Flyfishing Abaco at the Black Fly Bonefish Club
Bonefishing in the Bahamas has long been a popular and legendary pursuit. Bonefishing in Southern Abaco on the other hand, has been one of those closely guarded secrets passed on quietly from one fly enthusiast to another, hoping they wouldn't tell too many of their friends. Each day, with each new group of anglers, we learn more about why no one wanted to talk about the huge bonefish, the incredible numbers of permit and the legitimate shots at tarpon that are possible in Abaco.
The fishing grounds that surround Black Fly Bonefish Club and the new town of Schooner Bay form six distinct zones each rich in a variety of species and large enough to support the entire lodge fleet if weather were to force all boats to fish in one zone. Only the most severe weather would cause a cancellation. Each zone supports similar species yet each has a unique offering in both species and habitat. Bonefish, Permit, Mutton Snappers, Sharks, Barracuda, and Tarpon are among the species found in these waters and given the number and the size of the fish we observed makes the fishing at Schooner Bay simply world class.
The Black Fly lodge boats are on trailers and can be launched at the Schooner Bay ramp or trailered to other locations within twenty minutes of Schooner Bay.
For the next 12 months we will be exploring the vast fishery of South Abaco and that will include days of exploratory fishing and mapping out the six zones that surround Schooner Bay. During this first year we will be fishing what we think are the best Permit grounds in the Bahamas, stalking silver tails on remote unfished flats and even breaking out the big sticks for our newly discovered fishery for silver kings. So come join us in flyfishing Abaco at the Blackfly Bonefish Club!
The Fishing
Our fishing was best described by one of our recent guests when asked if he would help us spread the word about Black Fly Bonefish Club, his one-word answer was "No". One of his buddies said that he would never travel half way around the world again when he could come here. The guy owns two jets! What we've found is basically a rarely fished area where there are only a few lodges at this time. The guides up north don't need to come this far south and the guys in the south don't need to come this far north, so that leaves us in the middle with Moore's island and Gorda Key as the prize fishing grounds of Abaco. We've found all sizes of bonefish which means the fishery is very healthy, mutton snappers, huge barracudas, more permit than anywhere I've ever been and just enough tarpon to think any day you can go for a Grand Slam. My last trip, I caught my personal "best" bonefish in my fishing career...I was stunned at the size of the fish in the school that I threw to. The key to our success will be the diversity of fishing opportunities that we have to offer. You can only catch so many 2 to 4 pound bonefish before you start to think "what's next"? Not only do we have some of the largest bonefish I've ever seen but the quality of the permit fishing is second to none. I guided in the keys for many years, I fished the Marquesas, I've lived in Belize and know that permit fishery well and I would put the permit fishing in Abaco up against any of those places. It's hard to believe it's been a secret this long. Additionally, when the harbor and marina are finished at Schooner Bay, we will have access to the offshore fishery just outside our harbor entrance. We will be the closest marina to the world famous "Hole in the Wall" where all of the prized game fish roam year round. Bonefish in the morning and sailfish in the afternoon! Vaughn Cochran
Fishing Policy
Fishing at BFBC is extremely varied and fishing as many of our "zones" as possible is our goal on every trip. Most fishing trips are 3 to 4 days of fishing and we plan our fishing days according to the direction of the wind and general conditions at the time and what forecasters are calling for in the future. There is no set schedule other than to try to fish all sectors when possible in order to give each angler an opportunity to experience everything southern Abaco has to offer. Our overall trip pricing reflects our expense to fish all of these areas and therefore returning to some of our more distant fishing grounds would incur an additional cost for fuel and oil only.
6 Fishing Zones
Fly Fishing Assessment written by Captain Clint Kemp, general manager of the Black Fly Bonefish Club 2009
Zone 1
Schooner Bay Ramp Northward for 15 miles to the southern edge of the Marls out to Big Mangrove Cay.
Fishing can begin as soon as the boat is launched from the ramp at Schooner Bay. The shallow water inlet is home to resident fish and here we observed mudding schools of fish and large single fish in double digit sizes all within a few hundred yards of the ramp. A run though the mangrove creek from the inlet is exhilarating and builds the anticipation of days fishing. Fishing can resume soon as the boat clears the creek. Schools of fish were observed feeding in the bay and working the edges of the numerous islands. We worked north into numerous flats systems where we observed schools of juvenile bonefish evidence of a healthy estuary and breeding ground for the bonefish stock.
