Bahamas Fishing

Bahamas fishing is characterized by a few simple traits. First, there are over 700 islands that make up the Islands of the Bahamas. Amongst and between all these islands are thousands of square miles of flats, no deeper than twenty feet in depth. This makes for great tarpon, permit and bone fish hunting. Secondly, we have the Tongue of the Ocean. This is very deep underwater trench running along the edge of the Bahamas, which are actually one long plateau underwater. The trench makes a vertical drop from one hundred feet to thousands of feet. This creates awesome conditions for deep sea fishing. Third, the Gulf Stream passes right by, bringing all kinds of pelagic and larger fish into the mix for Bahamas fishing.

South Andros Island is a good choice if you came to the Bahamas for some deep sea fishing. The Tongue of the Ocean lies just one mile offshore from the island. Dorado, Marlin, Wahoo, and Tuna cruise the waters along the trench. South Andros is also a great starting out point for reef fishing. The reef in front of this island is chock full of mutton and yellowtail snapper, Black Nassau, and tiger grouper, and of course the usual exciting jacks.

Flats fishing is supreme in the Bahamas. To spot a bonefish skimming the crystal waters in front of your guide's boat, then to feel his robust strike on your light tackle, is to experience the sublime. Fly fishing is big here, but no matter what type of tackle you prefer, it's going to be awesome out there!

If you plan on targeting some specific fish on your Bahamas fishing trip, then this guide to the islands can help you in planning where to stay.

Walker's Cay seems to do a lot of catering to big game fishing types, due to its northern position in the chain of islands. The big boys hang out here in late winter: tuna, marlin and wahoo. Marinas are plentiful and well outfitted.
Grand Bahama island has "bonefish lodges", where anglers stay and eat, drink and breathe bone fishing. Bonefish are plentiful here during breeding season, making the idea of flats fishing irresistible to some! And of course where we have bonefish we also have nice permit. Fly fishing is big here too.
Bimini is where you go to do some big game fishing offshore. They call themselves the big game fishing capital of the Bahamas.
The reason? It's the cool, clear waters of the Gulf Stream bringing in these deep sea monsters. The blue marlin record was broken here, and it's also the site of numerous big sportfish tournaments.
Green Turtle Cay is great for bonefishing, where the bonefish are known to be larger than usual. And Andros Cay is well known for bonefish as well. Also try Great Exuma for bonefish.
Treasure Cay is becoming the hot spot for billfish like sailfish and marlin. Another good spot for billfishing is Chub Cay.
Nassau and New Providence are characterized by their status as the busiest islands in the Bahamas. This means that there are more charter fishing guides to choose from. It also means the reef and flats around these areas are more fished out.