# Governors Harbour, Eleuthera Advice Needed



## JJGold1 (May 6, 2010)

Headed to Governors Harbour for a week over the New Years and wanted to ask the 2cool community for advice. I'm pretty set with my gear and will be toting my 9wt travel rod with the old standby flies (Crazy Charlies, Gotcha's etc). 

I'm curious if anyone has done the DIY Bonefish thing, and if so could direct me to a couple of flats or point me in the right direction. 

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## Golden (Aug 1, 2006)

There are many flats close to Harbour Island, and on the mainland in North Eleuthera. Eleuthera, along with Andros, Long Island, and the Abacos are known as great bonefishing areas, and are world known. 


Over 100 miles long, Eleuthera, one of the Bahamas' Out Islands, barely exceeds two miles in width. Firm white-sand flats and shallow water ring the island, perfect for bonefish. On a clear day, you can wade knee-deep in the water and spot darting bones. The challenge is getting one to take your fly. A little patience, a cast just beyond the reach of the school, and a bonefish just might take your fly and run off some 75 yards of line in a couple of seconds. 

Contact for guides or some DYI info: 


Fox Dive and Fish Shop 333-2323 


Devon Sawyer 554-5624 


Bonefish Joe 333-2663 


Stuart Cleare 333-2072 


Herman Higgs 333-2372 


Good Luck


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## JJGold1 (May 6, 2010)

Thanks, I did a google search already and read that site. I'm really looking for some first hand knowledge.


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## Coconut Groves (Nov 2, 2011)

I actually went there this year, but stayed south-central in Half Sound, near Winding Bay. Very beautiful place, no doubt about that. I self guided two of my friends who were new to bonefishing and they did pretty good for beginners. I did good, but could have did many more fish if it wasn't a couples trip. Fishing was limited to mornings only.

But, I will say there are big bones there if you know where to go, and more importantly, understand the tides. During my time there the tides were a 3 foot swing from high to low, with 4 tides a day. This is a large push of water that could have a flat filled one morning and vacant the next at the same time.

Some people say the bones are spooky there because of pressure, but I don't think that is the main reason. I sat on the beach and watched bones freak out numerous times for no apparent reason at all. I believe the amount of water and 4 tides a day is the reason, along with the predator pressure. There were sharks literary swimming between my legs. Small ones, with several VERY large ones on the flats.

When the tide is high these fish will push far into the mangroves, so use google earth to find entry and exits from deep water and you'll find fish.

My advice is to find a guide up north that will show you the ropes one day, then go self guided the rest of the time. I have contact info for one that I'll dig up. Also, there is a certain pattern there that works like money. I caught a bone with it on my first cast on the first day.

I'll post some follow up info soon for you.

Coconut


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## JJGold1 (May 6, 2010)

Excellent GC, thank you for the intel.


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## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

I stayed at Governor's Harbour a few years ago, rented a car and drove around fishing a variety of the drive-in spots like Savannah Sound, Ten Ten Bay, etc. I did find the fish harder to feed than typical Bahamas bones, but it still beat the heck out of not fishing! I was on a family trip so the drive-in spots made it easier for me to sneak away for a couple hours here and there each day without being gone too long. 

I would definitely go back for another family type trip and do the same thing. If you're going on a more serious fishing trip, then definitely check out the guides.


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## Coconut Groves (Nov 2, 2011)

JJGold -

Here you go....

Zev at the Rainbow Inn travels around the island with his flats boat and does guided trips. He will also get you pointed in the right direction. He can be contact via the Rainbow Inn: http://www.rainbowinn.com/contact.html

Also, check out their bonefishing page: http://www.rainbowinn.com/bonefishing.html

I am not sure if Graham is still doing trips, but you can try him too, but I'd email the Rainbow Inn as well.

For flies, I tied up a bunch of these: http://www.flyfishinsalt.com/techniques/fly-recipies/tiny-baitfish-flies-bones

The silver and white ones worked the best, some light blue and whites as well. Also, gummy minnows did really well, as did Gotchas.

