Playa Larga, Bay of Pigs fly fishing destination
By Aaron Culley
The prospect of fly fishing new water, especially in a tropical location, should get your attention. First coming to mind are the many beautiful colored waters and warm wind in your face as you scoot along in a skiff. Then there are the tackle testing fish! When traveling to a new location, the sense of adventure which we fly anglers enjoy so much is amped up to quite a level. Very much like wondering what lays around the next bend of a river, the opportunity to fish a different saltwater destination is one to enjoy when the opportunity arises. Screaming knuckle busting reels with bonefish tearing into backing, barracuda’s searing runs deep into the skinny line attached to fly line, juvenile tarpon and the promise of potential for finding a willing permit beckons the fly rodder.
Hearing that a group of fellow fly rod anglers had an opening to join them, I asked to join in the group. Finding a positive reply, I was off to find out details. So many details traveling to a new location. The travel consultant was Jon Covich of World Fly who has multiple trips and connections to fishing in Cuba. (go to youtube to see his videos). Jon has been around the fly fishing industry for quite some time so he’s done his work to make sure his trips are successful and enjoyable. Is it possible to travel to Cuba? The answer is yes, because travel is designated as” providing support of the Cuban people. Procuring the correct documentation was not difficult but required some research and timing to get the correct visas. Getting flights into Havanna was simple enough but travel from the west to east to catch a morning departure means a red-eye departure from the PNW. This is an adventure right?
We were met at Havanna airport by a driver and van and set off on a drive of about 3 hours south to reach our destination, Playa Larga. Road travel in Cuba is quite eye
opening. Not many vehicles but many antique cars, bicycles, scooters, horse drawn carts all moving down the same roadways. Vehicular traffic is limited due to fuel availability and cost.
Arriving in Playa Larga (on the bay of Pigs) we were delivered to our lodging. Turns out there was a bit of different communication about our destination, so we ended staying in a different “hostel”, one right on the beach! We were paired up and shown our rooms, quite clean, air conditioned and suitable. Storing our bags, we moved to the chairs on the beach where some Cuban rum was available and sandals removed. Following the long day of travel we could exhale and chat about the fishing opportunities for the coming days. Dinner was soon on the buffet table where we were treated to local cuisine, then off to bed, dog tired.
Roosters crowing, coffee at 6, breakfast shortly thereafter, then gear up and meet the van at 7 for transportation to the skiffs where we would fish in the Zapata Peninsula National park, a bumpy 50 minute drive each way each day! While on the drive, we had the opportunity to learn about the park and view many different types of tropical birds in the swamp lands adjacent to the bumpy road. Did I mention the road was bumpy? Arriving at the dock where we met our skiffs and guides quickly turned into a show where anglers were putting together rods, stringing line and tying on flies. That was a bit of a show! Making our way out to the boat with our assigned guide for the day then slowly motoring to the flats known as the Salinas, we pulled our hats down tight, most of us, for the run to our first fishing spot.
Flats were mostly very light colored sandy bottom and shallow. We were able to hook up to nice size bonefish quickly but best success was singles/doubles. Big schools 
would spook when you cast to them. The first day was quite cloudy, making seeing the fish challenging but when we did find fish they were very close to the boat The bonefish preferred flies that had minimal flash. Christmas Island specials were rejected and the neutral colored mantis shrimp most popular. We spent the day chasing bonefish the majority of the day. I did bring an extra rod in the boat, 9wt. rigged with a toothy critter leader in case we came across some barracuda. Good thing I did, because later in the afternoon we spotted a nice barracuda laying in a flat. Holding an 8 weight bonefish rod, I quickly stripped in the line while my boat mate extracted the 9 weight and we exchanged outfits and got the barracuda set up, strip out some line and ready to cast. The fish swam toward the boat a few feet and I put a cast in front of where he was swimming. The fish charged the fly grabbed it and shot off to my left. I was able to clear the extra line on the deck of the skiff then moved my left hand away from the reel, a potentially dangerous place. Using the butt of my rod putting pressure on the fish and reeling in my backing and fly line, I was able to bring the barracuda to the boat. Super fun! Fish was about 36 inches, guessing 15 lbs.
Soon it was time to head back to the dock and make the drive back to the lodging by the bay, on the bumpy road, to our accommodations. Not too bad for our first day with the promise of finding some tarpon and permit tomorrow. It good to get the lines straightened out which is very important. One day, my boat mate had a new 10 wt line that had not been stretched and was nearly impossible to cast which is a problem when a fish appears at 40 feet and the caster is only able to cast 30 feet with a coiled up line!
An option we were offered was fishing a fresh water river for tarpon and snook. That was a 50 minute ride to a different location where we boarded a bass style aluminum boat where both anglers could fish from opposite ends at the same time. The day I decided to try the river (Rios) was windy even on the river which was surrounded by trees and mangroves. Our guide that day was puzzled by the lack of surface fish activity. Normally there are rolling tarpon which an angler casts toward. That day ended up slow without a hookup.
The balance of our fishing stay was pretty much the same, fishing with a different guide daily. We met with the head of the Playa Larga fly fishing guide school, Lazaro Rodriguez. We learned of his successful program training young local men to operate the boats. Learn fly casting and guide skills which then become their occupation skills. We also learned the guides were paid by the government ($35/month). We also were joined at the beach/restaurant by several of the local residents who were able to communicate with us each day. There was some beach side fly casting practice and exhibition by a couple of guides.
We brought household items in our luggage to give to the local people. Items like bar soap, toothpaste, soccer balls, t-shirts and medical supplies. Many of these items are unavailable and expensive for these villagers. Evey thing helps them. They were very appreciative.
The Interaction with the locals was all very positive. The cultural interaction was mainly with the villagers of Playa Larga. On the return drive to Havana airport, we did a quick drive-through of Havana where we got to see a city frozen in time. Lots of old cars from the US (outfitted with Chinese diesel engines) and old architecture. Buildings in all states of repair as well.
Our group vowed to return next year to enjoy the fishing , the local residents and our accommodations. And of course, rum and cigars. Now that was an adventure.