Bones of the Caribbean

[Rocktrout]

Hello all! I am writing from chilly Boston, where all the fishing excitement I get right now is watching ESPN on Saturday mornings. A few friends and I are looking to plan a trip to the Caribbean in late April/early May for a bit of relaxation and hopefully good shots at willing bonefish. We have tried for bones in the Keys before (on our own and with a guide) and have been shut down both trips. We are do-it-yourself type people, so the bones of the Bahamas and such are quite appealing, but we have no idea WHERE to go. We will definitely get a guide to show us "the ropes" for a day or two. We have read articles that list this Cay or that Island, but we don't really know, logistically, which place is relatively easy to get to and which places will take a day+ to get to. Also, there will be some non-fishing people with us, so we are hesitant to stay at a bonefish camp, and need to find an island that has activities to make them happy. To sum up, we are looking for an island with bonefish opportunities from shore, not too difficult to get to, and stuff to do for non-fishing people..........wait, isn't that what everyone is looking for? Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!!!

[figen]

Hi Rock,

do a search for Abaco. You'll find some good posts about the flats close to Tangelo Hotel / Wood Cay on Little Abaco, Bahamas. I went there a couple of weeks back and had a great time!

However, I'm not sure if there is a helluva lot other to do there than fishing, unless you rent them a car and let them explore the island while you head for the flats.

Let me know if you need some details

[Rocktrout]

Anyone have any experience with Long Island or Eleuthera?

[BobG]

Rocktrout,

Eleuthera has been discussed extensively on the forum. Try a search first, and that should provide a wealth of info.
If you have further questions, I'm sure we can help.:)

[belizebonefish]

may I suggest Caye Caulker or other parts of Belize. lots of easy bones to catch from shore and by boat as well as tons of other stuff to do, snorkelling, maya ruins, drinking Belekin Beer. an can most assuradly be done outside of a "lodge" environment. sett up good fly fishing guides before you arrive and presto.. good hunting

[MarkZ]

Grand Bahama and Turks&Caicos (provo) have what you are looking for.

[Pauper Piscator]

My Little bro makes the fishing fanatics on this forum look like a bunch of half hearted "hobbyists".

Just kidding. He loves Eluthera and goes about once per year. The self guided bone fishing is very very good.

BE ADVISED: By all accounts Eluthra is NOT, I repeat NOT, a swinging Carribean Island to bring the wife and kids. It is REMOTE with limited access to anything. For example, little bro rents a house (actually his father in law does - lucky bastard) and checks in a large cooler full of frozen grub as luggage.

Once you are there, you have remote, unspoiled fishing, snorkeling and sun bathing. Not much else though.

Ain't been there, but I get the same report every year from my very reliable and experienced brother.

[Rocktrout]

OK, so it seems that there are a number of options. Does anyone recommend any of the fishing books/guides on the Bahamas and on bonefishing in general??

[gcw]

I've been to Abaco twice. Once to Lubbers Quarters, once to Cherokee. Both were great, but quite different.

Cherokee - you can walk onto flats from the cottage and see bonefish everyday (in my experience, there's a big difference between "seeing" and "catching" - but that could just be me!). The locals will rent you a boat and you can go to all the flats in the area very easily. There are lots of fish, they're "biggish", and they're very spooky. If you go to Cherokee, arrange for a local guide your first or second day, once you've been with the guide, you can fish on your own - rent a boat for $50/day, and motor to the big flats, just get the tide right. Non-fishing activity is an 11-mile bike ride away (or it was two years ago) and consists of a tiny beach/bar in Little Harbour. There's also a really nice beach/snorkeling spot about 6 miles away, maybe less - winding bay I think it's called. Fish the Marls as well, with Buddy Pinder - when I was there, he was living at the end of the road in Cherokee and was very helpful.

Lubbers - Place we stayed included boat rental and Hopetown/Little Harbour were just boat rides away. Only unguided bonefish opportunities were down at Robinson's Bight - 45 minutes by boat. It's on the chart. Again, guided fishing in the Marls with Buddy Pinder was great. Two beach bar/restaurant-type places on Lubbers (this is three years ago, who knows . . . ).

If I went back to Abaco, I'd go to Cherokee. If my wife came with me, she'd be bored.

[Loopy]

I thihnk the real question is not what to do for you for bonefishing but what to do with the none bonefisher people.

I think you might look at Pelican Bay hotel in Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama. http://www.pelicanbayhotel.com/

They have their own in house guides for bonefishing and there a number of private guides that you can also get if you prefer. DYI bonefishing isn't as productive because the best flats are not very accessable by foot.

