About the Bonefish Club

Welcome to the Black Fly Bonefish Club. We're located on the beautiful island of Abaco in the northern Bahamas, home to some of the largest and best bonefishing in the world. Stories about bonefishing in Abaco have been around for years, but that's nothing compared to the real life action you can find also casting to permit, tarpon, barracudas and mutton snappers on the crystal clear flats surrounding the island. Although flyfishing in Abaco is the most common way anglers catch bonefish, we still host many spin fisherman throughout the year. Bonefishing in the Bahamas has reached a near cult status among flyfisherman in recent years and Black Fly Bonefish Club gives the serious fly angler another incredible destination to pursue their sport. We know you'll enjoy our private seaside lodge while we're building our permanent headquarters for Black Fly Bonefish Club in the next cove over, in the new town of Schooner Bay. If you love flyfishing in the Bahamas, you'll love bonefishing in southern Abaco at the Black Fly Bonefish Club.

Black Fly Bonefish Club is accepting fishing reservations through our booking office at Black Fly Outfitter in Jacksonville Florida for our seaside lodge. We can accommodate up to 4 anglers fishing for 2 to 7 days per week, each with their own private room, 2 anglers per boat. (904) 997-2220

This is a very private and exclusive fishing excursion that some of our anglers have said is the best fishing experience they have ever had in the Bahamas. After reading the testimonials from our recent guests, you'll be reaching for your bags, tying new flies and making your plane reservations.

Black Fly Bonefish Club started out appropriately enough as an art project. Clint Kemp, former minister, native Bahamian, accomplished fishing guide in Nassau and entrepreneur called me one day and asked me if I was interested in doing a series of paintings of the legendary Bahamian guides. The conversation went forward and eventually Clint asked me if I would help him do a flyfishing assessment for a new project called Schooner Bay in Abaco. The company was interested in putting in a fly shop, lodge and outfitter in the project. Well, the fishing was incredible.... add in a couple of rums and some Cuban cigars and we were partners. Sometimes it just happens that way and I suspect that is probably the only way you should ever do something like this..... it's much too impractical of an adventure to think about if you should do it or not.

Black Fly Bonefish Club is a merger of two companies, Black Fly Outfitter of Jacksonville (a Florida corporation) and Black Fly Bonefish Club Limited, (a Bahamian corporation). Black Fly Bonefish Club in Abaco is made up of a unique team of partners..... Vaughn Cochran, marine artist and former Keys guide and his wife Jean Cochran, who have managed Club De Yates in Isla Mujeres Mexico, Parismina Tarpon Rancho in Costa Rica and Turneffe Island Lodge in Belize have been in the fishing industry for many years, Captain Clint Kemp, our general manager, host and chef extraordinaire, plus legendary guide Paul Pinder, who will be our Director of Fishing. Paul has over the years fished with "Who's Who" in the fishing world and is one of the most respected guides anywhere. Our fourth partner is Dave Byler, accomplished angler, conservationist and world traveler. Dave brings his expertise from his background in the financial world and international business. We invite you and your group to sample the incredible fishing experience we have to offer and to be part of the beginning of a legend in Bahamian bonefishing.

About the Food

Food is the final subject listed in most fishing lodge brochures but we think it's almost the first thing that anglers care about. I read in a recent "Angling Report" issue where an angler had gone to a lodge in the Bahamas and had a great week but was never served a Bahamian meal the whole time he was there. Clint Kemp is not only one of the greatest general managers of a fishing lodge that I've ever met, but he probably is the best Bahamian chef I've ever encountered....except for maybe his father Anthony. We serve conch daily in some form or another and fish or lobster will appear several times during your stay. Don't forget about stone crab claws in season or fried lobster sandwiches for lunch.

Getting There

Black Fly Bonefish Club in Abaco is probably one of the easiest lodges in the Bahamas to get to. Just 1 1/2 hours away from the U.S. mainland, Abaco is serviced by several airlines with direct flights into Marsh Harbor. There are direct flights from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, W. Palm Beach and Jacksonville. The airlines servicing these routes are :

Another option for getting to Marsh Harbor, Abaco is to fly to Nassau and then take a direct flight from Nassau to Marsh Harbor. Airlines servicing that route are:

Black Fly will provide transportation from Marsh Harbor to the "Beach" Club and return.

What to Bring

Our most important suggestion for what to bring on any fishing trip is a smile, patience and a sense of humor...Hey, you going fishing. Remember, you're going to be with you fishing buddies, eat great Bahamian food, no phones (unless you need one).....You're on Vacation!!!

Just about every fly fishing trip requires one common element....travel as light as possible but bring everything you need. One suggestion is to lay out everything you want to take on you bed, push the tackle to the side, (it's exempt) then only pack half of what's left.

40lbs of gear seems to be the magic number of pounds that most small airlines will allow you to bring onboard. They also suggest that you use soft sided luggage as hard shell bags don't fit into the irregular shaped luggage compartments of some of the smaller planes.

