Fishing in PR

Thanks for posting this thread!

I tried surf fishing last time we were here on vacation. It was a disappointment, to say the least. It could have just been an off day or a bad location, but I had 0 luck. That said, when we head to the beach, we often see people carrying rods so maybe there is productive surf fishing available somewhere.

If we decide to stay here long term (Still on the fence about that. It's difficult to be so far from family with our kids being so young), I'd like to purchase an ocean kayak to do some close to shore fishing and then possibly upgrade to a boat eventually. Or maybe not...I really dislike dealing with all of the problems that come along with boats

I have not yet done any freshwater fishing here, though I know it exists. I'm interested in hearing others' information on lake and river fishing here as well.

I fished in rivers a lot, never at a lake, typically find tilapias, cat fish, prawns and something that looks like a pike. You can also do spear fishing in rivers but if you do, wear a dry or wet suit, just in case there are leaches.

People fish at peers, and out the way places, dont want to snag a tourist. Need to also try your luck around rocky areas of the beach, while is rought at the surface, 3 tto 10 feet below there are ussualy fish.

Boat is nice but not always necessary. Btw i never used a pole in PR, we wrapped the line around a bottle or can, used a free weight, spin it in the air and let it go, point the bottle so line comes right out, use index finger to feel for bites then set the hook and roll your line back up along with the fish. Never needed a license to fish but i was not using a pole and never had anybody bother me about a fishing license. Things may have changed since, but people still use a bottle or can instead of a pole. Then again I was dirt poor so a pole was out of my budget and not very common back then. Visit a dairy farm for you worms if you dont mind the smell. Unlike now, back then i rarely spend a dime to have fun.

We've seen some local people fishing like Rey has described and also someone that was going along just off shore with a spear gun catching octopus.  My husband brings his rod each time we come and has caught a few along the shore and they were very tasty.  One year we had our girls digging up and catching these little critters beneath the sand that you will see the birds after and we used them as bait.  I think we also bought some frozen mackerel to cut up for bait.

What did the critters under the sand look like?
Was it some type of clam or crab like creature (Hobos / hermit crab)?

Not sure if you like tarpon fishing, but the metro area seems to be quite popular.  I've seen some monsters right up on the beach in San Juan harbor.  There's a bunch of fishermen that feed them over by the Raices Fountain by the entrance to Paseo La Princesa.

Rey, I just talked to hubby and he calls them sand crabs.  They are about 1/2 - 1 inch long and lots of legs.  I also, stand corrected that it was in Florida we did this but I'm sure there must be some in PR, as well.

Schuttzie wrote:

Rey, I just talked to hubby and he calls them sand crabs.  They are about 1/2 - 1 inch long and lots of legs.  I also, stand corrected that it was in Florida we did this but I'm sure there must be some in PR, as well.

Plenty of sand crabs in PR and yes, great for fishing, lots of fish love them.
Small fish will pull their legs off, bigger fish will swallow them and get the hook in.
Just try not to kill them when inserting the hook

They didn't look like a regular crab but had sort of oblong flat bodies.  I enjoy watching the ones that dig and scoop holes in the sand and throw the sand some distance.  I've thrown potato chips for them and they are quite comical as they try to take it down into the hole.

Schuttzie wrote:

They didn't look like a regular crab but had sort of oblong flat bodies.  I enjoy watching the ones that dig and scoop holes in the sand and throw the sand some distance.  I've thrown potato chips for them and they are quite comical as they try to take it down into the hole.

Just like the squirel in IceAge movie.
Funny also when two or more do a tug of war over some food.

Fresh Shell fish?   What type of shrimp, crab and lobster are available in PR?  Do people set pots to trap crab and lobster?   In Alaska, we would drop the baited pots, several over a given area, allow them to set for several hours and then retrieve the pots with contents   ;-)   

If someone raided your pot and stole your crab before your return, they were supposed to leave a bottle of wine in the pot as a token!

Puerto Rico has fresh water Langoustinos (they look a little like lobsters) they are basically a fresh water prawn, there are also river and land crabs (big grey blue ones sort of steel colour with some cream browning stains).  But the land crabs can only be trapped for a few months out of the year, possession of them outside those months may result in fines or jail time (if caught). Yes they set a trap on the hole or next to it and come back 4 hours later, same trap may catch 2 or more in a day. They live part of the time in the marches and part of the time in drier areas, sometimes you see thousands of them crossing a country road close to the sea. You will see people selling them in sacks or in bunches by the road (alive of course). Flush the mud off their system before you eat them, that will take a few days. I think there was a forum set of entries were we were talking about them a few months back, search for the Spanish words (Jueyes de Puerto Rico).

