# Favorite Bonefish destinations!



## Turneffeisland (Jan 25, 2012)

What are your favorite Bonefish Destinations?


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## bigfly55 (Apr 18, 2012)

Lived on Ascension bay for a season at Casa Blanca as the resident fly tier/casting instructor, lived on South Andros for a bit, spent probably 3 months or so on Abaco mainly fishing the marls, another 5-6 weeks on Grand Bahama. Now living in lower FL Keys. Had an open invite to Seychelles that I never took advantage of, but sent a load of people there. Bahamas is hard to beat as a realistic trip for sheer numbers with some large fish thrown in. Mexico is a blast with a 6 weight (and yes , Ascension does have 10+ lb. fish). 

All that being said, there are still too many destinations that I have yet to fish to really declare a favorite! I love em all for different reasons. I can say that the Keys fish are by far the most difficult that I have ever fished for yet. I also would rather wade for them, and the Keys are not real conducive to that style of fishing.


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## Demeter (Apr 13, 2006)

Christmas Island


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

My favorite would be the Bahamas. I've fished Crooked, Acklins, Long Island, and Exuma. In general, I'd say the Bahamas have larger fish than the spots I've tried in Mexico and Belize including Cheutumal Bay, Ambergris Cay, and Ascension Bay....but the Keys have the largest (and most difficult to catch) of them all. 

The people in the Bahamas are just so friendly and laid back....and the beer is great!!


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## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

I'd go with South Andros, Bahamas. I think, for me, it has the best combination of numbers and opportunity for large fish. But, it all depends on what's most important to you: numbers, size, boat vs. wading, difficulty, comfort, adventure, etc. I've fished French Polynesia, Christmas Island, Venezuela, Belize, Mexico, Keys, Bahamas (several places) and Bermuda (very big fish). I could make a case for any of them, but as long as you're bonefishing, you will be having a good time.


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## Fishing Fedora (Jan 16, 2012)

I've only fished for them on Roatan (Honduras) and Ambergris Caye (Belize). I would say that Ambergris is probably the best spot for a beginner to go. A 6 or 7 wt is all you need, and you could get away with a 5 wt if the wind would ever lay down. The fish aren't big(1-2 pounds or smaller) though I did see a few 3-4 pounders on the beach side, but couldn't get them to eat. But the shear number them as well as the siz of the area to fish is incredible. We only boated 10 in my 2 days there in June, but I also only had about 30-45 minutes of sun in those 2 days of fishing (and all of that was in the first day). I also saw only one other angler in those 2 days as well.

Roatan was my first bonefish experience and is completely different than Ambergris. I saw literally thousands of Bonefish (they were schooling in the surf during high tide) and the fish in these schools were 3-4 pounds average. I basically spent the entire morning learning to fly cast, so I missed out on a lot of fish. I made a few nice casts and lost at least one 9 pound bone to my horrible strip striking ability. Still really didnt make sense until I caught my Tarpon in Belize. I managed 2 fish, even the smallest of which was bigger than anything I caught in Belize. Also, catching bonito on basically a white bass rod, in a 16 foot flats skiff will get your heart pumping.

Basically, I couldn't tell you which was my favorite. The massive flats behind Ambergris or the surf and small flats around Roatan were both incredibly beautiful places.


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## shallowist (May 28, 2009)

I don't have a ton of experience fishing for bonefish, but if you want all out size, you need to go to Biscayne Bay or the Upper Keys. When I was still living in south Florida, there were never small fish like what I see in so many of the popular travel destinations. Be prepared though, those south Florida fish are heavily pressured and not as easy to catch as the smaller school fish. Small for south Florida is about 5 pounds and big often exceeds 12. 

I just got back from an awesome lodge in Central Andros in the Bahamas. Small Hope Bay Lodge is more family oriented and a great place to take a spouse or family, but very close to some great bone fishing. I got one day on the water with a great guide, Jeffrey Cartwright. Our day on the water was not the best with 20-30 mph winds, but we found some success. Most of the fish we saw were smaller, plenty of schools, and only 5 or 6 fish that looked to be over 4 pounded. I landed one good one early and a few smaller fish.

I was told that late spring into mid summer is the best time for this area and Jeff says that his best fish from this area is 12 pounds. They have a great combination of numbers and size much of the year, i just lucked into a bad day with very high pressure.


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## Animal Chris (May 21, 2004)

Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela. Haven't been back since Chavez took over but, I have talked to some people that have and it doesn't seemed to have suffered. But if you go, like any other bonefish locale, learn to cast into a gusting wind that will always be blowing into your casting arm.


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## Coconut Groves (Nov 2, 2011)

Favorite spot? Any place that bonefish are at!

I've been fortunate enough to fish for them around the world - Los Roques, Little Cayman, Bahamas, Florida, Belize (Placencia, Ambergris, Caulker, Punta Gorda), Roatan, Mexico (Ascension, Cozumel), Tobago, Polynesia and Indonesia.

Most aggressive - Los Roques. They crash bait fish flies from 10 feet away.
Biggest - Bahamas, though also spooky. Though I've seen big fish nearly everywhere I've been.
Funnest - Belize. I've been there 7 times. The last time I mainly tarpon fished all day, but then went and got double digits bones in under 2 hours. Last day caught 21 in under 2 hours. All good size fish.

Indonesia was a totally different experience. I was in eastern Indo, in Papau, on a remote island. Bones would school up right outside my bungalow. They had never seen a fly before, much less a fishing lure. No spookiness whatsoever - I imagined myself back in the Keys in the 60s.


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