Fishing in the British Virgin Islands
Fishing in the British Virgin Islands takes many forms. BVI Fishing includes dropping a line in the water from a dock or rocky outcrop. Others are more serious and looking to charter large professional game fishing boats. Most of us, however, fall somewhere in between.
When it comes to fishing in the British Virgin Islands, there are some important regulations to keep in mind. If you’re fishing from the land, there are no restrictions. However, if you’re fishing from a boat, the boat must be registered as a fishing vessel with the Department of Conservation and Fisheries. Additionally, anyone 18 years of age or older must hold a valid fishing license.
H2O Fishing experts can help you with any scenario.
Fishing in the British Virgin Islands- Crewed Yacht
Many crewed charter yachts and most bare boats pay for the annual registration to be Registered vessels. Most angling is done by people aboard a charter yacht that they have chartered for the week. Some charter yachts even specialize in this, which is a great family bonding time.
We have organized many charters based around fishing. They range from ensuring the yacht has the right fishing gear to a week based strictly on fishing. It could be just the boys on the back deck all week long. It could be saltwater fly fishing for Tarpon and Bonefish or deepwater sports fishing for Marlin, Wahoo Dolphin, and Tuna.
After 20+ years of angling in the British Virgin Islands and running a charter yacht, we have learned a lot. In a series of updated blog posts, I will share what I have learned about how, when, and where to fish.
There are a few day boats available to charter locally. They go deep-sea fishing for large game fish or shallow water angling for bonefish or tarpon with fly gear. The most serious ones can be found in Red Hook in the US Virgin Islands.
Why is the Virgin Islands good for fishing?
The Caribbean islands were formed by tectonic plate movement along the edge of the Caribbean plate. This movement caused volcanic activity and landmass upheavals. Before this plate movement, the water here would have been thousands of feet deep. The shifting plates pushed up the islands and created shallow water around the islands.
Going just a few miles out, you come to the north and south drops, where the water drops from a couple hundred feet deep to thousands of feet deep.
These areas have large upwelling currents that bring nutrients to the surface. These nutrients attract large schools of baitfish, attracting sizeable pelagic fish. This makes the north drop one of the premier billfish areas in the world.
It is ILLEGAL to catch the following during Closed Seasons. Not only is it illegal, but spearfishing is illegal for anyone other than locals in the British Virgin Islands. Lobster and Conch can only be taken by locals in the open season.
- 1st January – 31st March Margate 1st January – 31st March
- Red Hind 1st March – 31st May
- Nassau Grouper 31st July – 31st October
- Lobster 15th August – 31st October
- Queen Conch 15th August – 31st October Whelk
We have yachts set up for your perfect charter vacation!
What about Bare Boat Fishing?
Sure!
There is a wide variety of boats available, and some will work better than others for fishing. The British Virgin Islands have ease of navigation and a plethora of overnight anchorages, which offer great fishing off the back of the yacht.
It’s worth noting that you can catch anything off the back of a sailboat that you can off the back of a power yacht. However, some sailboats may have trouble maintaining the speed required for deepwater fishing, even under power.
In the British Virgin Islands, the famous north drop can be reached by both power and sail vessels.
Fishing Trips in the US Virgin Islands
Grab your rods, spearfishing equipment, and anything else you like! No license is needed while you are chartering around St Thomas! While on your charter, we can arrange for you to go fishing with one of the sports boats that go Deep Sea Fishing.
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Keen Fishermen who do not have any additional local knowledge about their bareboat charter may be interested in our blog post on Ciguatera Poisoning.
Contact us to book your charter!
Get in touch with H2O Luxury Yachts today. Let’s get you out on the water and do some BVI Fishing
Ph + 1-954-271-3005 (USA)