Visit our Popular Forums

Corrine · 05-12-2018, 06:18

Hello,
I'm new to this forum.
Headed back to BVI for 10 days of sailing,diving and fishing.
Plan to do more fishing this time and am looking for bait. I cannot find frozen ballyhoo ANYWHERE.
Anybody know where the locals buy bait? We'll be at most of the Islands, but I have time Saturday morning to pick up bait on Tortola.
Hoping for a dozen unrigged ballyhoo, frozen squid and maybe chum.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!
(Not BVI Water Sports....$23 for 3 rigged ballyhoo.... too expensive!!)
Thank you!
Corrine

jimbunyard · 05-12-2018, 06:45

Cast net.

Corrine · 05-12-2018, 06:48

Thanks for the thought but cast nets illegal in BVI.

miamizx · 05-12-2018, 07:11

I see two options, 1 - catch your own via a bait rig like a sabiki or similar. This however is time consuming and sometimes requires chum. 2 - use lures, if you are trolling around from place to place, a couple of decent lures will do the trick. if bottom or drift fishing, you can use jigs. You will need a decent light reel and a jigging rod for this though.

I guess you can also make some trolling strips, bonito and dolphin bellies are best but cuda can be used in a pinch

jgw50 · 05-12-2018, 07:16

We have found that Ballyhoo catch way more fish! Richardson’s Rigging in Tortola used to have them last time I was there 3 years ago (don’t know about post hurricanes).

If your flying through St. Thomas, just take the ferry from Red Hook instead of Charlotte Amalie and stop at Neptune’s. They are right in red hook and have the best tackle selection around including ballyhoo and squid.

Corrine · 05-12-2018, 07:53

Thank you sooo much!
We are bring Sabiki and will use.
BUT --- Richardson's Rigging has responded and they have ballyhoo and squid! Thank you ! i will close the thread.
You all were wonderful!
Thank you!

wathey · 05-12-2018, 08:51

I understand you have found your answer to the Ballyhoo question but I would like to add a tried a true area we have been fishing that more sailors should try out. If your there for ten days try fishing on the back side of Jost. It is difficult to wake up early after a night at Foxy's but worth the effort. We have had great luck leaving Great Harbor around 5am and motor/sailing out to the drop which is about 7-8 nm North West of Jost. We leave out the southern side and head directly to the drop. I attached a picture of the chart plotter from a trip in March, the CP is in fathoms so a 1200ft to 3500ft drop in less than 1/10th nm. Worst encounter was 4-5ft seas, it is not however sailing in the protected channels. We are usually where we want to be by 7am running the ledge under power at about 6-7kts. I commented on this post because we rarely use ballyhoo, we use squid imitations so if your sourcing is scarce go where there are more fish. We run North/East on that line for 4 miles starting at about 18.622241, -64.869862 and turn around where the ledge turns hard to the North and we come back down. We usually catch 2 to 3 fish per pass. Fishing is done by noon and you can either sail to Annegada (about 14-16 mi from the turn around point or sail back to Jost (about 9-11nm). Either way it is a 3 hour sail back in to an anchorage. This is the best chance of putting real sport fish in the boat. Only downsides are if it gets rough out there and you may get a real close look at a few 60' sport fishers who have the same idea.

contrail · 05-12-2018, 12:30

And, of course, you will have gotten your appropriate fishing licenses, about which the BVI is fairly serious. 18 or over, even just a line in the water requires one, and sometimes, so does the boat.

Outlaw7 · 06-12-2018, 06:48

Having lived there in the eighties and doing a lot of inter island sailing and fishing we found the average water depth right around 100 ft unless you get away from the islands quite a bit. Not much in the way of fish that pick up on trolled bait lives in that environment. Bottom fishing works well especially at night. If you are going to troll do it well offshore.