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chucknduck · #1 09-05-2001, 11:46 AM

Was wondering if any one out there has had good sucess with certain patterns on Eleuthera with some of the fickle shallow water fish. I will be going to Island in october and staying at Ten bay ( hopefully,the Hurri...e will be kind to us). Fished there last year and at some places the bones (tailing) were very tough even though they would feed close to me. Any tips or help welcome, I am a guide for trout and bass in Baltimore area and am willing to barter for top secret info.
chucknduck

David Churbuck · #2 09-06-2001, 02:21 PM

Tailing fish are tough. I found in my trips to Eleuthera that a chartreuse and white clouser on a #4 or #6 would get their noses out of the mud. Still, very tough to get them that way, most of my success down there has been with pink Gotchas or Charlies thrown to cruising schools.
 
Where is Ten Bay?

BobG · #3 09-07-2001, 09:53 AM

i fished 10 bay quite a bit our last time to eleuthera. i had some luck there, but they fish there were always jumpy due to the everpresent barracuda. 10 bay is perhaps the nicest beach on eleuthera, and eleuthera has some beutiful beaches! it seemed every time we went there, regardless of tide, i'd bump into bones.
try tying up some "blind" patterns. but "blind" i mean use no bead chain eye. i did very well at savahanna sound with "blind" pink or tan mini-puffs. by removing the eyes, the fly enters the water very softly, thus reducing the chance of spooking the fish that is tailing in a couple inches of water.
naturally, chalies and gotchas work, as they do everywhere. bring some pink, pink/white, root-beer, and tan.
i fished cat island this past march, and i did fantastic on a krystal green gotcha. several times i had several fish fighting to get the fly. so maybe pick up or tie a few of those.

another place to check out, is the main dock at tarpum bay. all the fishermaen clean their catch there daily. each moring, right at dawn, there is a HUGE school of bones that mill around the pier feeding on the scrapes. i could manage several each morning on a small weighted crab pattern. i simply make a long cast, ahead of the school, let the fly sink a couple feet. then, as the school past over the fly, i'd start stripping. the fish were small, 2-3 pounds, but hell, they're bones. usually, by 7am, the fishermen start getting ready, and all the activity spooks the fish.

feel free to Email me if you need more info. i've even got a few hand-drawn maps someone gave me i'd be happy to share.
bobG

chucknduck · #4 09-10-2001, 10:07 AM

Thanks moderator,
I tried clousers with no success,maybe I fished them wrong...ten bay is located just south of palmetto point area on west side of island, very nice beach type flat.
chucknduck

chucknduck · #5 09-10-2001, 10:18 AM

Sounds great Bob,
Ssssh on Savannah sound,I got several fish at ten bay last fall, either on gotchas sili-legs(pink) or my own cactus chenille shrimp. The krystal green gotcha,does that have slim green body and green wing? ...
chucknduck

David Churbuck · #6 09-10-2001, 01:41 PM

Ditto on the "shhh" on Savannah Sound!
Ten Bay, near Palmetto Point? Is that the place with the decrepit pier and the little islands to the northwest? Nice spot if I recall.
As for fishing around the fishing piers. Try it on Harbor Island sometime. The fishermen have nearly tamed the bonefish there. The main conch fisherman, Richard Percentie, once blindcasted a shrimp into the channel off the quay where they clean everything, and WHAM!, was instantly onto a big bone in the middle of the day and in the middle of a lot of boat traffic.