Fly versus Turk, fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with Georges Grün

Fishing in Punta Cana Dominican Republic? Winter? New Year's Eve? On the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean? Phew. You have arrived. Well, no, I haven't arrived, yet, nor have I scheduled this outing strictly for fishing, but rather it was a small extension to a long-dreamed-of and finally realized family vacation. That I always have fishing tools with me wherever I go abroad, you and my friends and family are already used to it. But even this fishing keeps repeating itself... the most pleasant thing is the preparations, the dreams, the illusions and finally the routine. Then, no matter how experienced you are as a professional or amateur, everything depends solely on the tools. You're already thinking about Operation Monster, aren't you? I thought the same too. But it's not about tools or, please, we're also talking about tools. It's about tarpon. And about football. And about friends, old and new. And other exotic fish.

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for tarpon

Now, what does a Romanian do when he goes fishing in an unknown destination like Punta Cana, Dominican Republic? Well search on Google, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and so on. What did I know before I started searching? When you say the Caribbean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean, you say tarpon, so I knew I was going to go three times over to catch them. I also knew that I was going to leave with my travel rods, saltwater reels, with Berti Taifun rockers and Berti Helic spinnertails. As a little aside, I've said this before, if I were forced to fish with one lure forever, it would definitely be Typhoon Berti. Why Typhoon? Because I caught all species of raptors and more, everywhere I fished, in the country and abroad, in fresh water or salt water. Even if in terms of marine fishing I had few experiences that did not exceed the traditional fishing parties on the Romanian coast and some action through the Norwegian fjords, with a Typhoon at the end of the line I would also fish with confidence in the Mariana Trench.

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, be it YouTube, be it snook and tarpon

What did I discover about fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and tarpon after digging through all the corners of YouTube? Quite a few, from professional fishing guides and dedicated ocean fishing trips, but since I'm seasick (damn it) and it was still a family vacation, I looked for shore fishing options. What to see, I found tarpon paradise in some lakes located in the private hotel complex Barcelona Bavaro, where, surprise, right there I had made the accommodation reservation. After viewing the videos above, I was more than satisfied. Rods I had, reels, lines and lures I have more than I could fish in three lifetimes, I know how hard it is, lakes full of snook and tarpon I found, I'm still catching something like that by throwing crap into the ocean, everything seemed perfect. But, as there is always a gift, we had to change the reservation to another hotel, Bahia Esmeralda, not very far from the respective lakes, but, one more thing, access to those lakes was only allowed to the customers of the respective hotel. Abort mission, back to questing.

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in fly fishing we trust

Calling flies and freckles that put the flyfishing rod back in my hand (after 20 years, see article "As a flyfishing boy I wandered”) confirmed again that it was not wrong. By searching "Fishing in Punta Cana" on Youtube I discover the Calin Copolovici, fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with a friend, on the beach, among tourists, guess how he was fishing? At flyfishing. Wow, how come I didn't think of this before? And not only in Punta Cana, but everywhere in this world, at sea or ocean, all the places where I did scuba diving there were some fish that could have been fooled by artificial flies. Easier to carry than spinning rods and gear, maximum feel and accessibility. I contact Călin, milk him for all the information where, how and to what, the answer comes short, simple and to the point. Right in the area where we were staying, everywhere and on any fly or streamer they put in the water. Harder fishing among tourists, but hey, that's a new experience too.

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, fly, fly, but let's keep looking

Already the equation had changed and as we like to dream bigger and further, we expanded our search for fishing in Puna Cana, Dominican Republic to flyfishing. I also found some professional flyfishing guides, but as I said at the beginning of the article, I'm not there yet. We are still playing juniors, on a low budget. But, again a gift, I find the George Grün, at first sight a simple Belgian fisherman flyfishing from a belly boat in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Well, that didn't occur to me either. How not to take a belly boat with you wherever you go, it doesn't weigh more than a few kilos and you can easily get to the fish you can only dream of in shore fishing. I saw all his videos on the YouTube channel, I entered on his Instagram account and we started to tell stories. Get the scoop on gear, fish, locations and flyfishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Flyfishing Only. And he also offered guide services. Call me when you get there, he told me. Perfect. We will return to Georges Grün, who in fact was not just a simple passionate fisherman, but also a great soccer player in the 80s and 90s, reprofiled as a fishing guide in Punta Cana where he lives throughout the winter.

