HI There. No, travel to Cuba is legal for Americans as long as you go under one of the legal categories of travel. The best one for most people is "Support of the Cuban People." There are over 20 flights a day to Cuba from the US

Hey John. There is a private bus arranged by the outfitter when you book a trip to Cayo Cruz. They either pick you up directly from the airport, or from the city center if you have stayed the night there. Let me know if I can help you book a trip. Jon

Also John, many of the good fishing areas in Cuba are controlled by the government, in association with an outfitter to whom the government grants a license. Anyone entering that fishing area must then be associated with the outfitter. There are only a few places with decent access to DIY fishing. The resorts around Cayo Coco are probably the best. Cuba is not a great place to try and do a DIY trip. There are much better places in the Bahamas for example for that program

Hi Jeff.......The fishing zone around Cayo Cruz is fly fishing only. You can hire charters out of places like Cayo Coco, Cayo Santa Maria, and Veradero for spin and trolling, etc. But, I have to admit that is not my world so I do not have any contacts for it.

Thanks for your comment, and I know many people who feel the same as you. I just can't do it:). My feet get very sore standing on that flat surface for a long time. AND, I tend to slide around if any water gets on the deck. For myself, I try and find shoes without anything to catch a line, and that are very flat. But again, I agree with what you are saying and know many people who do the same.

Thanks for the nice note. Permit live in and around Cayo Cruz every month of the year. The most important ingredients, however, are water temperature and tides. If you get cold water, the fish will probably stay deep. Permit can access tides generally on the later part if an incoming, through the first half or so of outgoing. So, if you have a week where the tides allow you ample time to fish for them, then your chances increase dramatically. Hope that you may consider using me to book your Cuba trips in the future!

??? Are you doubting my casting prowess? :) Ok, maybe I am a fisherman at heart and I exaggerated a bit. But if I tried to, I could certainly cast 65-70' with two back casts. No problem. I am sure you could as well.

Thanks for the nice words! Ok, let's be clear about this area. There is NO Cuban population at Cayo Santa Maria or the islands of the Gardens of the King Archipelago. The Cubans who work in the resorts come from the mainland each day. SO, you do not have them to compete with. There are good numbers of tourists at the resorts depending upon the time of year. BUT, almost all of them are sunbathing, etc. The best news for you is that the Cuban govt only gives a license to 1 outfitter to fish this entire area. AND, that outfitter is only allowed to operate 4 skiffs, which means 8 total anglers when they are sold out. So, you do not have to worry about competition. In the marina at Cayo Santa Maria you will see lots of other boats. Some are just for tourist cruises, some for diving, and others for offshore fishing. BUT, there will not be any other flats skiffs. Hope that helps!

@@joncovichofcubafishingoutf7657 That's very good additional information. Much appreciated!

You are very welcome!

Wow, thanks for the comment. It's true, the video cannot tell you where you should go in Cuba. The truth is, there are too many options, choices, in order to make a hard and fast recommendation without knowing more about what a clients wants. BUT, it does tell you what you have to know and decide, in order to get advice on where and when to go. Then, myself or other agents can give you solid advice. If you are interested in Cuba, and know what time of year you can go, what types of fish you would like to target, and if you would like to stay on a boat or on land, then I can give you solid options. my email is [email protected] and phone is 206.579.9342

Hi Adrian. Good to hear from you. The honest answer is that pricing for Cuba is very complicated. It depends on the location, how many in your group, the time of year, etc. SO, my best advice would be to give me some specific parameters for what you would want your trip to be, and I can help get you pricing and ultimately set up. You can email me at [email protected] or call 206.579.9342.

Hi There. Thanks for the question. Yes, January is very good typically, if you choose the right destination. Some places will have all flats fish every month of the year, while others are more limited. You might want to contact me more directly and I can get you set up. [email protected] or 206.579.9342. Jon

Thanks very much!

I am sorry if I somehow missed replying to this. I do not have this as part of a video, as I generally find that guides will get the boat positioned for the front angler. However, you are right that there are times when they cannot (maybe because of wind), or when things happen too quickly and the fish is there and you have to cast now. I would give two tips if you could not cast over your right shoulder. The first would be to simply tilt your rod left, until you are casting over your left shoulder. This works very well, with your casting motion remaining close to the same. It only becomes difficult when the cast needs to be long, as your casting motion is somewhat restricted. The other is to simply back cast. In saltwater, being able to cast forward in this case towards 8 o'clock, and then release the fly on the back cast at 2 o'clock is extremely important and with practice is not overly difficult. Hope this helps!

Hi Peter. Can you elaborate?

Still wondering if you would elaborate Peter? Are you saying that I am saying that all about Cuba is great? If that is what you are thinking, it is not correct. The fishing, is, as I said, better than most places around the world. The situation in Cuba, however, is sad. The Cubans are great people, and Cuba has done some things that we could be envious of. That said, the country is economically a mess, with few opportunities for people to better themselves. Which is why, with the current situation so bad, that so many Cubans are leaving the country

Sorry for this late response. Yes, I think you are spot on and I do just about exactly as you do. Thanks for your nice comment

Hah! Well, very glad that you found it helpful. Thanks

Thanks very much Martin

Thanks for the question. All the destinations I have listed in the video are indeed fly fishing only. You can certainly soon fish or fish blue water with traditional gear in Cuba by booking out of Havana, Cayo Santa Maria, and at least Varadero. This is usually done through the resorts and I have to admit it is largely out of my area of expertise. Hope that helps some

Hi Branko. I think my favorite colored fly there is something with tan, tan/rust,/ tan pink. Something that looks to have the colors of a shrimp or crab as the Tarpon are feeding on them so much. After that, I would have chartreuse, purple, and maybe black/red. I like Tarpon Toads very much, but other flies such as the Homeslice are awfully good, as are more conventional patterns such as Cockroach style patterns such as the Black Death. Whatever you do, however, make sure to have a variety of colors, which is probably more important than the pattern itself. Hope that helps.....Jon

I am sorry I missed replying to your comment, now from a year ago!! I just noticed it when someone else made a comment. Thank you very much for your nice words!!! Hope to host you in Cuba one day! Jon

Thanks Very much Jovan. Some of the fishing options have changes a bit since I made the video, but the fishing itself, of course, is still the same.

Thank you very much! Glad that you enjoyed it. There are 2 other instruction videos in this series and hope you might learn something from them as well. Thanks again....Jon

John.....I think Mr Hazlett was probably a bit too busy trying to rescue his boat than to take videos. BTW, this is my You Tube Channel, not Johns. Nobody including me, is making any money by telling guide stories here.

@@joncovichofcubafishingoutf7657 ummm hmmmm

@@JohnHenry2420 Sorry for your skepticism. I am in the business of fly fishing.. I make my money as a tackle rep. John is a professional fishing guide and instructor. That is it.....you can see from my You tube Channel that I have 251 subscribers. 251! I know next to nothing about how to make money on You Tube, but my assumption is that I would have to have a lot more viewers than this to do so.

Thanks Jon. I couldn't agree more!!!