Jess and I have been in Green Turtle Cay (GTC) for about two weeks now. This place is amazing. The people are welcoming and friendly. The food is delicious. We have nothing but smiles from ear to ear everyday we wake up. GTC is an outer island of Abaco in the Bahamas. GTC is about 4 miles long and 1/2 mile at its widest. The preferred method around the island is by supped up golf carts. There are about 500 residents on the island and all are somewhat related to each other.
The beaches are pristine and gorgeous. There are three accessible flats for DIY bonefishing around the island as well as some uninhabited islands in the area with expansive bonefish territory. The GTC bonefish are not the smaller, stupid bonefish you see throughout most of the Bahamas. These bones are large, dark ocean bones that come in from the Atlantic cruising flats for shrimp and crabs. The average bonefish down here ranges from 7-10lbs. I have become friends with Ronnie Sawyer, the local bonefish guide, and he keeps telling me that these are the hardest bones in the Bahamas to catch.
Paying my Dues
I am still looking for my first bone on the fly. Zach visited us and landed a nice sized bone on spinning gear, but I want it on the fly. Call me a purist, but I don’t care. First and foremost, let me say this is the most difficult fly fishing I have ever experienced, and on top of that, the weather down here has also not been the most optimal for bonefishing. Two or three bones landed with a guide down here is a great day. To say the least, the DIY wading bone fisherman has the deck stacked against him. There is no mercy and no room for mistakes.
Most people, including myself, start fly fishing for trout and then transition down the road into the salt. The biggest difference between salt and fresh water fly fishing is the casting. An experienced trout angler will make the majority of their casts in the 10-20 foot range. Flats fly fishing requires 40-60 foot casts in windy conditions to a moving target. Practiced and perfected double hauls are required. One to two false casts is the ideal load time.
I have had small victories that keep me motivated. Multiple follows and subsequent refusals. I stalked a tailing fish the other day, laid a nice cast down, got the fishes attention, and hooked up. The bone immediately headed toward the Atlantic and ripped off plenty of line. Then came that all too familiar feeling of the line going slack…fish broken off. After inspecting my leader, the culprit was a poorly tied tippet knot. Just paying my dues. I keep reminding myself that it took about a year after I started saltwater fly fishing to land my first striped bass, and now I feel extremely confident anywhere on the Northeast Coast chasing stripers. I have only been targeting bonefish now for two weeks.
To keep my sanity, I have also been stalking barracuda on the flats with much success. They cruise the flats in good numbers, are extremely aggressive, and put up a solid fight. A mylar tube articulated needlefish fly has been doing the trick. Also, our neighbors took us out on their boat for some reef trolling. Zach, Jess, and I all hooked up with some nice size fish.
Even with no bonefish landed, I am still addicting to this type of fishing. Trout are an awesome game fish. Stripers are a blast. But flats angling is a real test of all your fly fishing skills. I will keep hitting the flats and I know I will have a nice pic of a bone soon!
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