Exuma - March 18th - 27th

[adrian]

This doesn't really belong here but I promised to post so for those who may be interested........

.......made it back yesterday, in one piece, from the Peace & Plenty bonefish lodge after an amazing 10 days!

Each of the four of us had fish in the 10lb category and numerous 5lb to 6lb.

Best fishing at this time of year (this was our fourth March trip) seems to be on the flats to the north of the lodge (Rolle town flats up to Barra Terre).

For anyone planning to go down soon, guides to ask for include Michael (the best wading flats on Exuma IMHO), Martin, Steve, Abby and Celey (pronounced 'see-lee').

If your looking for Permit (and the associated frustrations) then get a day out with Willy Rolle Jr, Alston or Robert Thompson and head for Sandy Key at the south end. After four seasons we've seen them and had shots on every trip! Closest call this year was watching five fish in the 15 - 20 lb categary peel out of the school and get very very interested in my crab pattern - I thought Willy was going to fall of the back of the boat.

Sadly the bonefish arround Sandy Key mysteriously disappeared a couple of years ago, alledgedly due to commercial fishermen from a nearby island coming in and netting out the schools one night. On the plus side, this is also a great area for consistent shots at barracuda on fly - some impressively large. I managed to hook-up with 10 of which three made it to the boat! If you're tackled up for Cuda, make sure the guide can hand you your permit rod in a hurry - I missed a great opportunity by looking at what we both (initially) thought was a large cuda sitting on a channel edge only to realize, too late of course, that it was a large single permit with it's nose well down in the sand. Ah well, next year.........

Looking forward to the start of the action arround the Connecticut coat and actually getting out to fish rather than reading about it after an ongoing exercise in futility to improve my golf game.

Best wishes to all for a great up coming season!

Adrian Sharp

[Phllieye]

Great report Adrian....I'm heading down to Exuma from April 22 to the 27. Hope to do as well as you. Its my second trip there. I'm fishing with a guide named Garth. I fished
with him last year and he had me on bones consistently all day. We fished on the flats side of the island from about Rolle town to the old airport ( I think). Its easy for me to get disoriented down there. I will suggest that we try the southern end of the island. The only cuda that we came across were when I rented a boaat on my own and cruised around the islands in the harbor area. I'l let you know how I do....Tom