Bahamas / Orvis Pro-Am Bonefish Classic
Grand Bahama Island - October 2009
Bonefish and Tarpon Trust was on Grand Bahama Island for the second Bahama/Orvis Bahamas Pro-Am Classic, an event sponsored by Orvis, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, and H2O Bonefishing, designed to benefit BTT. This year, the event generated $3,000 with proceeds donated to BTT. Despite tough weather conditions we were able to tag approximately 30 bonefish and another dozen or so were fin clipped for DNA research.
A diverse group of professionals was assembled by Orvis Travel to fish with amateur angling partners over the course of the event. In addition to being knowledgable anglers the professionals were a fun group to be around and they willingly shared stories of their fly fishing experiences, tricks and techniques learned along the way. Expert anglers and amateurs fished together and all participated in bonefish research, either through tagging or taking fin clips for DNA research.
On Grand Bahama Island, anglers stay at Pelican Bay Resort, in Freeport. Guides pick up anglers each morning at the hotel entrance, and drop off there at the and of the day. Anglers are on their own for meals, and there are plenty of good restaurants within sight (and an easy stroll) of the hotel.
The guides launch flats boats at any number of ramps within a short drive from the hotel, depending on tides and weather. They prefer to fish the north side of Grand Bahama, which offers seemingly endless flats - algae-covered limestone, sand, or mud - mixed among mangrove-lined shorelines and islands. These flats are generally dark bottom, but the fish are also dark so are not especially difficult to spot. Most fishing is from the boat, but there are wading opportunities during appropriate tides. The flats on the south side tend to be lighter - either sand or limestone.
Bonefish on Grand Bahama typically range from three pounds and up, but tend to be on the large side, especially on the north side of the island. Although three to four pound fish are certainly abundant, the great thing about Grand Bahama is that there are a lot of larger fish. It's common to catch bonefish six pounds and larger.
Bonefish and Tarpon Trust would like to thank The Orvis Company, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and H2O Fishing for their contributions and support.
Learn more about the Orvis Pro-Am and their trips to Grand Bahama
Also check out the details on the next Orvis-sponsored trip to benefit BTT - to Belize.
Grand Bahama with H2O Bonefishing - October 2010
Sometimes the fishing Gods and weather Gods get along for enough days on end to allow a traveling angler to put a good trip together. Sometimes, but not often. I’m not sure what was going on in the Gods breakroom for the recent Orvis Bahamas ProAm on Grand Bahama, but it ended up working out well enough. Was the weather good? Generally, far from it – overcast, raining on and off. But it was calm, often slick calm, when the water surface is like a mirror. If it has to be cloudy, then it should be calm.
I forgot to take my raincoat on this trip. I left it sitting on my desk, somehow it escaped being stuffed into my bag as I headed out the door. As much as it rained, even though I was in The Bahamas, I got cold on some days and wish I had it with me. It looked to me like everyone else on the trip – whether anglers or Orvis Pros – all had remembered their rain jackets. Note to self – remember the rain jacket next trip!
So at first blush, you might conclude that the fishing Gods and weather Gods weren’t getting along. But it turns out they must have reached some kind of compromise, because the daytime tides were extra low for the entire week. If you’ve been bonefish fishing enough, you know that overcast skies, calm water, and low tide often result in tailing bonefish. That was certainly the case during the week of the ProAm. There were tailing bonefish everywhere we went. The calm conditions made fly presentation tough at times, but for the most part the bonefish were relaxed and hungry.
How do I know the bonefish were hungry? A lot of anglers caught a lot of fish, and even anglers for whom this was their first saltwater fly fishing experience caught tailing bonefish. That’s quite an accomplishment, and reflects the high quality of the bonefish fishing on Grand Bahama.
My records show that the largest bonefish caught during the week weighed 8 pounds, and there were a number in that size category. That’s another nice thing about the Grand Bahama bonefish – there are a lot of large fish, with numerous reports of bonefish over 10 pounds being caught.
During the trip we dart tagged 25 bonefish, and took fin clips from 10. Not a bad week. As always, Orvis Travel did a fantastic job organizing and running the trip, Bahamas Ministry of Tourism did a great job as host of the week, and the guys at H2O Bonefishing were their usual fish-finding selves. BTT was able to get more bonefish tagged, more DNA samples, gained some great new members, and received a generous donation ($3,200) from Orvis for the event. Thanks to Jason Elkins at Orvis and all involved for another great Bahamas ProAm, and for supporting BTT’s efforts.