My wife and I spent Christmas week on a Bahamian island well-known as a DIY bonefish destination.
We took a single inflatable paddleboard (NRS Mayra) along this time to save a bit of weight and hassle. Our checked bags still didn't make it through our connection in Nassau and onto our island with us until the next morning. On island time, I'm OK waiting a bit.
Turns out the house we stayed at had a couple poly SUPs and a small flotilla of kayaks -- wish we would have known that ahead of time!
Our house overlooked a beautiful sandy bay, with some mangrove-lined channels and flats nearby. On a previous visit, I'd done pretty well in the channels -- the light sand made spotting fish comparatively easy, and there were enough fish cruising through at the right tide levels to be fun. Most of these were smaller fish. The marl flats and grass beds, on the other hand, had some much bigger fish around.
We drove around a fair bit, exploring, checking out new beaches or trying to get access into some out-of-the-way creek systems, but I spent most of my fishing time on the flat behind the house.
There are a thousand ways to blow a shot at a bonefish. I think I've hit most of them. I spent a lot of time just watching, walking slowly around the flats, trying to get more of a feel for patterns of movement and working on my ability to spot fish over dark bottoms. I tried to set myself up on a flat so I could slowly stalk downwind, with the sun at an angle giving the best visibility. This seemed to guarantee that I'd go about 30 yards and hear a splash behind me to find a fish or three cruising straight at me, directly upwind and right in the glare. I botched the vast majority of these.
I had a blast just observing the way bonefish work a flat. In the right conditions, they tail much more aggressively than redfish or carp do -- some would get so excited that their tail and a third of their body would be out of the water! This island doesn't seem to have the big schools of hundreds of fish that some others do, but I had evenings when I'd look up and there'd be a dozen fish tailing across the flat. I didn't get a lot of fish, but felt I'd truly earned every single one I caught.
They're just a sublime fish, and I never get tired of the liquid silver and all of the reflections off of them.
I tied a LOT of flies for the trip, but not enough flies with heavy weight (for fish cruising the beaches in 3-4' of water on the high tide) or more importantly, no weight (for the tailers on the low). I lost more than a few to cudas, which seemed to be everywhere.
I got a couple small lemon sharks that happened to cruise by, as well as a plethora of bycatch -- small snappers, grunts, grouper, etc.
I spent a couple afternoon high tides fishing and snorkeling a rocky outcrop on the sound side. A series of boulders, ledges, and caves made for pretty entertaining fishing. This area had a treacherous eroded limestone surface that was fly line hell. I lost a big Nassau grouper that managed to make it back to the bottom and duck under a ledge, and a big cuda that cut me off on the coral. I was outgunned with a 9 -- a 12 weight would have come in handy here!
It's just an amazing island, with incredibly friendly people and outstanding food. We missed the annual Junkanoo and all of the associated parades and revelry because we (well, mostly me) had had a bit too much Cuban rum the night before. Poor planning on my part… but incredible rum! It was pretty fun to enjoy a Christmas in such a different culture.
All in all, an awesome trip. I'd go back in a heartbeat.
Topic: A bit of holiday freedom (Read 3142 times)