"Fishing with experts who know the local waters is a real treat," says Castillo. "Captain Diego not only took us to the hot spots, he showed us exactly how to rig and present the bait for the best results."
It was a hot September weekend in the Keys. However, the three Cuban cookbook authors caught their share of yellowtail snappers and report that all of the action made up for the heat.
That means fishing with an open bail on the reel and letting the bait drift out naturally, with no resistance in your line -- a technique known as "free lining."
"These fish are very smart," says Fernandez. "If they sense the slightest pull or unnatural movement in the bait, they're going to turn the other way."
"Several of the larger fish were attacked by barracuda as we reeled them in," says Castillo. "We had a couple of very good sized fish, but by the time we got them into the boat we had nothing but a big fish head on the line!"
Yellowtail in the Keys rarely weigh in at more than five pounds -- the Florida record is 7 pounds, 5 ounces -- but the Guys were soon reeling in several in the one and one half to two-pound range. Then someone suggested that a yoyo, a typically Cuban fishing method, was in order.
"The yoyo, or hand line, is basically a coil of fishing line with a hook on the end of it," Castillo says.
By a vote of two to one, Lindgren was elected to fish with the yoyo.
"Let's give the gringo a hand line -- that should be good for a big laugh!" says Lindgren.
However, nobody was laughing about 15 minutes later when Lindgren pulled in a beautiful 4 1/2 pound yellowtail, the biggest catch of the day.
"Sometimes the old ways are the best," says Lindgren. "I felt like I was back in Cuba fishing like a traditional pescador in the waters off the Cuban coast."
Lindgren, for one, had never fished with an open bail before and it took him awhile to realize when he had a strike. When the fish takes the bait, your line will suddenly speed up. Sometimes the increase in line speed isn't obvious.
Once the fish was hooked, getting it back to the boat was sometimes a tricky prospect.
- Raúl back on shore at the Captains' Party.
- (L-R) Diego Toiran, Raúl Musibay, and Omar Fernandez
- Three guys, two fish, and Glenn behind the camera.
- (L-R) Jorge Castillo, Raúl Musibay, and Diego Toiran
- The Three Guys show off a big yellowtail
- (L-R) Jorge Castillo, Glenn Lindgren, and Raúl Musibay.
If you’d like to find out more about Pescando en Los Cayos or Fishing in the Keys, check out the website: www.pescandoenloscayos.com.
Captain Diego Toiran (the King of the Yellowtails) and his friend Captain Omar Fernandez invited the Guys down to the Keys for two days of fishing for yellowtail snapper.
The Guys have never passed up an opportunity to go fishing!
A couple of bottles of cold water and one of Lindgren's favorite tricks -- a handful of ice cubes stuffed into the fishing hat and planted firmly on top of the head -- soon brought the Guys back to some semblance of normality.
"Once the fish started hitting, we forgot all about being hot," Musibay says.
Toiran and his boat, the "Reel Smoker" are very well known in the lower Keys. From his home base in Cudjoe Key, Toiran has been offering guide services for the past decade and was a commercial fisherman for several years before that.
Fernandez likes to fish for grouper, mangrove snapper, barracuda, sailfish, and black fin tuna. As for favorite fish, the "King" clearly loves his yellowtail, but Fernandez likes the dolphin fish, "dorado" in Spanish. He considers the dolphin the most beautiful fish in the ocean, and pound for pound the hardest fighting fish.
"They are plentiful and you don't fish them, you track them down and hunt them," Fernandez says. "They are among the best tasting and versatile fish to cook in different ways."
Lately, Toiran has been working on a new project, a fishing show for television. Toiran had worked on a previous fishing show and with the retirement of its host, saw an opportunity.
"The show was called Vamos a Pescar -- Let's go Fishing," says Toiran. "It aired close to 10 years in Miami and was hosted by Julian Bernal. I had worked with Julian so I knew a little bit about what it takes to put together a television program.
"Catching yellowtail, especially in the daytime, requires a lot of skill and knowledge. First you have to find the fish, and happily the Reel Smoker is equipped with the latest GPS and fish locating equipment.
