# Best Bahamas Island for DIY Bonefish Trip?



## bonehead (Dec 9, 2016)

Have been wanting to do this trip for a couple years now, and I'm planning for a trip this upcoming December/January (winter break). It would just me and my dad, no family to bring along... fishing only! My question is, what island do you guys recommend for 2 guys doing diy bone fishing? We are happy to have less shots if it means bigger fish, versus tons of action all day on schoolie fish. So far I've been thinking about Andros, but am completely open to suggestions...

Thanks!


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Abaco or Exzuma


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## Padre (Jul 29, 2016)

I fly into Marsh Harbor and rent a center console and a house on Lubbers. And then I use the center console to get to flats that I can wade. In fact, my first ever bone was on a flat on Lubbers Quarters and I found a hand drawn map in the house that I rented with an arrow pointing to a flat that said, "bone fish." I took the center console over there on an incoming tide and was standing on the flat when the bones started moving onto the flat. Made a cast at 3 bones and the one in the back raced around the other 2 to hit my fly.


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## Padre (Jul 29, 2016)

Padre said:


> I fly into Marsh Harbor and rent a center console and a house on Lubbers. And then I use the center console to get to flats that I can wade. In fact, my first ever bone was on a flat on Lubbers Quarters and I found a hand drawn map in the house that I rented with an arrow pointing to a flat that said, "bone fish." I took the center console over there on an incoming tide and was standing on the flat when the bones started moving onto the flat. Made a cast at 3 bones and the one in the back raced around the other 2 to hit my fly.


You never forget your first


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## bonehead (Dec 9, 2016)

That is true, I remember catching my first bonefish as if it were yesterday...

Have heard great things about Abaco, and more specifically the Marls. Are they accessible by foot, or is a boat/guide needed? Not planning on hiring a guide (for now).

Never been to the Bahamas so this is all new to me!


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## joegil476 (Apr 28, 2013)

Padre said:


> You never forget your first


Talk to Vince at CCO fly fishing 
He’ll steer you right 
Have fish the out islands with them for the last 7 years


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## Padre (Jul 29, 2016)

I


bonehead said:


> That is true, I remember catching my first bonefish as if it were yesterday...
> 
> Have heard great things about Abaco, and more specifically the Marls. Are they accessible by foot, or is a boat/guide needed? Not planning on hiring a guide (for now).
> 
> Never been to the Bahamas so this is all new to me!


 I am not sure if the Marls are accessible by foot. But I know you can drive down to Cherokee sound and wade there.


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## Scrather (Mar 12, 2018)

Go on Amazon and buy DIY Bonefishing by Rod Hamilton for your kindle, lots of good info and specifics. Depending on how much time you have you want to consider how long it may take to get to one place vs another.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

I fished for bones and permit years ago on the Yucatan peninsula. Cancun and Cosomel
Caught a bunch but that was in the 80's so i dont know what its like now


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## Patassa (Jan 5, 2019)

Scrather said:


> Go on Amazon and buy DIY Bonefishing by Rod Hamilton for your kindle, lots of good info and specifics. Depending on how much time you have you want to consider how long it may take to get to one place vs another.


Awesome, thanks for this.


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## RaspberryPatch (Dec 17, 2016)

Scrather said:


> Go on Amazon and buy DIY Bonefishing by Rod Hamilton for your kindle, lots of good info and specifics. Depending on how much time you have you want to consider how long it may take to get to one place vs another.


+1 and having it on your pad is useful!


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## kbanashek (Apr 5, 2017)

Abaco in the winter can be lights out for larger models depending on the weather. I personally would not consider the Marls a place where you'll get a shot at a double-digit fish nor do I know of any areas you can easily wade out(not to say there aren't though). 

Spent 4 months down there a couple years back and can provide you with some intel if you want to shoot me a DM.


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2019)

Went to Abaco back in May and my son (in photo) and I fished a different flat (self-guided) every day for five days. Cherokee Sound is beautiful and the only flat where we saw fish (3-4). That was it; 3-4 fish for five days. Our last day we went with a guide from Abaco Lodge out to the Marls and slayed ‘em.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

Anyone ever fish in Eluthera?


