Anyone Been to Turks & Caicos ?

[darsky]

I will be there for a week this Jan and I am hoping for my first bonefish experience. Have any of you been or can you offer any input?

[ketchenany]

If it's the week of Jan 30 I'll wave when the ship sails by!

[chrispyke]

I have been to Provo in Turks and Caicos a couple of times. It is one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Th reef is about 1-2 miles out and provides for protected swimming/snorkeling etc...As for the fishing, I mostly fished with bait either from shore or rented a skiff. There wasn't much live bait, so I bought frozen squid from the grocery store and it worked really well cathching anything from barracuda, snapper, grouper, grunts etc... You will need a fishing licence and there are protected zones that you can't fish. One of my favorite spots was in Turtle Cove Marina at the breakwater...if you walk out to the end of the rocks you will catch a bunch of things.

 

As for the bone fishing. I did go looking around the whole island and did find some shallow grass flats, but no luck with bone fish....didn't see any really. I think you would need a guide. Also, unless things have changed, boat rentals and guides are very expensive. There is a pretty big Montreal connection to T & C, quite a few run businesses there...seen a few quebec plates as well on the island.

 

Hope this helps, if you have any questions, I'll try to help out.

 

BL

[D-mo]

I have never bonefished the T&Cs but I do bonefish Cuba. Basically the same thing ..different spots, and of course different governents. Make sure you have your tidal charts ahead of time, print them up and pack them. I fish with a 9 wt. rod, large arbor reel, and salt water floating line and lots of backing. Do not use anything but saltwater flyline.... as "regular" flyline gets very limp and doesnt shoot very well. I used leader at about 12lb. Good sunglasses are a must to "hunt" bonefish, as seeing them is an art. This is why most people hire guildes, cause they cant see the darn things ..

 

Read this book: Fly Fishing for Bonefish by Chico Fernadez. This book has an excellent insites to the workings of this fish, and when and where it can be found, sited and fished.

 

You can research all the flys on the internet ... and if you dont ty... ebay is the spot to go and purchase. There are lots of serious tyers who love to do saltwater flys, all from the Florida Keys area.

 

I would highly suggest you purchase a good pair of boots, I purchased Bite Primal Flats. These boots are relatively inexpensive - below 90 bucks - and ensure you do not injure your feet while walking the beach or wading the flats. Remember, nothing is worse than a cut foot on a vacation .. you might as well rightoff all the money you invested.

 

d-mo