Hello, I’m Capt. J. Ferguson. I have been a full time, professional charter fishing captain since 1989. After guiding in the ultra competitive waters of Key West, Florida I made the move to relocate to Vieques, Puerto Rico. I have found these new waters to be a very exciting place to take my clients fishing.

I learned the art of guiding from some of the pioneers of our sport and some of the very best charter captains in the world. I employ the same techniques that were effective in my former fishery for the same species in these much more productive waters and so far have had very good catches and happy customers.

I still appreciate the thrill of fishing and enjoy providing the encouraging coaching that allows everyone from first time salt water fisherman to seasoned anglers to get the most out of these waters that I am fortunate enough to call my office.

About the Vieques Fishing Boat

My boat is a 26 foot Panga (Panga is a Japanese word for a machete-like blade). These boats are pound-for-pound some of the most seaworthy, efficient boats in the world. They are roughly the same shape as New England dories, surf rescue boats, North Sea commercial fishing boats and Viking long ships.

This particular design came about through a partnership between the World Bank (a nonprofit, multi nationally funded organization) and the Yamaha Corporation. The World Bank contracted Yamaha to design and build a rugged hull that would allow commercial fisherman in the poorer nations of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America to earn a living and help provide for the planet’s growing demand for seafood.

Yamaha enlisted a computer aided design team to come up with this shape that is now the boat of choice for commercial fisherman, smugglers and third world pirates from the Caribbean to Indonesia.

I hand built this boat from a bare hull with exposed stringers to be the perfect vessel for its current job. I have more peace of mind in this boat than in the dozen or so that I have run in the last two decades.

The electronics unit used is a top of the line Lowrance W.A.A.S. GPS Chartplotter / Fishfinder.

I use all Shimano reels with top of the line graphite rods. We use nothing heavier than 30 pound test. This maximizes the fun while still allowing us to catch the fish in a reasonable time frame. State of the art terminal tackle is used in every instance.

About Vieques Fishing

In Vieques, we are lucky enough to have a blue water drop off that goes from the 120 foot range down to 1500-5000 feet in the space of a hundred yards. In all my years on the ocean, this is the most abrupt structure change that I have witnessed. This ledge runs the length of our island all the way past the main island of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Best of all, it begins about a mile off the beach.

Almost all of your charter is fishing time with no long runs to the grounds.

The fish we find along this edge are some combination of Blackfin and Yellowfin Tuna, Skipjack Tuna, Mahi Mahi or Dorado, Wahoo, Kingfish, Barracuda, Bonito and Blue Marlin and White Marlin.

I maintain several F.A.D.’S or fish aggregating devices which tend to stack the odds in our favor. We generally troll from F.A.D. to F.A.D.  Sometimes we drop live baits near this artificial structure.

Generally a four hour trip is more than enough time to put a great catch together. If you decide to do a six  or eight hour trip, we have the time to fish the deep water and then take a short ride to a protected bay that provides some of the best sight fishing.

- $350/4hrs
- $425/6hrs
- $500/8hrs
- $100 deposit is required to secure your reservation