AS SEEN IN THE 2004 SUMMER ISSUE

You love your Florida fishing, yet you yearn for something different, a change of pace. Everybody gets the itch. You dream past the borders of our coastline into newer waters. It's time to get away. It’s time to get far away.

You start to focus on the possibilities. Perhaps someplace easy and economical to reach yet a destination that is really tropical. You want to make it a family vacation. No doubt, the stay will be longer and more enjoyable if there is plenty to do for everyone: shopping, beaches, swimming with porpoises, maybe even a couple of nightclubs and casinos. Above all though, you want great fishing, pristine waters and plenty of rod-bending action.

 Your mind is spinning with ideas: safe, easy to reach, activities, amenities, attractions and lots of angling adventures. 

If your thoughts pointed east toward the Bahamas, you're definitely headed in the right direction. Considering everything you’re looking for, your best choice would certainly be Grand Bahama Island. A direct bulls-eye!

Grand Bahama is the Bahamian island which has the most contact with the United States. Its proximity and the frequency of daily travel options make Grand Bahama easily accessible. Interestingly, many Florida based anglers head straight for Bimini and miss the incredibly diverse offerings this wonderful island to the north has to offer.

Important facts for traveling anglers to know when considering visiting Grand Bahama:

1. Grand Bahama Island is only 55 miles east of Palm Beach, FL. and only a short 30 minute flight.
2. The Island is 96 miles long and 17 miles wide at the widest point. From Freeport or Lucaya, most attractions are within a 30 minute drive.
3. The currency is the Bahamian dollar which is equivalent to the U.S. dollar.  However, U.S. dollars are widely accepted.
4. The weather and attire requirements are basically the same as Florida.
5. On Grand Bahama Island, there is plenty of available transportation. Rental cars are easily accessible at the airport near Freeport and you can always find a taxi. Additional options include jitney and tour buses which seem to be everywhere. IF YOU ARE DRIVING, REMEMBER THAT DRIVING ON THIS ISLAND IS ON THE LEFT. A TASTE OF OLD ENGLAND!
6. To be granted access to Grand Bahama Island, U.S. citizens are required to show proof of citizenship. This consists of a passport or a certified copy of your birth certificate and additional photo identification.
7. Medical care is available in a government run hospital and there are also three private medical clinics.
8. Tourist centers located at the Harbor, International Bazaar, airport and Port Lucaya Marketplace are there to provide all the information you need.
9. There is a departure tax for everyone over 6 years of age leaving the Island, its $18 and payable at the airport.

GOOD NEWS FOR ANGLERS

When fishermen think of Grand Bahama and its major cities of Freeport and Lucaya, they tend to think of the island as a shopping megaplex awash in tourists and gamblers. It is true that the Island has incredible duty-free shopping, plush hotels, lush championship golf courses, fine dining and posh casinos. One would think that anglers seeking un-pressured marine habitat would avoid this destination and for the most part, they have!

The avoidance of the masses becomes your gold mine as 70 miles of fertile coastline have been left to only 15 inshore guides. Compare that with the more popular bonefish destinations and you’ll quickly get the picture. Countless bays, flats, beaches, creeks, channels and cuts which often see no boats at all await you.

Anglers who avoid Grand Bahama do so with the mistaken impression that ‘downtown’ covers the entire island. The truth is that urban areas cover only a very small percentage of this paradise. In fact in 2002, The Bahamas World Invitational Bone Fishing Championship was held on Grand Bahama Island at Pelican Bay in Lucaya. Plus, each spring sees the Island come alive with the Annual Bacardi Rum Billfish Tournament.

This island truly has an excellent mix of flats, reef and blue water fisheries. Let's take a brief look at each.

I turned to Bahamas experts Scott and Brad at Angling Destinations
(1-800-211-8530 www.AnglingDestinations.com) to get the current ‘short list’ of the top fishing lodges and clubs on Grand Bahama Island. Here they are in no particular order:

Deep Water Cay Club- Lying on the eastern end of Grand Bahama Island, this venerable lodge has a tradition of excellent service and a prestigious history. Its location amidst productive creeks and channels offers great fishing opportunities in almost all weather conditions. If you go, bonefish will be your target but wily permit as well as barracuda and jacks may cross your path.

