Custom Fishing BVI Yacht Charters
Want to do some Custom Fishing BVI on your charter yacht? Here is some information on how to get that Mahi Mahi or Wahoo.
Can I troll in the BVI?
A line behind a yacht while sailing the Virgin Islands can be very productive. Rigged ballyhoo with or without plastic skirts is always the right choice.
What are the best Jigs to use?
Feather jigs in either a blue and white or green and yellow color seem to work well.
Silver spoons have their place, too.
Bibbed lures like Rapala’s work well on days when the wind has you sailing along at a slow pace.
Take a selection of lures, hooks, trace wire, and ball-bearing swivels.
Do get ball-bearing ones for trolling. They are much more expensive than the regular swivels; however, they still work while under load.
How fast should I sail or motor to catch fish?
Locations and speed, as well as current weather conditions, have a significant impact on catching anything.
Trolling at slow speeds (2 or 3 knots) around headlands near the rocky outcrops could bag you mackerel, jacks, more giant yellowtail snapper, and barracuda.
Look at your charts or ask your charter captain to take you over bottom features like Tow Rock, or if you are sailing back from Anegada to Jost Van Dyke, go over the wreck of the Chikuzen or maybe past the pinnacles off Brewers Bay.
Any type of bottom structure is worth trolling over. Remember, 99% of the fish are in 1% of the ocean!
Larger game fish are more likely out in the open water and out of the channel. Troll in the open sea at a higher speed, somewhere between 5 and 7 knots.
Trolling on the way to Anegada can net you Mackerel, mahi mahi, tuna, and, yes, Barracuda.
For the more adventurous, you could head to either the South Drop or North Drop for Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Tuna, Sailfish, and Marlin.
When the weather conditions increase, there always seems to be a better chance of snagging larger fish in the channel.
During bad weather, I have had Mahi Mahi around the Indians / Pelican Island area, Blackfin Tuna inside Peter Island, and wahoo between St John and West End.
Bonito tuna is always around and will take small feathers or chrome slugs that are the same size as silversides and that are moving at high speed, skipping the surface.
Finding Schools of Fish
You can always locate the schools by the bird activity.
Popular places are north and west of Guana Island or just outside Steele Point (West End Tortola), heading towards Jost Van Dyke.
Be prepared when you go to the islands—trolling from a sailboat while sailing requires at least 35 pounds of substantial gear.
While sailing, you can only sometimes stop the boat straight away. If you hook a large fish, you will need heavy gear to tow the fish while attempting to slow the ship down.
It’s not a big deal if you are motoring, as you can stop anytime. We would often troll 15-pound gear while motoring.
What should I do if I get twists in my fishing line?
While trolling, the lure or bait continually pulls on the swivel; regular ones will not turn. This means that if your lure is spinning, it will put hundreds, if not thousands, of twists in your line.
You will not notice this at first while trolling, but the moment you go to reel in your line and the line slackens, it will twist up badly.
If you get a twisted line, carefully reel in all the lines, being very cautious not to let the line get any slack while it’s going on the reel.
When it’s fully wound in, cut off any gear you have on the end and slowly let the bare line back out while still sailing, ensuring the line does not go overboard.
Let out a bit more line than you had when it got twisted. The twists will remove themselves as the water passes.
Bottom Fishing on my Custom Fishing BVI Charter?
Bottom fishing can be productive; however, any reef fish caught within some regions of the channel or its anchorages should not be consumed due to the risk of ciguatera.
Almost any sort of cut bait will work, as will live bait. Yellowtail snappers and jacks are very common catches. Small live baits at night time will score horse-eyed jacks.
If, at night, you hear fish jumping just outside the area illuminated by your boat’s lights, it’s probably horse-eyed jacks.
Either bottom fish with bait, or they will attack bib-type lures cast out beyond the light and cranked home fast.
Larger live baits suspended 15 feet below a floating balloon can have some fun with Caribbean reef sharks. Large, sloppy dead bait on the bottom will get you nurse sharks. Any of the deeper anchorages will work.
North Sound on Virgin Gorda is particularly suitable for small baby blacktip sharks up to about 2 feet in length. Because of snags, make sure you anchor a long way from any other boats or moorings.
When you hook one, they will take several hundred yards of line on their first run before you can stop them. Then, once you have halted them, you cannot turn them in for some time.
Your fish will be circling your boat at several hundred yards out. If there is anything out there that your line can touch, it is an instant twang!
Two perfect places for more abundant shark fishing at night are anchored in 40 or 50 feet of water at Mountain Point Virgin Gorda and 70 plus feet a few hundred yards out from the caves on Norman Island out towards Angelfish Reef.
In the last few years, the British Virgin Islands have become a “Shark Protected” country, and you should not target them now.
Want to know about fishing for Tarpon? Please read our article
Do I require a fishing license in the Virgin Islands?
You do NOT require one in the US Virgin Islands; spearfishing is legal there.
You do not require one if you are fishing from shore or under 18 in the British Virgin Islands.
If you are an adult on a charter boat, you DO require a license. The yacht you are booking also needs to have a fishing license for the ship. Not all yacht fish on board.
A temporary Pleasure Fishing License costs $60 per person for those 18 years and older. Each person must complete an application form and provide a legible color copy of their identification, either a passport or driver’s license. Temporary pleasure fishing licenses are valid for 30 days.
Individuals can complete a credit card authorization form for payment and submit it for processing. We only accept Visa and MasterCard. We can process temporary Pleasure Fishing Licenses and send them via email.
- Conservation and Fisheries Department
- Government of the British Virgin Islands
- P.O. Box 3323
- Road Town, Tortola
- The British Virgin Islands, VG1110Tel: (284) 468 2700 or 468 3701 ext 2700
- Fax: (284) 468 2781website: www.bvicfd.org email: cfd@gov.vg
The cost is generally around $60.00 per person.
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