The Cayman Islands

Located in the calm, clear waters of the western Caribbean lies the peaceful British Territory of the Cayman Islands. Consisting of three islands just 480 miles south of Miami, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman remain our little pieces of paradise. Blessed with sun-kissed beaches and waters teeming with gold flecked fish, the Cayman Islands offers some of the best fishing, diving and snorkeling in the world.

Grand Cayman

Spectacular natural beauty, a wealth of activities and points of interest, along with all the modern conveniences to make your stay as comfortable as possible can all be found here on the largest and most developed of the three Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman is the home of George Town, the capital city of character. Whether you want to explore a sunken wreck or go sightseeing, Grand Cayman is the place to start. We suggest you have 2 nights here at the start of your holiday. One of the many attractions Grand Cayman has to offer is Seven Mile Beach. With sand stretching as far as the eye can see, it is rated as one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire Caribbean. Other attractions on Grand Cayman include the 65-acre Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, home to the worlds rarest iguana – the blue iguana. Rum Point is also an attraction not to be missed. Enjoy a beach snack or an a la carte meal or simply take a dip in the crystal clear sea. Stingray City is a popular attraction where you wade and snorkel amongst up to 150 (friendly) sting rays. We offer a choice of hotels along Seven Mile Beach (short taxi ride from the airport). The Comfort Suites, Marriott and Reef Hotel are excellent choices.

Little Cayman

Little Cayman is the least developed of the Cayman trio. With a resident population of less than 170, most of Little Cayman remains uninhabited. Only 10 miles long and a mile wide, it still offers that rare combination of sun-blessed solitude, glistening beaches and miles of untouched tropical wilderness. Here, shy iguanas and rare birds outnumber humans. On Little Cayman, you'll find privacy and total relaxation. Bask yourself on empty beaches. Venture to remote South Hole Sound Lagoon for a private swim. Or take a sea kayak out to tiny, deserted Owen Island to enjoy a view of nature in its most pristine form.

On Little Cayman diving is the main attraction - especially on famous Bloody Bay wall and Jackson Point. Bloody Bay Marine Park is one of the world's truly legendary dive sites: the sheer coral wall begins at 20 ft. and plunges to 6000 ft. Colourful coral gardens, wavering sea plumes and exotic tropical fish thrive among more than 50 unique dive sites.

Little Cayman also has the largest known breeding colony of Red-footed Boobies (5000 pairs) in the Caribbean, a breeding colony of Magnificent Frigatebirds and a large heronry. It is home to the country's first RAMSAR site, the 203 acre Booby Pond Nature Reserve, now under National Trust protection. Groundbreaking took place on 22 July, 1995 for the Little Cayman Trust House, a Caymanian-style building overlooking the rookery, which opened in late 1996 and serves as the headquarters for Little Cayman National Trust activities. It also provides an observation deck with high-powered telescopes for year-round viewing of the sanctuary's bird life. Little Cayman now has its own museum, located across from the Booby Pond Nature Reserve.

Little Cayman also has a resident indigenous Little Cayman Rock Iguana population estimated at 2,000. Signs painted by local artists were erected in 1995 cautioning motorists to watch out for iguanas along the main coastal road. The local chapter of the National Trust organizes outings and activities on a regular basis. The mile-long Salt Rock Nature Trail provides glimpses of Little Cayman's natural habitat.

Southern Cross Club, Little Cayman. Full board with optional activity packages. Fly fishing. Blue water fishing. Bait/lure fishing. Snorkel equipment, Bicycle and Kayak (free) hire. Optional car rental. Diving packages, Expert fly fishing guides.

Your Little Cayman's Resort

Southern Cross Club’s 12 beachfront ocean view bungalows are each as unique and vibrant as the island they inhabit. All bungalows are equipped with private baths, outside decks and air-conditioning. Some bungalows have a king bed, others two queens. Many have an additional day bed overlooking South Hole Sound. About half of our bungalows feature private outdoor showers. Our two bedroom suite, Blossom Cottage, is perfect for small families or small groups of friends. No matter which bungalow you have you can be assured of a superbly appointed, clean and comfortable beachfront bungalow with a beautiful view of theCaribbean Sea.. The clubhouse provides gourmet cuisine, bar, lounge and top class friendly service. A small swimming pool and terrace separates the clubhouse from the stunning beach. Barefoot elegance is the signature of this small, delightful and exclusive resort which is well managed by attentive staff. Peter Hillenbrand is the owner and he takes a personal interest in all his guests wellbeing. Peter is a divemaster and an expert fly fishing guide. The Southern Cross Club is a unique boutique style hotel (rated amongst the top 3 in the Caribbean) and offers total relaxation, great fishing and a host of other activities – all in a stunningly beautiful location.

Fishing

Little Cayman offers exceptional fly fishing for bonefish, tarpon, permit and a great variety of other flats and reef species. An outer coral reef extends around most of the island. Large flats offer easy wading and these flats range from shallow flats covered in turtle grass to slightly deeper flats with sand, grass and coral outcrops. Ideal feeding areas for bonefish, permit and numerous other species. Fly fishing provides testing sport in the shallows and fishing here is not a numbers game. Wading, stalking, casting and hooking 2 to 8 bones in a morning or afternoon session with a good mix of other species is an attainable target. Fishing the muds from a skiff often provides easier sport and bones over 7lbs were caught on our test trip in December.