North Point Riding Club- This facility offers a close-yet-far quality by being located only twenty minutes east of Freeport. They accomplish this by trailering their superbly outfitted skiffs to new locations every day, many of them remote spots. North Point Riding Club offers deluxe accommodations, superb staff and they keep their fishing ‘holes’ fertile by rotating the flats they fish every day.

Grand Bahamas Bonefishing Ltd.- An ideal choice for angling families because it is in town. You'll stay at Lucaya Resorts Lighthouse Pointe Hotel. While non-angling family members play tennis, golf or take part in any of the island’s many amenities, the world-famous Pinder brothers whisk you away towards distant flats and trophy size bones.

Pelican Bay Bonefishing at Lucaya- This is another excellent in-town place to stay and is within sight of The Lucaya Marketplace. Pelican Bay is a resort community that offers everything one could ask for. Pelican Bay was awarded the prestigious Small Treasures of the Bahamas designation by the Ministry of Tourism. Explore miles of excellent flats with famous Captain’s Rolle, Cooper and Thompson in their crisp Maverick skiffs.

Bootle Bay- This popular destination offers a more remote, native experience, yet is only about 30 minutes west of the airport. Bootle Bay employs some of the best flats guides. It provides an excellent value while retaining quality. This lodge also has a 26’ center console for offshore opportunities.

Water Cay Bonefish Club- After much research, I believe this destination really stands out for the following reasons. The economical prices of their lodge and guided fishing trips are hard to match. In addition, this is an authentic Bahamian fishing lodge that gives you the real thing on an island not far off the pristine North Coast. The hard-working Lewis family has built a six-room lodge that offers air conditioned rooms and a central dining room with a fabulous menu. The major perk with this destination is that the club lies directly in the midst of prime bonefish flats. You'll be waking up and fishing within minutes in an area that other club members travel an hour to reach!

Scott and Brad over at Angling Destinations told me they would be happy to help anglers and visitors regarding any of these excellent destinations.

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Tackel to Take Along: 

Before we move offshore, here is a very brief list of what you should take if you are on your heading over in your own boat or simply want to rely on your own equipment to forestall any problems.

*7'- 8' spinning outfit with 6 lb. or 8 lb. line for flats and shallow water fishing
*7' rod with 15 lb. or 20 lb. line for ‘cuda, kings, dolphin and sailfish
*30 lb. conventional outfit for reef fishing and offshore
*50 lb. conventional outfit for tuna and marlin
*Bonefish fly-rod- 9'-10' rod; 8 weight line
*Permit fly-rod- 9'-10' rod; 9 weight line

Artificial Lures:
Wiggle jigs. Flat head in various small sizes for bonefish and permit
Tube lures for barracuda
Various swimming plugs for inshore and offshore species
Bucktail and nylon jigs in a variety of sizes
Skirted trolling lures

Bonefish flies:
Clouser Minnow #4, #6 in tan/white
Crazy Charlie #4,#6 in tan/white
Bonefish Special #4.#6

Permit Flies:
Del's Merkin Crab #1,2
The McCrab #1,#2

Terminal tackle:
Hooks in various sizes for all flats to offshore species
Various weight egg sinkers
Leader material and extra line for all inshore and offshore applications.
Polarizes sunglasses with side shields
Multi-purpose tool
Pliers
Portable water bottle
Hook file
Reel lube
Bic Lighter

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REEF AND BLUEWATER FISHING
Grand Bahama Island is ideally situated at the juncture of two huge oceanic channels: the Gulf Stream to the west and the Northwest Providence Channel to the south. The juncture meets at the island's southwest corner and produces superb action. These western and southern coastlines have an excellent bottom topography that slopes through reef areas into the deep blue. This structure creates wonderful reef fishing and blue-water habitat for a number of favored species. The common angling misperception of over-fishing again has left a large number of offshore haunts un-pressured and extremely productive.

