Abaco Bahamas Fishing Help

[mike hagan]

Hello to All.

 

If anybody can help this site is it.

Question going down to the Bahamas for 10 Days in March and I have no clue on what to fish for and what to use.. and was hoping someone from this site has fished in the Bahamas before.

Will be renting a boat for the days and will be traveling with two heavy action rods and one med./heavy with spinning and bait casting equip. .

Should I change the line to salt water and what test.Can I use the lures for here in there.

I will be targeting Tarpon and Wahoo but not sure if the equipment is good enough.

I know bonefishing is popular there but not interested.unless nothing else works.

Please help .or Ill be doing a lot of snorkling.

[Crazyhook]

Tarpon and Wahoo will not be in the same places, for Wahoo most people catch them using live bait or trolling for them

 

Bonefish are really popular down in the Bahamas and are a blast on light line or a fly... you can walk the beaches in search for them. Another good fish to catch is the Barracuda. They can be found in the same shallow flats and provide a great fight.

For lures for Cudas try tube lures, Xraps or cranks worked really fast, zara spooks, skitter walks also fast...

bonefish like shrimp or small crabs, small jigs work well for them as well

 

out in the big water there are loads of reefs on the bahamas. you can chum up some yellow tails ( awesome eating) and drop bait down to the reefs for snapper and grouper. You can find kingfish, AJs, Jacks also cruising in the same areas. Loads of good shark fishing down there too. If you have never caught a shark they are a blast ...

if you need more advice drop me a pm

 

The regs for the Bahamas have changed alot this season! make sure you check them out if you plan on keeping fish

[Daplumma]

The rule of the fish:The big ones eat the little ones.Catch some little ones and use them for bait!CH has a handle on theat stuff.You may also check with the locals,mostly they will steer you in the right direction.Have fun!

Joe

[jeffw]

I have fished nassau for bones and permit on a 8 wt flyrod and had good luck with crab, shrimp and attractor patterns. As far as catching them goes look fro really shallow flats where with polarized glasses you should see them tailing and mudding up the water. lots of cudas, jacks and groupers off the reefs. I would get a cast net if you can and catch some small baitfishfor bait of the reefs and dop offs. If you can find some floating structure offshore with birds flying around it throw some bait in the water and you will get a feeding frenzy. Then throw bait on a hook and you should get some fish. You should get some jacks and maybe some dorado. I would get some berkley big game for your reels.If you have anymore questions send me a pm as I could go on forever with tips.

Cheers jeff

[mepps]

if you can find a bride over water that has street lights, go there at night and you shoudl be able to catch ample bait and tarpon, although im not sure of their migration in that area.

[Greencoachdog]

As far as fishin' line goes, what you have on your rods and reels will prolly work... but!... given the clarity of the Carribean waters, you will catch alot more fish with a flurocarbon leader 4 ft. at least, and the longer the better.

 

I love to target the Snapper (Muttons and Lane), very tasty! Bounce bottom with a 6-30' (I'm not exagerating, a 30' leader!) leader and a frozen Sardine or live Pin Fish in about 100FOW and hang on! ?The thing I love most about saltwater fishin' is, you never know what you're gonna pull up... could be a Grouper!... could be a Shark!... cou;ld be a Snapper!.. or it might even be a Snook! (which are also very good eating!)... but like CH said, check the regs before you keep anything.

[mike hagan]

I knew this site would know .

Thanks for the info. and yes I will pm you who suggested to.

Yellow tail do you catch them first or do you buy them at the bait store.

Never thought of fishing for shark ,but what the hell sounds like alot of fun.hope the rods can hold up.

[Crazyhook]

hey there where are you staying? I am looking at heading down therenext year as well

 

I have been doing some reading and by the sounds of it I hope you like bonefish! honestly bonesfish are an awesome fish to catch, do not let the size fool you.

 

Besides them the cudas should be around in full force as well. Bring some topwater baits and reel them in really quickly. Sharks are all over. My suggestion for them if you want a simple rig is to catch a small cuda or jack and have a bigger rod ready and swim them out... if there is a shark andwhere around it will get crushed. You can also cut it in pieces and put it on the bottom if you want to catch a nurse shark. They are like a big catfish and will not mess you up when you land them

If you hook a big lemon or blacktip you are on your own ( do not try and get your hook back!).

 

Remember where you find bonefish you will find cudas. and where you find cudas you will find sharks.

 

I like to use poor quality gold hooks when shark fishing that will rust in salt water this way you can cut the line and the fish will rust out in a few days with the salt water. bring some ballons with you and if you get a jack or a cuda cut it in half and suspend it a few feet down. try and use big circle hooks and when the shark bites just reel ( do not set the hook at all). Keep the line tight and hold on!!

 

for tarpon just got an email. There are a few creeks that run off of the ocean and hold all kinds of fish. The water is a bit warmer and you should be able to see tarpon rolling if they are there4. Check early in the morning and before dark

Edited February 9, 2007 by Crazyhook

[Crazyhook]

Fresh creek has a good population of tarpon. Not sure where you are staying here is a map of the island