing to write home about.

Congrats. and good luck picking a spot.

[whalebreath]

It is not the best time of the year for fishing. A lot of in between seasons.

Squid is right we still have some good fishing in CR then. Isla Mujers still has some good fishing and I like the Abacos in the Bahamas then. DR is slow overall in April. The west coast of Mex is pretty slow then, you will get some fish but nothing to write home about....

Some good advice as quoted and I hope you take it.

The sticker is the need for an All Inclusive w/fishing, a poor fit at the best of times.

Whatever place you're thinking of be sure to cross reference with Trip Advisor, all kinds of accommodations info.

[Over Under]

I'd have to say that mid April through the first week of June is typically the best 6 weeks of the year in the Bahamas. Only issue is the wind... it certainly can blow some in the Spring. But that is our peak, no doubt about that.

Here is our video gallery. Most of these were filmed in the Spring time. Probably all of them actually, except our Diana Bank Wahoo show. The last one (San Salvador), was filmed the last week of April.... It will definitely give u a flavor of spring-time Bahamas fishing. The cat island epidsode was may as well I believe, and we have one airing on ESPN2 this coming Sunday that was also filmed in May this past year.

Bahamas Fishing Videos