The wade fishing is exceptional in zone one with miles of firm bottom flats that drop off into deeper mud and grass flats. It would take weeks if not months to explore all that zone one has to offer in the extensive creek system that forms the southern reaches of the world famous Marls. Working westward we fished the area around Big Mangrove Cay. This is a series of small cays that are surrounded by deep water and turtle grass flats. As the tide came in we observed muds of feeding fish working the flats and numerous schools feeding along the shore. Sharks and Barracuda were in abundance and according to Paul, Permit are usually seen in good numbers.
Zone 2
Schooner Bay Ramp southward to Sandy Point
Zone 2 is an 18 mile shoreline extending from Schooner Bay to Sandy Point. Numerous islands, creeks and flats create an unlimited habitat for many species. Small to large bays form the shore line providing cover in the wind and huge numbers of fish. We observed large schools of mudding fish along this shore observing in one school hundreds of bonefish, jacks, and snappers all feeding together. It was in Zone 2 that we observed one of the most amazing schools of tailing fishing we had ever seen. For some one hundred yards it looked like the flat had come alive with a thousand sparkling tails. It was one of those moments where you are just amazed with wonder as you witness how it must have looked 100 years ago.
Zone 3
Cross Harbour Flats System
The Cross Harbor Flats System comes directly out of the blue waters of Hole in the Wall making it one of the best flats in the Bahamas for really big fish. Large numbers of Permit and double digit bones can be seen regularly on this flat. In speaking to visiting angler they reported getting numerous shots at large Permit. This flat system would be accessed by a 20 minute trailoring from Schooner to Sandy Point.
Zone 4
Blue water and ocean flats
The blue water fly fishing opportunities at Schooner are unprecedented. The legendary blue water of Southern Abaco is only minutes from the mouth of the Schooner Bay Harbor. Dorado, Tuna, Billfish and many other species abound in this rich offshore environment. This blue water zone is virgin territory for anglers seeking the thrill of connecting with large ocean fish on the fly. When weather permits the run to Hole in the Wall will produce amazing opportunity to connect with some of the toughest fighting fish in the world as well as exploring ocean flats that hold very large bones and permit.
Zone 5
Cherokee Sound
A twenty minute trailer to Cherokee Sound will put our anglers in one of the best ocean flats on the planet. Lush turtle grass flats that intersect gin clear white sand flats have produced some of the largest Bonefish ever caught. This area will be the zone that receives the most pressure making the fish a bit more challenging to catch, however the numbers and size of these fish are legendary.
Zone 6
Moore's Island
Moore's Island is the largest of some 10 -12 cays that sit on the edge of the northwest providence channel and comprises about a 20 sq. mile area of most beautiful fishing we had ever seen and undoubtedly one of the most remarkable fly fishing destinations in the world. Eighteen miles from the Schooner Bay ramp a quick thirty minute run across relatively shallow water brings you to the edge of fishing fantasy. The tide was just coming in when we arrived at Moore's and large schools of bones were moving onto the flats. Within minutes we were seeing double digit fish and the rest of the day was simply surreal. At one point we polled to a mud where what looked like thousands of bones many double digits were feeding along with large mutton snappers. Paul was able to pole the boat into the center of the fish and from any direction you could cast to large fish. Schools of bones, tailing permit and mutton snappers were all over the flats. We were in awe and Paul was telling us this was an off day. With a summer run of Tarpon, Mores Island has grand slam potential and records will be broken here.
The Boats
Our philosophy on boats is another area where we had to re-evaluate what the other lodges have done and how we were going to give our angler the safest and best possible angling experience. One of the biggest complaints that we hear is that "that ride to and from the fishing beat us to death" especially with the move to smaller technical poling skiffs in the Bahamas. Our thinking is that our fishing area is more like the keys and Key West with areas of open water that you need to cross to get to good fishing. Also, fishing for larger bonefish and permit along with the tarpon in deeper water we found that a larger boat was the best choice for us. When the boat finally does touch bottom most people want to get out and wade anyway. Our solution...we bought the Hewes Redfish 21 with lots of room and comfortable seat backs for those rough rides on the way back to the lodge
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