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, who doesn't have flyfish friends to buy

OK, fly fishing, fly fishing, but with what? Georges Grün told me that a class 9 flyfishing combo, 0.40-60mm leaders, a few streamers and shrimp imitations is enough. We can handle the rest. He comes and picks me up from the hotel, belly boat, paws, soft drinks, etc. 100 bucks, more than decent. I search through the monkey box and find some special edition streamers and imitation shrimp Mustad over which the dust of two decades has settled, I announce the Cristi Anghelina that he has to tie fishing flies for the first time in Punta Cana. But it's still not enough, so I turn to some old Muscari friends, Cosmin Gheorghe and Bogdan Carbunaru, who complies, Cosmin sends me a box of flies by courier just from Croatia, and Bogdan shows up at the evening watch with the catchiest streamers he made, delicately placed in a ziplock plastic bag. One after the other, one after the other, we had flies for an army of situations. And the rod? Be Sierra, that I praised him too much you will say. For real now, if you don't have the purist pretensions of a professional fly fisherman, the Scierra is a correct answer to the question of what flyfishing tools to buy.

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Scierra no longer comes

On site arw.ro I found a class 7-9 combo that unfortunately was no longer available, so I asked him Radu Boloca to bring to my next order through Arrow International a Scierra class 8 SRX V2 rod and a Traxion 1 LW class 7-9 reel that winked at me company website. "But do I make it to December?" when I was scheduled to leave. "Sure" Radu assured me. Radu also called me shortly before leaving... "Arif, problem. The goods from Scierra arrive after January next year. Yes, problem, big problem. How do I resolve this issue? Well, still with the muscari friends, on loan. Bogdan offers to give me a rod and a reel with the amendment that after my exit I must keep the reel and the line because they will never be the same again, for a fee of course. They weren't Scierras, and they weren't very affordable, but, nah, it was an option. Honestly, with my combo on the way from Scierra, I wasn't excited about making a double purchase. I'm going to look for second-hand, I'm sure I'll find a fisherman who gives up fly fishing for pike, because it was exactly what I needed and he no longer needed it, because there is no longer a pike. Sad but true. And I found it, thanks Bebi Legioara, I splurged on a class 9 combo, also Scierra, sic, with three spare reels and four fly lines, floating, sinking, intermediate and shooting head. Flawless. Oh!

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, back to spinning

Right after Christmas I packed my hand of Typhoons and Helicals, travel rods from Sava plus one more Daiwa travel rod for friends, the fly combo and streamers, some yarn Stroft and leader fluorocarbon Savage Gear and I went with everything, head fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, for tarpon, snook, trevally and whatever else. After two days of accommodation with the family, beaches, trips, in which I gathered information and some local offers to go out by boat ($200 per day, with their equipment, about a day of pike fishing on the premises of the Danube Delta) I used to wet my Typhoon in the waters of the beach where I was also bathing, in front of the hotel, according to the bridge from Călin Copolovici. And the fish started to flow, but not as you might imagine judging by the photos below. They were the result of searches of several kilometers along the beach, hundreds of launches, mornings and evenings in a row. Where were the fish? Fixed on the only grassy area, practically the only structure on a line of 8 kilometers, an area that, jokingly, more seriously, I discovered on the first day saying... Here I will catch the Monster!

Fishing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, ebb, flow, needles, razors, and bream

He had told me Cox that sea fishing is a completely and completely different story than what I was used to, that the fish are much stronger and that I prepare with healthy equipment or they will explode my lines, anchors and eat my rods like sticks. It wasn't quite like that, but I felt the need for stronger equipment and thicker lines. Drills with saltwater beasts are something special, you swear you have at least one whale on the end of the line, on all fish, whether 20, 30, 40, 60 or 80 centimeters long. The fishing time was extremely short, the fish were active only in the evening, an hour before sunset, on the ebb tide. I also tried early in the morning, on the stream, kettle. In the evening, for an hour, I had 4-5-6-7 attacks, few with completion. Two or three fish washed ashore, the rest either broke the lines or escaped by untying the anchors. It is certain that we would no longer feel the need for a boat trip, every day we had a dose of fun with fixed fishing at the horse's muzzle. We also learned their names from the locals who sold cigars on the beach and asked us to fry their fish. All fish were released, lady fish, diamond trevally, orange trevally, snook and some more species that I have not identified. We didn't catch any tourists, although every evening we had an audience both in the water and on the shore. Super cool, super experience, but let's not forget why we came… tarpons!

