Grand Bahama
[dropcap]C[/dropcap]apt. Dave Dawson tells Coastal Angler that although the tuna bite has been slow, many good size dolphin have hit the docks along with yellow eye snappers of every size. Visitors to the West End area are still finding wahoo, all taken on a slow troll. Recently, the Floyd Party released a 300 pound blue marlin and a sailfish. Capt. Dawson wants readers to know that West End blue marlin are overlooked, but if you can put the time in you will have some excitement that you won’t forget. It reminds him of marlin fishing off Kona, Hawaii: short ride, big fish. He reminds anglers to keep an eye on the temperature gauge as summer continues–the warm water coming off the bank gets so warm that moving further offshore is a must.
Abaco
[dropcap]C[/dropcap]AM contributor June Russell of Black Fly Lodge, Schooner Bay reports “Everything seems to be running on ‘Bahamian Time’ here in south Abaco. The weather is still a bit windy, the dolphin are still plentiful, and the fishing has been interesting to say the least.” She tells us July is going to bring a strong run of yellowfin and that the local guys are gearing up for chunking between Cherokee Point and Hole-in-the-Wall. She recommends you get out your cedar plug for trolling action, and 80 pound flurocarbon with circle hooks for the chunking. Don’t over chum, four or five pieces every few minutes will work. Look for the “tuna birds”, huge flocks are on the surface and feeding along the bar. Have a good supply of vertical jigs for deep dropping in 100 to 150 feet. Glow in the dark squid jigs will be very effective on mutton snapper and grouper in July. June also reminds anglers to be armed with 30 to 50 pound braid and a strong jig rod to pull up dinner.
Bimini
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]onefish Ebbie reports, “It would seem that if bonefish take a vacation during the summer, they all head to Bimini!” He says flats of Bimini have been producing incredible catches and he expects the trend to continue into July. In addition to the bones, permit and barracuda are plentiful. He says, nothing fancy is needed. Shrimp and crabs seems to be the best of baits at the moment. Nearshore, cero mackerel, kingfish and mutton snapper have been plentiful.
Nassau
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n July, Capt. Teddy Pratt of Fishing- 242Charters, shares the tuna fishing is in full swing in Nassau/Paradise Island offshore waters, “The blackfin tuna are here in great numbers already and also the skipjack tuna. The yellowfin tuna should be right in the mix or close behind. A few mahi-mahi and wahoo are still being caught. We’ve been catching some nice blackfins up to 30 pounds and marlin are feeding on the small tuna. Lighter tackle is the way to go for the smaller tuna but when the bigger ones show up better be ready with the heavier gear.”
Reports gathered from CAM Bahamas contributors and compiled by CAM Staff. For detailed reports, visit www.coastalanglermag.com/bahamas.
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