However if somebody steals your crab in PR, instead of living you a bottle of wine, you may find that they also took your trap.

Check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgeSYxz4VC0

Also search for "Buruquenas De Puerto Rico" these are fresh water, find them around stones and in the water.

Also the standard Sea blue crabs, search for "Cocolias De Puerto Rico"

When fishing off shore it's important to be careful about the kind of fish you catch for eating.  Certain reef fish can cause ciguatera, a food poisoning caused by toxins the fish pick up on the coral, seaweed or algae they eat.

just limin wrote:

When fishing off shore it's important to be careful about the kind of fish you catch for eating.  Certain reef fish can cause ciguatera, a food poisoning caused by toxins the fish pick up on the coral, seaweed or algae they eat.

Hmm,  this is a topic worthy of further research....  so here's what I found:


"Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

This information is courtesy of Lora E. Fleming, NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center

The most commonly reported marine toxin disease in the world is Ciguatera, associated with consumption of contaminated reef fish such as barracuda, grouper, and snapper. Under-diagnosis and under-reporting (especially in endemic areas such as the Caribbean) make it difficult to know the true worldwide incidence of the Marine Toxin Diseases. At least 50,000 people per year who live in or visit tropical and subtropical areas suffer from Ciguatera worldwide. For example, CDC and others estimate that only 2-10% of Ciguatera cases are actually reported in the United States. In the US Virgin Islands, there are an estimated 300 cases per 10,000 or 3% of the population per year; a similar rate is found in the French West Indies. In St. Thomas, a household survey estimated that 4.4% of all households suffered from Ciguatera annually (at least 2640 persons per year or an annual incidence of 600 cases per year); in Puerto Rico, 7% of the residents have experienced at least one episode of Ciguatera in their lifetime.

Ciguatera, especially in the Caribbean, suffer for weeks to months with debilitating neurologic symptoms, including profound weakness, temperature sensation changes, pain, and numbness in the extremities. The dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus toxicus produces ciguatoxin throughout tropical regions of the world."

Sounds like it could be a serious conditioin - one we should defiantly avoid!   We better check with the fish & wildlife folks to get the current data on this.

Yikes, I've never heard of this before 

I wasn't aware of this particular hazard.   But obviously, it is a major risk in the Caribbean.   Seems similar to the red tide concern with harvesting clams or oysters caused by a toxic algae bloom  - remember the adage to avoid eating shellfish in months with an 'R' in them.

We'll check with the local fishermen and the marine biologist about the ciguatera.

What day are you moving to PR Sitka?
Try to write a diary, the good and the bad.

Rey

We'll be in PR on the 11th.   Really looking forward to life on the island!!   

Hope you settle in well.
Let us know how it goes.

Thanks!  Ya'll send me your contact info in PR.  When we get to the point to be able have guests, we will have a BBQ on the beach!   

Some interesting stuff about fishing in PR. My hubby loves to fish and has still not found a good place to go. We have gone to this place in Aguadilla right by the Park but you need to go over some rocks and stuff which he doesn't mind but to get down to the beach for me, it is treacherous. We went to Puerto Hermina beach here in Quebradilla and he may be able to fish there and he would also have to go up some steep rocks and there is a nice beach for me there but of course no bath facilities.

My ideal place would be to have a pier, a nice beach for me and facilities. We tend to spend all day while fishing and it would be too much for me to go without facilities. Anyone know of any in the northwest coast? We haven't gone to the Rincon beach which I understand has some nice beach fishing. so our search continues.

Happy Fishing everyone!!!

Tonie

I see people fishing at crash boat almost every day. I'm not sure what sort of luck they're having but there is always someone there.

Yes, we have seen them there also and once my hubby gets a pole, we will go over there so he can try his luck. there is also a fish market there for those of us who don't fish. It does have everything there, food, drinks and a nice beach and some facilities also.

I've held off on buying any fishing gear until I can actually find a place to go. Crash boat has been my best find so far, but it's a little crowded for my taste.

In Condado area / San Juan there is a nice peer "El Escanbron" lots of fishermen there. Water depth at peer is around 20-30 feet. On the right side of the pier is the Escanbron beach very nice so snorkelling as around the pier is deep and the actual beach has very little waves. I used to visit it a lot when I was a kid.