--Recently my wife and I spent a week in Long Island, Bahamas for a belated honeymoon and "babymoon". It was truly wonderful, we had amazing weather and the island was beautiful and super relaxed. We stayed at Cape Santa Maria on the northern end of the island. It is located right on the beach, which ranks as one of the most beautiful in the world.This wasn't a pure fishing trip, but I did manage to get out several times. While exploring the area around the hotel on our first full day, I waded down a creek looking for cruising bonefish. The wading wasn't the easiest, and I would typically sink up to my shins as I moved about. I didn't spot any bonefish, but started casting in a various deeper holes, and caught a variety of species. Suddenly something a bit stronger took my line and I was hooked up to my first bonefish ever! It was a small one, but still thrilling. After that I caught a few small barracuda and chucked a popper along the mangrove edge. I had some blow ups, nothing connected.
The next day, we went out with a guide from the resort. It was blowing 20-25 mph (at least) with scattered clouds. While the guide put us on fish, I managed to blow the few good opportunities that I had. We went to a small blue hole and my wife caught a few small fish (grouper and yellow tail snapper) on bait. I spent some time roaming the flats near the hotel looking for bonefish, but never saw any.
We then spent the next two days doing touristy things. The island has tons of amazing beaches, the world's second largest blue hole and the largest cave system in the Bahamas. We stopped at an road side conch shack and had amazing conch salad, fritters and cracked conch. Also drank my fair share of Kaliks.
On Friday I snuck out for a few hours of fishing in the morning. There was little to no wind and it looked like it was going to be a great day for spotting bonefish. Prior the trip I bought the kindle version of Do It Yourself Bonefishing by Rod Hamilton so I had a few spots I wanted to check off. As I drove south, I spotted what I thought was a bonefish on a small flat near the road. I pulled off and hopped in only to discover that it was a very muddy flat, and that it was a small lemon shark. I hung out there for a little bit in case some bonefish popped up, but after I sunk up to my thighs in mud I decided to keep heading south.
Next, I went to a flat that was supposed to be good during an incoming tide, but of course I was fishing on a falling tide, and spent an hour slowly walking it. Other than seeing a large ray and several small barracuda, I didn't spot anything else. Time was starting to run out so I decided to hike back to the car and try one last spot. On my way there I stopped at the Bonafide Fly shop which is owned by perhaps the best guide on the island, Docky. He wasn't in, but I purchased a beer koozy for a souvenir.
The next spot was a small creek next to the road, and to get to the creek you had to push through a wall of bushes. I got through and I was in heaven. There were tailing and mudding bonefish all over the place. The water wasn't super clear so it took me little while to spot them, but soon enough it was game one. The fish I targeted were mostly in about a foot of water, and swimming in groups of three or four. The trick to hooking them was to lead them by about a foot to 18 inches and then give the fly a couple of small strips. I spooked a lot of fish by either casting over them or landing too close. But I managed to land nine nice-sized bonefish in just a couple hours. I had tied a variety of flies for the trip, so I took this opportunity to test out several to see if they worked. And they all did, including a saltwater version of a Snowhite Damsel. All in all it was an amazing morning and amazing trip.
A few photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ELtMFqqdV3yuRQci7
P.S. Thanks to Richie/District Angling for helping out with my fly selection and critiquing my flies!
http://www.tpfr.org
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"There are 10 types of people in this world, those who know binary, and those who don't"
http://www.tpfr.org
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