South Andros bonefishing trip primer, part 3: The fishing

Since I wrote this no frills article a couple months  there has been lots of interest. I figure I better finish part 3: The Fishing in South Andros

A no nonsense, no fluff guide to fishing South Andros Bahamas. (mainly because I’m too lazy to type a novel)

Note: to make it easier to reference I will keep useful articles like this in the review/how to section in the menu above.

Every time I travel to different area and I always wonder what to bring with me. I know you can do your research and talked to friends. Invariably though you forget or get wrong information at times.

I’m not saying I am the expert by any means but I will do my best to help.

What to bring when you go fly fishing for bone fish in South Andros, Bahamas.

I will be breaking this down into sections. Otherwise it would take me forever and the length of a small novel.

1. Apparel and fishing gear
2. The travel, the food, the accommodations
3. The Fishing (you’re reading it)

The fishing:

I was there to catch bone fish via fly rod this past October. They tell me October is a good all the way through April. They tell me the reason is that during the summer months it just gets too hot on the flats and fish doesn’t stay shallow for very long not to mention the bugs are thick. Due to this fact most of the guides will probably be lobstering to supplement their income during the hot months.

There are two sporting ways to catch bone fish in South Andros. Wade fishing and via  a poling skiff.

Wading:

Now if you have  ever tried to wade fish the flats of Miami or the Keys you know that for the most part it’s almost impossible. The main reason is that bottom is so soft and it’s very hard to stand up much less sneak up on a pod of bone fish.

This is totally different in South Andros Bahamas. 90% of the bottom there is hard and rocky. With a good  pair of wading boots, If you really wanted to you could walk for miles. Plus the bonefish there is not quite as smart as the ones we have here in Florida, they just don’t spook quite as easily.  I know friends of mine that catches double digit bonefish via wading in South Andros.

Besides the wading boots, you will need good polarize sunglasses. I like Amber/yellow for cloudy days and copper for sunny days. I love the Smith Optics and Costa Del Mars. I have not tried Oakley but I hear they are nice as well.

You will be wading rocky sandy bottoms no more than knee high water and most of the time probably less. The rest is pretty basic. Spot fish, cast in front of fish, strip and cross you fingers they eat.

If you’re in a good fishy area, wading is a great way to catch fish. You are in total control.

Poling Skiff:

This is the best way to fish S. Andros. You get to see different waters and cover lots of ground. Not to mention it is less fatigue plus spotting fish will easier as  you will be above the water.

Even though the bone fish fishery there is awesome, like any place bite  moves from place to place. You have to deal with tide changes plus certain place just fish better during certain parts of the day or time of year. If it’s your first time there I highly recommend get a guide at least for your first couple days.

We fished three different guides when we were down there, they were all good but the stand out guide was Captain Marvin Miller. Well spoken, good communicator, carries himself well, timely and knows how to spot fish.

Rates for a bone fish guides are similar to that of the US. The price ranges from $400 8 hour day of fishing and $200 for a 1/2 day. Considering they pay over $6.00 per gallon for gas I believe it’s very reasonable.

The bone fishing in South Andros is nothing short of “dam good”! There are many reason for this.

• Lots of fish and many eat very willingly.
• Easy to spot on white sandy bottoms
• A pain to get to, so less pressure on the population

Even on days that was blowing 25mph, raining, zero sun, we still caught 2 to 6 bonefish on fly per boat. On good days, if you’re a half way decent caster 20 plus bone fish on fly days are very common. If you are willing to  use a spinning rod you would just tear them up so bad it might be consider cheating.

The bone fishing there is so good you can literally walk out the lodge door and fish for them on low tide. Across the boat ramp there is a sand flat , there were schools and schools of bone fish constantly coming across on the good tides.  I can honestly say I have never been anywhere with better bone fishing.