Fly versus Turk, flyfishing in a belly boat with Georges Grün

About halfway through the stay, during which we exchanged words and photos, Georges informs me that the next day there are no big waves and we can go out with the belly boat to fish for tarpon. In the morning at 11 o'clock he picked me up in front of the hotel and I started towards Cape Cana, a little tarpon paradise in Punta Cana. At 12-12.30 I was waving my paws towards the place I dreamed of for months, the place from Georges' videos. Being my first belly boat experience, well, it's not as easy as it seems to maneuver the little boat, especially on the waves, at least it gave me a comma. But Georges was careful to keep me in place and position me in the hot seats. How hot? Apart from the fish you saw in the video, I had at least 6-7 other lures, most of them on an imitation shrimp made by master Anghelina. Okay, fine, but where are the promised tarpon and bonefish? There were at least four, two broke my 0.40mm leader, two I dropped within seconds of the attack. I didn't manage to get them to the surface anyway, big guys, actually they were in the drill with me, not me with them. Georges told me that he also escapes quite a few, they are very difficult to sting, thanks to the bony plate they have in their mouths. With a slight bitter taste in my mouth, the fishing in Punta Cana was over, I had reached the end of my vacation. No target species. That's it, that's it, maybe next time, as there will definitely be a next time, maybe even this year. The tarpon effect, what to do about it? I got on a saddle... hello, hello, wait, you didn't say that George Grün he's a great footballer and you're going to tell us?

Interview with footballer Georges Grün powered by Răzvan Stoian, Football Legends

I didn't have much to do with football, when I was playing as a child I sat on the alms to score goals, and my knowledge is limited to the Golden Generation. Through college, in sessions, when watching football matches, I would always ask my friend Razvan Stoian (football boss, Steaua fan and illustrious collector of t-shirts, boots, pennants) who plays with whom and who we care about so that I too can enter the atmosphere of the king's sport. So, dust, pilaf. Before arriving in Punta Cana, I saw on Georges Grün's profile that he was a former soccer player, so I asked Răzvan if he knew anything about him.

"You are crazy, the man is a great footballer, he played in the World Championship for the Belgian team against Maradona, but also in the great team of RSC Anderlecht in the 80s when they were defeated by Steaua in the semi-final of the Champions Cup in 1986! Let's do an interview with him for FootballLegends.ro” said Răzvan, founder et al Football Museum in Bucharest. Said and done.

Răzvan Stoian: You were a great footballer who was part of the Belgium team at the 86 World Cup! What is it like to play in a World Championship?

George Grün: Playing a world cup for a soccer player is the ultimate dream! But if you can get to the semi-finals like we did, it's absolutely incredible! We didn't start the tournament well, but winning in the round of 16 against USSR after an incredible game (4/3) was the start of the dream. Spain in 1/4, and then Maradona's Argentina in 1/2. Maradona made the difference by scoring two goals.

RS: In Mexico, Belgium played against Argentina, the team that became World Champions that year and had the illustrious Maradona in its composition! What was it like facing him on the field? Was it as good as they say?

GG: Maradona was on another planet! He single-handedly made the difference. In that game, we also had a few chances, but the keeper made two wrong offside decisions, however, Maradona was too strong and we were tired after two previous games with extra time.

RS: You were also part of Anderlecht's great team of the 80s! What memories do you have of that time?

GG: At that time, we were a strong team. It was possible to reach the European finals. We won the UEFA Cup with Benfica in 83, finals with Tottenham and also with Sampdoria in 90. We won several championships and national cups.

RS: In the 85-86 season you reached the semi-finals of the European Champions Cup with Anderlecht! Who was the strongest opponent that year?

GG: I would say Steaua Bucharest, in the semi-final. But even before that, we eliminated Bayern Munich with two incredible games!

RS: In the first leg against Stella, in Brussels, you won 1-0 and all the experts credited you as finalists. What happened in the match in Bucharest? Did you catch a bad day or did the people at Steaua have an incredibly good day?

GG: Indeed, we were favourites. But in Bucharest, the stadium was very impressive, the incredible supporters of Stela, practically the 12th man on the field, and a strong team made the difference.

RS: Who was the Star player in that double leg that will pull out the most white hairs?

GG: Of course Victor Pițurcă, who scored two of the three goals, but Marius Lăcătuș was also very strong!

RS: Anderlecht was a team that included foreigners at that time. If it was up to you, who would you have bought from Steaua to come and play together?

GG: In Belgium we know Ladislau Bölöni and Tudorel Stoica very well. The former coached football teams in Belgium, and Tudorel's son, Alin, played for Anderlecht. Two very good choices!

RS: Did you swap shirts with one of the Stella players at those matches?

GG: Back in my day, we weren't allowed to change shirts after a game, so we didn't…

RS: You have also played against other Romanian teams in European Cups. Which match do you remember?

GG: Steaua and Dinamo were the only two teams, but we were in the semi-finals in 86 against Stela and we got revenge the next year in the 1/8 finals.

RS: What is the best memory from the time when you were a footballer?

GG: I have more beautiful memories. Three World Cups 86, 90, 94. Euros in 84. Winning a lot with Parma between 90 and 94, in 93 at Wembley, European Cup Winners' Cup, final again in 94 and Coppa Italia in 92 against Juventus. Playing in Italy was my best experience, the best players were there at that time.

RS: What is your personal top 3 of the world's best footballers of all time?

GG: Diego Armando Maradona, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo.