Thinking of Bahamas fishing....

[vandoo]

Hello there,

I am a new active member on this website although I have been reading for quite a while. I am from Qu?bec and also a salmon fisherman maniac. Have fished salmon in Qu?bec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, so far...

I am thinking about a first fishing trip to salwater particularly Long Island-Bahamas. I have a few questions, if you please.

Considering fishes and mosquitos, what would be the best 2weeks timing between January and end of April. I am only looking to have fun and if I have the choice, I prefer more fishes than only a few catch record.

Other than Bonefish, what can I realistically expect ?

I will bring a no 8 and no 9 rod. Is that ok ?

What line should I bring ? floating, intermediate sink or other.....

Any other matter that you wish to warn me about ?

Thank you in advance.

[old geezer]

Vandoo please check out http://www.cattarauguscreekoutfitters.com/ and his bonefish trips. Vince does a great job and can put you into all kinds of fish. I have never had a bad trip with him. Flies have never been a problem when we were mouching along the shore line. I found his rates very affordable and atmosphere great. Bonz,cudas,jacks and more.

Pm me if you need more specific info

Welcome aboard and good luck in all your adventures

Philip

[jkilroy]

I'm sorry if I offended you in any way shape or form.

[vandoo]

jkilroy said: I'm sorry if I offended you in any way shape or form

Your answer in the other post was very fine and you did not offend me at all. I became aware later that my questions were very detailed and distracting from your original post. I know it is sometime easy to sidetrack and that was not my intent. Thank you for everything.

[LadyFisher]

Something to take - and boy it really works! 3M ULTRATHON really repels the bugs, including the tiny black biter and the 'doctor flies' Will improve the quality of your trip so much!

I'm jealous, have a wonderful time.

[Guy]

Vandoo, I will attempt to give you a quick Bahamas Bonefishing 101 crash course..

Regarding the ?when to go to fishing??, the most applicable answer has always been, ?Whenever you can!? And this still hold true for the most part even in the Bahamas, but do consider this. During the winter, the Bahamas see several extended periods of extreme NE winds often with accompanying cloud (called a cold front down there). Jan and Feb are typically when one can expect stronger cold fronts and the water temperatures on the flats can drop below the bone's comfort level when a front passes through. March is typically a very windy month, but water temps are usually better unless you get an extremely long extended cold front (like last year!). April is considered a prime month when conditions should start to settle down more, meaning (statistically) fewer and shorter cold fronts. That said, the wind has decided to blow through April more often than not in the last few years as well!

So really you are at the whims of Mother Nature anytime from Jan thru April in the Bahamas. Going for two weeks is a good hedge against the weather. You should be able to wait out most cold fronts to get a few days of decent flats fishing weather (maybe!) So you pays your money and you takes your chances!

After the weather, my next concern would be tides. Usually, the best tides are the first 2/3 of an incoming tide and the last 1/3 of an outgoing tide so try to arrange your fishing each day to catch one or both of these prime tides. Given a choice, the ideal tides for a week of fishing would start with an early morning low incoming tide on the first day. This way you should have opportunity to fish an incoming tide each day of the week. As the week and tides progress, you will also get to fish the latter part of the falling tide.

One thing to consider is the second week in a two week cycle will see generally opposite tides to the first week.

In addition, consider that neap tides around the quarter moons in the Bahamas generally means more wading opportunities through the day, but with the diminished current, you may find the bones less aggressive and more moody (spooky, hard to catch, you name it!). Spring tides around the new and full moons see more water moving on and off the flats. This means more current which generally makes the fish more aggressive and easier to catch, but the window of fishing opportunity is sometimes narrow (water can become too deep at high tide or too low at low tide). On some full moons, the bones may spawn in deeper water and / or feed at night, so they become hard to find during the day on the flats. It?s not a hard and fast rule, but I find the ?in between tides? to generally be a good compromise between fish ?availability? and ?aggressiveness.?

Finding a week of these ?in between tides? with a first day early morning incoming tide, that would be my first pick to base a trip around. If these conditions coincide with the week preceding the new moon, so much the better.

Checking the tide charts for this year in the southeastern Bahamas shows that each week preceding new moons on Jan 8, Feb 7, March 8 and April 6 all start with an early incoming tide. Myself, I have booked the week of March 1-8 to be on Crooked Island.

Hope all this doesn?t confuse things for you. Bonefishing has a steep learning curve. I strongly recommend hiring a guide. A good guide has his ways of working around most tide conditions in getting his clients into fish. All that said, weather is the big wild card. Bad weather is wind in excess of 20 mph from the N-NE with cloud cover and daytime highs less than 75F and it will make bonefishing just about impossible. Good weather is air temps around 75- 85F, lots of sunshine and 5 ? 15 mph SE winds. Put good weather, a good guide and good tides together and life will be very good indeed for the bonefisher.

Wow, I didn?t mean to get so long winded and I still never got to your other questions. Another time. I have been to Long Island 6 times now, feel free to email me if you want some Island specific info.

Guy

[vandoo]

Guy,

Thank you very much for your reply. I am not confused and do understand the impact of the moon and tide.

Will plan on arriving as suggested around April 6.

See you,