Use long leaders if the wind allows (12') and be ultra stealthy. If can find beach cruisers, definitely use the minnows since that is what they fish are on the prowl after. An 8 weight is a must. I saw several bones pushing the 10 - 12 range. The largest I got was around 7.

Also, check out this site if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.discover-eleuthera-bahamas.com/bonefishing-in-north-eleuthera.html

There are detailed maps where the flats are.

Coconut


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## JJGold1 (May 6, 2010)

Excellent. Thank you for the help Bruce and Coconut. Hopefully I'll be able to post up a report!


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## michaelp936 (Nov 3, 2011)

*Memories of Eleuthera*

You received more than enough information to insure that you have a great time....fishing.

Through the years I've navigated, explored and voraciously devoured more than my fair share of the wonderful experiences that can be found in those beautiful southern oceans. As I've sailed, fished, dived, and generally gobbled up all that can be consumed there, an incredible thing seems to happen. The inexorable trickle within the hourglass appears to slow somewhat. It's as if the sands are saying, "don't forgo this moment". Besides the fishing, I hope you find the time to appreciate the charms to be found on one of the very best of the Bahamian 'out islands'. The people and their unique perspective on the pace of life, the place, the food, the cultural influences that brought life to this island in the first place are worth the expenditure of effort.

Many years ago I called Eleuthera home. My family lived on Governor's Harbour in 'Clear Tide'. The house and grounds are changed now, but in those days it was a grand waterfront Victorian owned formerly by Charlotte Blodgett (a granddaughter-in-law of U. S. President Chester Arthur). The views from my second story windowseat as I looked across the harbor and out into the ever-changing Caribbean are forever, and indelibly, imprinted on my mind. I close my eyes and the memories surge back....in much the same way that, a typically calm Sea roiled at the slightest hint of barometric change. On those stormy days, living in the shelter of the lee, I would watch the waves crash on the windward side of Cupid's Cay and marvel at how the shacks that stood there so precariously could weather the pounding.

Over the hill from the Harbor, directly across the island and down to the Atlantic side are the expanses of beach, dunes and shaded coconut groves near the site of the old French Leave hotel. Sought out by many, French Leave was both a beacon and a haven to those seeking refuge and respite from the glare of celebrity. I refuse to name drop but were I to do so, you would recognize every one. Subsequent variations on the theme saw others attempt to capture the gentility that once was. Even Club Med gave it a go until hurricanes reoriented what had become, regrettably, a caricature and besotted version of the original icon.

The last time I was there, you could still walk for miles on the windswept north side, undisturbed and without meeting another soul. It was calming to revisit a favorite old pasttime. We would comb those beaches after a storm to see what delights Columbus' current placed at our feet....a handblown glass float, broken loose from some Portuguese fisherman's net was a much-coveted prize. They came in varying hues and shades, dependent only upon the pigment available to the artisan.....green, brown, or the extra special treasure in radiant deep blue. Notes sealed in a bottle....people searching, yearning, reaching out....those messages gave life to a young imagination. The glass balls are rare now, replaced by plastic, but the excitement of the trek and the hunt remains. One never knows what trove may find its way to shore in the flotsam and jetsam.

Treasure, it seems, comes in many forms....maybe even in glass balls found washed up on a beach; or in the awe you feel as you watch a waterspout move ominously across an otherwise placid sea from the safety of a library windowseat. One, certainly, is the pursuit that takes you to Eleuthera in the first place....an avocation that, admittedly, is high on my list and that has been the catalyst for many of my other adventures. But, in such pursuits there exists always the chance to find added value lodged, at times imperceptibly, elsewhere in the experience.

I haven't been back to Eleuthera in 10 years....too many other islands and continents to see, and time is slipping away. I hope you will share your stories with us after you return. After all, vicarious experiences are better than no experiences at all.

Tight Lines!


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