Bahama DIY With Resrictions On some flats

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Philip

Phil, we've had that happen in several locations over here. Some guide will either be followed to a good place, or the "talk" gets around and next thing you know every goober nails the area. 'Course, the jet ski riders, airboats, glittery bass boats and new, uneducated (or don't give a rat's a**) skiff owners make it worse.

I think the Bahamians are trying to grapple with a real problem. Somehow, over the last few years, the number of 'Ugly American' DIY crews has grown much faster than any other fishing-tourism segment. (heck, the rest of the bonefishing 'industry' has declined.)
I've fished next to some of these groups, and they are emphatically not fun to be near. There is no doubt in my mind that guided anglers would and do complain when they're within shouting (swearing) distance of these groups. I can certainly see frustrated guides coming back with: 'Mon, you gotta help me out with this problem...' and it looks like somebody is trying to do so.

It's now fairly easy to research and book a DIY bahamian bonefishing trip on the web;
so it's no surprise pople have figured it out and are torquing Bahamian bone-tourism in a direction the locals don't much like.
This (shift in bonefishing tendencies) could be a sign of tight fiscal times in the US, or just the maturation of a previously exclusive type of recreation to larger numbers of less wealthy people. I happen to think it's an unavoidable drift, prodded largely by the Internet.
Bahamas need to make a choice whether to try to preserve bonefishing as an exclusive, expensive activity (perhaps analogous to atlantic salmon fishing or what I read about BC) or whether to go for the (tourist) numbers. Given their investment in bonefishing lodges (which are by and large sitting empty, or at least grossly underbooked), and guides, the direction they are taking is not surprising. The clumsiness of the current approach is, well, only to be expected. My hope is they'll smooth off the corners a bit, given time and enough emailed complaints.
To look at the two different approaches, compare BVI's to USVI's, and the difference between mass and exclusive tourism jumps right at you.

I emailed the Eleuthera web site and they replied with they know nothing about it and Eleuthera is still DIY if thats a choice.

I think the slob fisherman should be heavily fined and the names listed for future reference.

It sickens me to see beautiful steelhead water on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation littered with polution from the guests using the property. I have emailed the tourism board there but have had no responce. I'd fine the heck out of them and bar them for 2 yrs.

Diito for any out Islands in the Bahamas.

Philip