Next door to the hotel is port Lucaya which has a world of shopping , restaurants, bars, and a recently opened casino. Also next door is UNEXSO for scuba and swimming with dolphins, golf, horseback riding, tours, etc are all available.

[Quicksilver]

Up until a week ago I had never looked in on this forum. All my DIY bonefishing was done in the Keys. I have in excess of 89K frequent flyer miles with USAirways, no wife. (I have no problem that there isn't much to do except fish). I am going to spend a LOT of time going through threads here this winter. Thanks in advance to all who have made posts, and thank you figen !!! Heart of palm salad, here I come !!!--125-3

[gcw]

Quicksilver,

Go to Cherokee. It's a great place. People are super nice, the cottage to stay in is affordable, you can basically have a boat at your disposal the whole time and fish on your own a ton. The Marls are not to be missed and are only a short drive away with the guide (who lives at the end of the road!). And I think US Airways flies into Marsh Harbour.

[Quicksilver]

Thanks gcw! I saw your post yesterday while I was at work. I worked the rest of the day with a huge grin! The planning and anticipation of a trip for me is often almost as good as the trip itself. Merry Xmass guys!

[BobG]

quicksilver,

I've fished Cherokee, Bight of Ol Robinson, and the Marls several times and things are just as gcw describes.
Cherokee has LARGE but very shy bonefish. However, they can be caught.
The Bight of Ol Robinson at times has numbers beyond your wildest dreams. We also stayed at Lubber, and I would make the 45 minute run alone daily. Several times when the tide was about 2 hours up, I had more targets than I could cast on. Waves of bonefish ranging in size from 3-8 pounds were pushing up onto the flats, and following the narow channels all around me. I'd hook up, the flat would explode with spooked fish, and those spooked fish would be replaced with new ones in a few moments. I often saw "muds" here 75' across!
The Marls is another incredible place. However, pretty much all the fish are small. 2-4 pounds being the average. It's very common to see 300-400 fish a day here.
I fished with Chris Pinder (Buddy's nephew) several times. I once had back to back 30+ fish days here.

[Quicksilver]

Large sounds good! I did a Google search tonight with the words "Abaco+bonefishing". IMHO there is much better info right here.

[figen]

Hi,

GCW, the cottage in Cherokee, is it this one?
http://oii.net/seaviewcottage/index.htm

I'm trying to locate accommodation in either Cherokee or the Little Harbour area, to get both the Cherokee sound and Robinson Bight within DIY range. Not the easist thing, especially since we're looking for only 3-4 nights..

Any help much appreciated!

(we're going mid February btw)

[gcw]

Hi,

GCW, the cottage in Cherokee, is it this one?
http://oii.net/seaviewcottage/index.htm

I'm trying to locate accommodation in either Cherokee or the Little Harbour area, to get both the Cherokee sound and Robinson Bight within DIY range. Not the easist thing, especially since we're looking for only 3-4 nights..

Any help much appreciated!

(we're going mid February btw)


That's the one. Sorry for the delayed response. If you're staying 3-4 nights, I would book one day with Buddy Pinder in the Marls - maybe your first day - and talk to him about what to do the rest of the time.

Good luck, I'm jealous.

[figen]

Gcw, thanks for the info. Do aid your jealousness, know that the cottage was booked out when we're there.. :-(

We are looking to be based out of Marsh Harbour instead, renting a boat, which will let us access Turtle Cay, Snake Key and Bight of Robinson. Cherokee is off-limits, due to shallow water (rental boat guys no likey).

I guess we'll try to get a full day of guiding based off Marsh Harbour, to take us to possible hotspots on the Atlantic side. Thereafter, we shall get a rental boat, load it up with Kaliks, and go on our own. :brow Cherokee can be accessed by car and walking from what I understand. Using Buddy Pinder for the Marls doesn't really fit into our schedule until the very end (which is actually a Sunday -- I hope that they're not all in church?) I'm a bit worried about the Marls since we are three people, so if it's boatfishing only.....boring! (and smallish fish) I had set aside a day for guided fishing at the very end of our trip, either in Cherokee or the Marls (or down at Sandy Point even), but if you think Buddy Pinder is really good, maybe we can squeeze him in earlier. It would be great if he could guide us on the Atlantic side (Robinson bight etc.), that way we the background we need for going on our own, and we get to know his skill/personality for further days.. Any advice on other guides for an Atlantic "bonefish hotspot cruise" out of Marsh Harbour would be appreciated!

Maybe I should just post our preliminary 9 day schedule for our Abaco stay, and let you experts give it an evaluation.. lol!