Tuesday morning, and it's seriously overcast and seriously windy to start the day. In fact, Mike and Hugh elect to hold off on going out at first. We hear that the conditons at Avalon's "Isle of Youth" (Isla de la Juventud) operation were so bad yesterday that no one went fishing, and there are reports of gale force winds in Havana last night. However, we ain't gonna catch any fish if we stay in bed, so the rest of us head out to see what we can see. And in fact, the conditons improve fairly quickly, at least as regards the clouds, which seem to be blown off to the south by the brisk northerly breeze. There is a slight mishap on the way out as we are slaloming through the mangroves... Pedrito loses control of the boat momentarily and we go crashing headfirst into an old dead mangrove! We and the boat are covered in mangrove branches and bark, but no harm done, other than to Pedrito's pride :-) Pedrito gets me into some nice Bonefish in short order, including some actual tailing fish, the first I've seen so far on this trip. After blowing the first cast at these "happy fish" by hooking myself in the arm, I subsequently fool an easily-fooled five pounder with one of Frank Somer's egg-laying shrimp patterns (much favored by Pedrito), and it comes to hand after taking me well into the backing. Thereafter, we revisit the "Lobster Hole", where I caught the Mutton Snapper yesterday. When we get there, guide Benba has Larry and Scott into a good-sized Jack Crevalle already, and before too long, I have managed to solidly hook a very nice tarpon; maybe fifty or sixty pounds? More? In any event, I fight this fish long and hard; it jumps four or five time (I remember to "bow" to the jumping fish), and I am indeed thankful that I have a twelve weight rod in my hand. The drag on the Van Staal reel has been dialed up to "stun", but that doesn't seem to matter too much to Mrs. Tarpon, as she runs away from me at will, it seems. After many minutes, I get the fish alongside the boat, and Pedrito (who has time for several cigarettes in the meantime) gets his hand on the leader, when the top Bimini knot gives up the ghost, and the big fish melts away untouched and unphotographed. Damn! Ah well, we must carry on, and a few casts later I am hooked up to a largish and very vigorous Jack Crevallle... man, these things are strong. The twelve weight gets another good workout, and the fish ends up being gaffed by Pedrito. Apparently Jacks are excellent table fare, albeit with a certain laxative quality. I hook another large Tarpon before too long, at about the same time as Larry hooks up with a big 'poon of his own... the double header turns into a double disappointment as both fish come undone pretty quickly. From there, we all head back into the mangroves to molest some baby Tarpon, and what a blast that is! These smaller Tarpon (maybe ten to twenty pounds) are pretty easy to spot, and they are in a mood to eat today. I end up hooking four (actually get pix of one; Pedrito "releases" another from the mangroves), and Scott and Larry land a couple as well. Also get bitten off by a large Barracuda. We leave the area and join up with Tony and David, as well as Scott and Larry, and our respective guides, for lunch. I later wonder aloud why we didn't spend more time with the baby Tarpon; turns out that it's a conservation/ethics issue... too much pressure on the babies, and they will just flat out leave the area for good, apparently. Sort of like the unspoken "You don't shoot geese on the water" ethic during hunting season back home. After lunch (more rice and beans, tomatos, fish and fruit, as per the last two days, and, I suspect, for the next two days), we poke around here and there... I get a Mutton Snapper, a Yellowtail Snapper, and a Cubera Snapper, and a couple more little Jacks. No Permit for me, unfortunately... Had I landed one, I would have joined the Grand Slam fraternity. Given that the Jack Crevalle is a cousin of the permit, I figure I should at least be eligible for the Hillbilly Grand Slam Club :-) Note: I have taken to firing up the Ipod (one earbud only) whilst drifting across the Tarpon flats, scanning for fish. It's not like I can make much conversation with Pedrito anyhow, and I find that the fish seem to respond well to a couple of artists in particular, namely Beck and Ministry. Supper back at the Tortuga features Kingfish, which is actually very good. I once again manage to resist the temptation to fire up a good Cuban cigar (they are all about on the ship), but it ain't easy.......