The reefs surrounding this island offer up snapper, grouper, jacks and mackerel. You can quickly be into hot action not far from most southern coast jumping off points. Often, excellent reef action can be had by using vessels smaller than the usual 50’ charter boats that frequent the deep blue.

Boats plying the high seas off Grand Bahama often encounter blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna, bonito, kingfish, barracuda and plenty of dolphin.

The good news is that all the methods you have learned, perfected and employ in local waters work quite well on Grand Bahama's reefs and blue-water. The calmer months of spring through late summer coincide with some of the best offshore action, although other times of the year do produce outstanding results.

Because Grand Bahama's offshore angling locations lie to the south and west, most of the charter vessels are centralized in the Freeport/Lucaya area. You'll be pleased to know that there are plenty of charter services you can hire to ensure great offshore action for yourself, family and/or friends. All you need to do is check the area out and look around or schedule a trip through one of the charter’s websites. I would recommend keywords like Grand Bahama offshore fishing in your internet searches. Remember, you can also charter a Florida based charter operation and cross the Gulf Stream to Grand Bahama Island. Many southeast Florida based vessels advertise Bahama trips.

A facility that demands mention is Port Lucaya Marina. This is a large, comprehensive, modern and full-service marina. It sits adjacent to the Port
Lucaya Marketplace, Lucaya Resort, the Yacht Club and the Isle of Capri Casino. All of these offerings make Port Lucaya Marina a total service paradise for the boating anglers' every need, morning, noon or night.

There are many ways for you to reach this magnificent Island.

* BY AIR: The international airport receives daily flights from major airlines and getting there from Florida is a cinch. In addition, you can charter a small plane which allows you the freedom to fly in and out based on your particular schedule. Check the travel websites into Grand Bahama Island and you’ll find no shortage of information.

*BY SEA: You again have excellent options. Discovery Cruise Lines has daily service from Port Everglades to Grand Bahama Island. The ships sail from Fort Lauderdale at 7:45 am. and depart Grand Bahama for the return trip at 4:45 pm. The five-hour cruise includes meals and entertainment. In addition, Discovery has a cruise and stay program that includes a large variety of hotels on the island: you stay as many days as you would like, then return on the ship!

The all new Cat is an exciting alternative as a modern day ferry service between Port Everglades and Grand Bahama. This rocket ship like ferry can take as many as 900 passengers to the Island in less than 2 hours, in speeds up to 55 mph. The CAT offers food, beverages, movies and a casino.

Your third choice by sea would again be to hire a large charter boat to cross the Gulf Stream to Grand Bahama from one of our local ports. You can create your own mothership adventure by fishing from your vessel on the many reefs and offshore spots off the Island. When you want to visit the Island, stay at a hotel, or flats fish, have your captain make the proper advance berthing/mooring arrangements. This option is perfect for small families creating their own celebration cruise.

Another fun choice applies to anglers who own boats capable of making a safe crossing. If you have gone over to Bimini, you know the drill. Be sure to include Grand Bahama in your cruise destination list.

Your trip is slowly winding to a close as the lights of Port Everglades come into sight. Munching on a snack, you look across at your wife and kids:
they've got that slightly sunburned afterglow. You look back down at the digital images you took of your first big dolphin and that big bonefish you were craving so long to catch. Suddenly, the kids ask, "when are we going back?", and you know that your trip to Grand Bahama Island provided everything you needed and more.

 About the Author:

Jan Maizler has been a South Florida resident and angler his entire life. He is a past IGFA world record holder for bonefish on two lb. line and permit on four lb. line. He has caught and released over two thousand bonefish in his angling career. He has published over eighty articles and is the author of Dynamic Angling, Flats Fishing, Grief Work Transformation, The Transformation Handbook, Flats Fishing II, Fishing Florida’s Coast and The Relationship Handbook (available at Amazon or Bn.com). He can be reached by visiting www.flatsfishingonline.com, or by calling (305) 940-1564.

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