March was certainly blustery! In the few nice days we were able to fish, the fish were biting! A half-day of fishing mid-month, yielded nine bonefish releases. We also had a nice permit caught by a guest on the flats. Fish have begun to school on the flats and seem to be enjoying the shallower water as it is warming up quickly during these sunny days. We love the extra light in the afternoon now due to daylight savings time, spring is in the air!
The inshore trolling has been very productive on windy days with catches varying from mutton snappers to yellow fin groupers and the ever-acrobatic barracuda, never a disappointment! We have been trolling with 30 lb. tackle and pulling small rapala style lures pulling 5-10 feet below the surface or a brightly colored sea witch with a 7/0 hook. We are still targeting bonefish and permit with 6-10 lbs. spinning gear and 8 or 9 weight fly rods. We have been using small jigs tipped with conch meat on the spinning gear and various crab imitation flies for the bones.
When sight fishing the flats, we have been targeting the sharks and barracudas with 15-20 lbs. spinning gear tipped with both tube lures and baitfish imitating stick baits. The mutton snapper love to eat conch slop or pilchards and have consistently been providing an action packed fight on 15 lbs. or lighter tackle in the shallow waters. As long as the tide is flowing, they should be biting
I hope that you will take the time to come visit us in Sandy Point to enjoy what we have to offer during 2014. Complete packages can be offered ranging from ground transportation to accommodations to meals during your South Abaco stay. I can be reached via email at tony@southabaco.com if you have any questions or need further information regarding our South Abaco inshore fishery.
Tight lines!