Grand Bahama
Capt. Dave Dawson out of West End reports that “wahoo are still here in numbers.” High speed trolling around White Sands is the ticket. Dark colors and the color red were hot. Almost all the bites were on the short baits 90 feet from the rod tip. Mutton snapper are cooperating with anglers in the West End area. Bonefish “Tommy” Rolle has been very successful bonefishing this month and says “fishing should improve as we move into May with warmer water on the flats.” Reports from Capt. Whitney Rolle from Firefly Bone Fishing Lodge out at East End reports that very large schools of bonefish are cruising the flats as spawning time nears.
Abaco
Coastal Angler Magazine Bahamas forecaster from Schooner Bay, South Abaco June Russell says, “Get your gloves on and your lines ready!” May is the time to flex your muscle on the full moon and start hand lining for mutton snapper in Sandy Point. If this is not your thing, then by all means feel free to start trolling from Cherokee on down to Hole-in-the-Wall and get your fill of dolphin and tuna. May brings us the yellowfin that we have been waiting for. April gave us a good taste, now it’s time for serious business with 80 to 90 pound tuna. You can expect calm seas, and a good dose of warm waters to help along your fishing. While you’re out there, throw over a fly rod when a school of dolphin are around the boat for a fun time.
Bimini
“April indications tell me May will be awesome as April has been strong with wahoo and dolphin” says Capt. Chase Camacho fishing out of Bimini Big Game Club. “April’s full moon will kick off the mutton snapper run with conch being the favorite bait. So with all these different species of fish showing up, you can expect May to be the Blast-Off Month for great summer fishing offshore. The blue marlin hunt will be in full swing and I expect to see more days fishing in May. The last of the cold fronts have passed and the weather is still cool enough and conducive for the fish to be hungry and very active.”
Nassau
“The mahi-mahi have started to show up pretty well now and finding birds, weedlines and floating debris is the ticket for finding them”, according to Capt. Teddy Pratt of Fishing-242-Charters. “Trolling with lures rigged with ballyhoo is a top choice but when the mahi-mahi are biting they don’t care what you’ve got on the end of the hook. The month of May is looking good for the annual run of the dolphin with some reports already saying they are schooling in good numbers. Also starting to show up is a few billfish, so you never know what will be under the birds or seaweed feeding when you approach, so keep a sharp look out if they decide to crash the party.”
Exuma
Fish Rowe Charters, Capt. Doug Rowe is excited that May will be one of the peak fishing times in all the Bahamas and the Exumas will certainly be no exception. In his forecast Doug states, “The hardest part of fishing this month will be deciding what to target. There will be a true mixed bag of everything. So what I’ve been doing is this, small baits long and bigger lures closer to the boat. Small Islander Chugger of blue/white and green/ blue will do the trick for mahi-mahi or tuna. Middle sized lures with a ballyhoo on the short rigger and two bigger lures close to the boat. With so many schools of skip and small blackfin tuna, darker color lures like black/ blue and green/yellow are good colors.”
For more Bahamas fishing forecasts and news, visit the Bahamas Coastal Angler Magazine website.