ABACO
Capt. Tony Bain from South Abaco Adventures in Sandy Point will be trolling inshore waters this month for African pompano, mutton snapper and blackfin grouper. He said pilchards are beginning to run and the bigger guys, like barracuda and mackerel, are running the schools wild. Bonefish and permit are still being hooked. Capt. Tony is using small jigs tipped with conch meat for the permit and crab imitation flies for the bones. Snapper are eating conch slop or pilchards and he says “As long as the tide is flowing, they should be biting.”
ELEUTHERA
Chad Melton from Ocean Fox Cotton Bay out of Davis Harbour in South Eleuthera loves this time of year because it means “Marlin, marlin, marlin”! Water temperatures are on the rise and there is plenty of bait. He says to always rig big or go home, and if the offshore action doesn’t pay off, you can catch anything in the shallows at 100 feet or less.
EXUMA
Capt. Doug Rowe of Fish Rowe Charters in George Town, says with warmer water, the mahi bite will wane but some will still be found. In place of the mahi, larger schools of tuna will arrive. Capt. Rowe said to run smaller than usual baits, almost any color will work—yellow, purple, red and even white feathers. If you want to run bait, a small feather or Islander will work. If you run out of bait, Capt. Rowe says to pull out a red and white cedar plug. Big blue marlin are around “So run ‘em big, close, far, anywhere and prepare for the battle that may ensue.”
GRAND BAHAMA
Capt. Billy Black, fishing out of Old Bahama Bay, West End, reports lots of dolphin, late season wahoo, and some yellowfin tuna. He said the dolphin migration should soon begin, blackfin tuna and skipjack tuna are showing up, and right behind them, there will be the blue marlin that feed on them. Bottom fishing and deep dropping are resulting in yellow eyes and queen snappers in 600 to 1200 feet and barracuda is a great choice as your deep drop baits.
NASSAU
Capt. Teddy Pratt on the Reel Deal tells us June is the the kickoff of tuna season around New Providence Island. In mid-May, tuna ranging in size from 10 to 90 pounds were being caught. Look for the tuna birds, use a cedar plug, or even ballyhoo since there are like to be a few mahi and billfish feeding in among the tuna.