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## Griffinz33 (May 8, 2018)

Hoping to get similar information. Going on a family trip down to the Bahamas for spring break and trying to go to an island with wadable DIY bone fishing from the island. Looking on google earth doesn't show much for wadable flats on the islands.


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## jonrconner (May 20, 2015)

Boneheaded said:


> Anyone ever fish in Eluthera?


I caught my first bonefish in Eleuthera back in 1980 and fished there every two years or so till the late nineties, then did not go back till 2010, things changed, Eleuthera bones got educated, the geography lends itself to DIY and the pressure got heavy, so if you want to be challenged by fish that have seen just about everything go to Eleuthera. Not to say it’s not a great place to go, but don’t get your expectations up about catching a lot of fish, there are some legendary flats there like Savannah Sound or the flats at the north end of the island where you’ll see a lot of fish, but bring your A game if you want to catch them.
JC


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## jonrconner (May 20, 2015)

As an addendum, there was a post to get in touch with Vince at CCO, that’s probably the best place to start, I’m booked with him for Acklins in April, it’ll be my second trip there, it’s a place that’s NOT spoiled but a pain to get to.
JC


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2019)

Griffinz33 said:


> Hoping to get similar information. Going on a family trip down to the Bahamas for spring break and trying to go to an island with wadable DIY bone fishing from the island. Looking on google earth doesn't show much for wadable flats on the islands.


There are tons of wadable flats on Abaco. I think we just hit it after a spell of bad weather and the fish had gone to deeper water for several days. I had a Google Map with all of the flats located on it, but unfortunately I deleted it about 3 days ago. I’ll email the manager of Abaco Lodge and get the names and locations of them and post them here shortly.


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2019)

bonehead said:


> That is true, I remember catching my first bonefish as if it were yesterday...
> 
> Have heard great things about Abaco, and more specifically the Marls. Are they accessible by foot, or is a boat/guide needed? Not planning on hiring a guide (for now).
> 
> Never been to the Bahamas so this is all new to me!


The Marls are not really accessible on foot. Plus, I think they’re about 10 times the size of Manhatten, so that would be a big ol’ place to try to cover.


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## Griffinz33 (May 8, 2018)

Greg Lyles said:


> There are tons of wadable flats on Abaco. I think we just hit it after a spell of bad weather and the fish had gone to deeper water for several days. I had a Google Map with all of the flats located on it, but unfortunately I deleted it about 3 days ago. I’ll email the manager of Abaco Lodge and get the names and locations of them and post them here shortly.


I'll look into Abaco thanks!


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## kbanashek (Apr 5, 2017)

DIY bonefishing touches on a few of the good spots in Abaco, some are not mentioned or just briefly discussed. Cherokee can hold some really nice fish, they're smart down there thats for sure.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

jonrconner said:


> I caught my first bonefish in Eleuthera back in 1980 and fished there every two years or so till the late nineties, then did not go back till 2010, things changed, Eleuthera bones got educated, the geography lends itself to DIY and the pressure got heavy, so if you want to be challenged by fish that have seen just about everything go to Eleuthera. Not to say it’s not a great place to go, but don’t get your expectations up about catching a lot of fish, there are some legendary flats there like Savannah Sound or the flats at the north end of the island where you’ll see a lot of fish, but bring your A game if you want to catch them.
> JC


Sounds like my biscayne bonefish...i thought it would be cool to surf and bonefish.


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## RaspberryPatch (Dec 17, 2016)

To a previous post 

Acklins has limited infrastructure (no banks, no real car rental) and the mangroves in the NE were badly damaged by Hurricane Joaquin. I am not saying, do not go there, but it is a little more "basic", so a little more prep and planning is needed.


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## mightyrime (Jul 18, 2016)

I am suprised nobody has mentioned Long Island. There are lots of DIY accesible flats. There is also assisted DIY fishing where a guide will motor you out to a flat and give you a radio and then let you fish on your own while he chills out in the shade somewhere. Get that DIY bonefish book as mentioned above.. it gives all the info you need.


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2019)

mightyrime said:


> I am suprised nobody has mentioned Long Island. There are lots of DIY accesible flats. There is also assisted DIY fishing where a guide will motor you out to a flat and give you a radio and then let you fish on your own while he chills out in the shade somewhere. Get that DIY bonefish book as mentioned above.. it gives all the info you need.