The bait and lure angler will find exceptional sport for tarpon, large jacks, barracuda, grouper, snappers and trigger fish. Blue water fishing can be exceptional for tuna, marlin, wahoo, dorado, red snapper, grouper, mackerel and sailfish. Little Cayman is very close to the drop off and the waters here are extremely rich. Catch and release is widely practiced.

Clients can book a guided package with flexible half day trips and we suggest 5 half day trips as part of a weeks package with a guide for 1 or 2 anglers. Clients are free to explore on their own. Car hire is reasonably priced and there are numerous flats within a short drive. Fishing directly in front of the Club is excellent and all around Owen Island. The Club offers transfers to guests by minibus and boat.

Tom Provost is an exceptional fly fisher and resident guide at Southern Cross Club. Owner Peter Hillenbrand also guides for larger groups. Tackle contact....Chris Ryan at Sportfish supplied our flies and has an extensive range of tackle at good value prices. www.sportfish.co.uk Tel 01544 327111

Information

Timezone: GMT -5 hours. Health: No inoculations. Climate: Tropical, average year round air temperature 77f to 84f. Sea temperature 80f. Currency: CI$ or US$. Travel: Flights with British Airways are direct to Grand Cayman (short stop in Nassau enroute). We suggest 2 nights in Grand Cayman on your outward journey.

Cayman Airways operate a frequent service from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman. Our flights department (ask for Kevin at Martins World Travel - 01246 220020) will be pleased to offer the best air fares either direct* or via Miami. (*direct flight calls at Nassau each way).

JOHN HORSEY Cayman Islands Fishing Tackle Tips

Rods: I would recommend taking at least two 9 foot rods – one rated for a 7 or 8 and the other for a 9 weight line. My preferred rods are Hardy Proaxis and therefore incredibly strong, but very light. Fishing for bones in Little Cayman requires a light fly and delicate presentation – the 7 or 8 weight Proaxis will be ideal (I used the #7 on my trip). These rods will also suffice for the baby Tarpon on the Tarpon lake, where small and relatively buoyant flies are a necessity.

However, there are some massive tarpon on the flats and for these you will require a 9 or even a 10 weight rod. Once again, I used a 9 weight Hardy Proaxis rod and it coped perfectly with Tarpon of up to 100lbs.

If there are Permit to throw a fly at, then the 9 weight will be my rod of choice.

Reels: There are 2 things that are absolute pre-requisites for fishing in saltwater – a precision disc drag and a reel designed for saltwater use. I used the all new Hardy Ultralight Saltwater reels and they are superb.

Lines: Saltwater or Tropical fly lines are a must for hot climates – some need to be pre-stretched before each use. Weight forward is the profile and they must be capable of throwing big flies at times. I used a WF8F for wading the flats for bones and a WF10F for casting at bigger species such as Tarpon.

Leaders: Standard tapered leaders for Bonefish and Permit are available from Rio and a host of other manufacturers. I use a 10 foot length, then attach my own tippet of fluorocarbon before attaching the fly. Normally, this length of tippet varies from 2 to 5 feet in length and I found a longer 5 foot length essential for the skinny waters and weedy flats of Little Cayman.

For Tarpon, you will need a far stronger leader set-up, with a shock tippet final length of between 40 to 80lbs to protect the leader from the Tarpon’s sharp gill plates. Once again, a leader of approx 10 feet will suffice, using the lighter shock tippet on the Tarpon Lake and the heavy-duty kit on the flats.

Flies: On the South side of the island, you will be fishing over dense turtle grass, so weed guards are essential. Just tie in a single piece of stiff mono at the eye of the hook which extends to mask the point of the hook – very easy to do, but incredibly effective. Without weed guards, you will simply not catch these fish!

On the North side of the island, the terrain is less weedy, but I would still recommend weed guards on all flies.

Gotcha’s, Crazy Charlies and standard shrimp patterns all work, but keep the patterns small – size 6 being the biggest and 8 the norm. Keep the flies light – I had best success with unweighted patterns at the end of my weeks fishing. Crab patterns are best for the Permit, but once again, smaller rather than bigger seems to work best. The Tarpon Lake is truly unique and is 2 feet deep at it’s max! You will be casting into bays lined with dead mangrove trees, whose branches trail below the water, so snagging is inevitable. Once again, a weed guard is essential and I was amazed how I could “creep” the fly over branches – both submerged and otherwise! Normal reservoir style Muddlers tied on a 6 long shank in black, red and green worked well, as did surface patterns like the “mouse”. However, these need to be tied on razor sharp, strong hooks as the tarpon here will “jump off” most hook sets. For the big tarpon on the flats, you will need standard tarpon Flies tied on highest quality hooks – Owner AKI being some of the best.

Sunglasses: Take with you at least 1 pair of high quality polarised sunglasses – amber lenses seem the best coloured lenses for all-round weather conditions. Your polarised glasses open up the sea bed for you and without them you might as well stay at home – hence the need for a spare pair in case of disasters! I used Ugly Fish and Maui Jim – both were excellent, but the Ugly Fish were best in all light conditions.

Other tackle items: Pliers, snippers, scissors, bum bag for wading.

Clothing: The sun in Little Cayman is strong and dangerous. I recommend lightweight flats trousers, mangrove gloves to cover the backs of hands, a buff for ears, neck and face and long sleeved tropical shirts. Sunscreen is essential – I used P20 from Heathrow duty free and it was brilliant – I applied it once a day and it is waterproof. Take several caps/hats with wide brims. Finally, a pair of sturdy flats wading boots and thick wading socks make up the inventory.