Fishing here on the North coast of the Dominican Republic is very unique. I keep my 25` Superpanga in the Laguna Gri-Gri in the Rio San Juan, one of the most protected harbors in the Caribbean. The Laguna does have it`s limitations, mainly that of draft, at extreme low tide we only carry maybe 12" of draft. That limits the size of a sportfishing boat we can keep in the Laguna and be able to come and go when we want to. This is why the Panga design works so well for me. I draft less than 12", but the modified VEE of the Panga design, and the flat aft section makes the boat extremely seaworthy, plus the relatively narrow beam to length ratio makes the boat very efficent. I can run 26 knots with only a pair of 30hp. Yamaha Enduros! and I am getting close to three miles a gallon. This allows me to run to the FADs, and fish pretty much where I want to, without regard for excessive fuel consumption. With gas pushing $6.00USD/gal. economy is important. Using a panga design for a charter boat doesn`t hold me back one bit. I have all the right stuff, Furuno depth finder, reads to 3,000`, two GPS units, VHF, thru the hull round 35 gal livewell, massive, insulated fish hold, Pompanette fighting chair the works!

The point is, fish a boat that is designed and built for your area. If you need to run 60 miles to the fish, you need a deep VEE, and big horsepower, when the fish are right outside of your dock, things are different.

We also optimize our fishing opportunities here on the North Coast of the DR, by building Fish Attracting Devices, which hold tremendous quantities of bait, and also gamefish. We can place these FAD`s in strategic areas, that we know are productive. We have the luxury of placing them where we can enjoy a pleasant down-wind troll,on the way home, after fishing a string of our FADS. Like fishing anywhere else in the world, we have developed our own techniques that work well for us. A very effective bait here is a double hooked ballyhoo, but not the double hooked biat you might think. We use a fixed double hook, like a treble hook, with only two hooks, and rig it so it rides in the posterior vent of the bait, then we pin rig the head, wrap the gills and mouth closed, add a skirt or a leadheaded wahoo rig, and this bait will troll all day and not wash out.

Find out more about this area and the traditional fishing techniques

developed right here by logging onto www.gocabrera.com

I am writing a series of articles about the fishing on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. It is very interesting the unique methods the local fishermen use to catch fish here.

Capt. Randy Rode

North Coast Sportfishing

www.dominicanrepublicsportfishing.com