You're right, Long Island does have a number of nice flats. It also has some of the most beautiful flats and water I've ever seen!

We fished there a few years back with Docky Smith and Loxley Cartwright. Docky is a great guide and pretty entertaining as well.

Be prepared to take a lot of your own food to Long Island. There's only one grocery, to my knowledge, and the items are either long past their expiration date, or they're very expensive - like $35 for a pound of frozen shrimp!

There are also two lodges there that might be able to help you with which flats to fish. Those are Deadman's Cay and Stella Maris.

Here's the house we rented on Long Island. It included a little Boston Whaler that enabled us to reach a lot of flats when we weren't fishing with guides. The bonus was that there were plenty of bonefish right out in front of the house! The photo shows a pic of the beach. It was huge and very wadeable!

http://www.whymmsvillas.com/on-a-whymm


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## bonehead (Dec 9, 2016)

Thanks for the input everyone.

Didn't know the Marls were inaccessible for someone like me, good to know! Never read much about Long Island, but am definitely interested in there. Seems like Andros and Long Island are the "front runners".


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## mightyrime (Jul 18, 2016)

you may also check out the east end of grand bahama it is remote but there are very large bonefish there


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## BM_Barrelcooker (May 4, 2011)

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/diy-advice-in-abaco.51653/#post-423446


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## BM_Barrelcooker (May 4, 2011)

Or you could try Spanish wells:


https://www.microskiff.com/threads/spanish-wells-bahamas.50175/#post-423230


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## RC Sanders (Dec 5, 2015)

I fish Grand Bahama. Easy to get to. Rent a car drive to the high rock area. My son throw flies all day I lob small crabs at them with light spinning gear. Plenty of bones to be caught anywhere from a few pounds up to double digits. I’ve even caught big mutton’s in less than a foot of water on crabs there. My profile pic was taken on a flat on Grand Bahama.


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## Renegade (Aug 30, 2015)

Boneheaded said:


> Anyone ever fish in Eluthera?


Yep. Eleuthera is the DIY mecca


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## kbanashek (Apr 5, 2017)

Renegade said:


> Yep. Eleuthera is the DIY mecca


Any places you'd recommend staying there?


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## Renegade (Aug 30, 2015)

I stay in a friend’s rental near Gregory Town. It’s pretty central. 

He has a small studio on the property as well that rents separately
https://www.vrbo.com/400748


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

Renegade said:


> I stay in a friend’s rental near Gregory Town. It’s pretty central.
> 
> He has a small studio on the property as well that rents separately
> https://www.vrbo.com/400748


Damn. Small world. I know exactly where that place is. 

If anyone goes to Eleuthera, bring back some of the pirate hot sauce from Rebecca's.


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2019)

Renegade said:


> I stay in a friend’s rental near Gregory Town. It’s pretty central.
> 
> He has a small studio on the property as well that rents separately
> https://www.vrbo.com/400748


That’s a nice looking place - and location. I just added it to my list of potential rentals. Thanks for sharing!


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## kbanashek (Apr 5, 2017)

That cottage is right up my alley, appreciate the share. I'm assuming the flats out front hold a couple bohemian scud missiles?


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## Palma Sola (Jun 5, 2016)

Acklins Island is my favorite spot! I fish half the time with Garon Williamson on his BT Mosquito and do a lot on my own walking relief bay in the north. Not any traffic to complete with, and lots of conch on the flats too


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## Mangrove Mike (Jan 3, 2019)

bonehead said:


> Have been wanting to do this trip for a couple years now, and I'm planning for a trip this upcoming December/January (winter break). It would just me and my dad, no family to bring along... fishing only! My question is, what island do you guys recommend for 2 guys doing diy bone fishing? We are happy to have less shots if it means bigger fish, versus tons of action all day on schoolie fish. So far I've been thinking about Andros, but am completely open to suggestions...
> 
> Thanks!


Mayaguanna...do some research first. You can struggle with cold fronts that time of year. Mayaguanna is far enough to avoid them...may be a little difficult to get to but dirt cheap once your there. BIG bones. I have never been but it’s a DIY place. Yellow dog used to promote it but not any more...maybe the hurricane has destroyed it but I would seriously look at it.


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