A couple of travel tips to keep in mind:

  • 1. Make your carry-on your boat bag. Smaller is better! If it's waterproof, it's even better.
  • 2. A small dry bag is a wonderful thing.
  • 3. Never forget you rain-gear! Buy good stuff, it's worth every penny.
  • 4. You don't need a lot of clothes. Wash and wear everyday.
  • 5. Bring zip lock bags to keep passport and wallet dry and one good garbage bag to get your wet clothes home.

Rods: 8wt or 9wt for Bonefish, a 10wt for Permit, Sharks and Barracuda and a 10 or 12 wt. for Tarpon.
(Black Fly Outfitter Store sells Loomis, Thomas & Thomas, Hardy and Temple Fork)

Although some anglers still believe that catching a fish on the lightest possible equipment is "macho", it is very detrimental to the fish. We recommend 8 or 9wt. rods for the bonefish because our bonefish are large plus generally the wind will be a factor on most days. Using a 6 or 7wt. rod will not allow you to control the fish and get him to the boat quickly therefore tiring the fish to the point of exhaustion. These released fish usually do not escape the sharks and barracudas that patrol the flats. Additionally, lighter rods do not perform well on windy days.

Reels:
A good saltwater direct drive reel with a cork or disc drag. Your reel should be capable of carrying 150 to 200 yards of 20lb backing.
(Black Fly Outfitter Store sells Abel, Hardy, Nautilus, Ross and Okuma)

If you want to spend your money on anything related to your trip to catch bonefish, a good reel is the place to start. On a good reel the drag is everything and the quality of the drag is what makes one reel better than another one. Silky smooth is what you're looking for with no jerky movements or eratic stops and starts. A fully adjustable, smooth drag is paramount to success in bonefishing!

Lines:
Traditionally, floating lines are used in bonefishing and it's a good thing to clean it well before you come. If you line is old (your floating line doesn't float anymore) and has lost it's flexability or is cracked, buy a new one! It's a relatively cheap improvement that has a major impact on how well you will be able to cast and therefore how many fish you catch. At this time, we do not stock any fly lines at Black Fly Bonefish Club so we advise that you bring extra flylines as backup.
(Black Fly Outfitter Store sells 3M-Scientific Anglers Mastery Series fly lines.)

Leaders:
You may tie your own leaders according to specifications on other websites, but we prefer tapered fluorocarbon leaders from Umpqua or Scientifec Anglers. The secret is to bring several spools of tippet varying in size from 20lb to 10lb. When your fluorocarbon leader gets short from constantly retying on flies you simply add a piece of tippitt to restore the leader to it's original length. If you have calm conditions and you need a longer leader you can purchase 10 or 12 foot leaders or simply add the desired length to you 9 foot leader. If you're changing you tippitt from barracuda to bonefish, simply cut one off and re-tie on the other, still using the same base fluorocarbon leader.
For permit we suggest the Umpqua 16lb Flats leader in 9 or 10 foot lengths. This leader is hand tied with a flourocarbon tippet. For tarpon we suggest the Umpqua standard tarpon leader with 60lb shock tippet or, for the smaller fish use the Umpqua Backcountry 9 foot Leader with a 40lb shock tippet.
For bonefish we suggest a fluorocarbon 9 to 12 foot, 10 and 12lb leader.
(Black Fly Outfitter Store sells all of these leaders)

Flies:
Vaughn's Fly Box Picks:
Fly choices for just about anywhere in Abaco will include the normal Charlies and Gotchas, weighted and unweighted, along with a clouser or two for deeper water. We have discovered four new bonefish patterns that seem to be the ticket for fish around our lodge fishing area including Mores Island. They are the King of Abaco, the Queen of Abaco, Clint's Secret Fly and Vaughn's Peel and Eat. There are lots of permit working the flats surrounding our lodge so any fly selection should have several crab patterns, some for tailing fish and others that you can strip pretty fast for schooling permit. We recommend the Kung Fu crab in tan and olive, the EP crabs in two-tone and the standard merkin style patterns. We have discovered a tarpon fishery and we're still working on the patterns that they are interested in, but my guess is a few toads in various colors, the Wiggle Minnow, some standard cockroach patterns and a few poppers or gurglers. This list will be refined as we go along but if you follow these guidelines you'll have success.
Vaughn
Click here to see the custom built Black Fly Bonefish Club fly kit.

Spin Fishing:
Black Fly Bonefish Club is not a fly only bonefishing lodge. We recommend longer (7 to 7'-6") rather than shorter spin rods in the 10 to 12lb class. The longer rods will throw the lighter bonefish jigs and pieces of conch much further than a shorter rod. You reel should have a line capacity of at least 150 yards or more. Select your jigs from the following bonefish jig companies:
TBS Jigs, Millies Bucktail Jigs, or Backbone Lures.
Click here to see the custom built Black Fly Bonefish Club Jig Kit


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