Frequently Asked Questions.....to
Bill, the manager.
What’s the best fly?
See our tackle section for suggested flies. Fishermen make this
much more complicated than it really is. There are numerous
flies that work well. The only fly I threw my first year bonefishing was
a Pink Puff. It settles down softly on the water. It always worked and
still does. I changed up because I grew tired of looking at it. I once told a fishermen that the bones will hit
anything but green/chartreuse. Just to prove me wrong he tied up a bunch
of green-headed gotchas and killed them all week long. Another group
threw nothing but a Gotcha style fly tied with nothing but gold tinsel,
gold flash, and gold diamond braid. They called it the Phyllis Diller
because it was so ugly. Another group throws only
a Lefty's craft fur shrimp. I had a dog named Batman with long blonde
hair. One group cut all the hair off the dogs ass and tied gotchas with
it...called it the Batman....deadly. Unfortunately Batman is no longer
with us. Gotchas, mantis shrimp patterns, the Peterson shrimp, pink puffs, etc.....they
all work. The point is,
generally these fish are rarely selective.
After a frontal day during the cooler months they can get a bit
picky. Switching to a smaller #6 buggy, natural toned brown/tan fly
seems to work better. If you do get a couple refusals and you're
sure you made a good cast and your strip is correct, switch the fly.
There are basically two color groups you should have in your box. The
sparkly pinks and pearls with pink/pearl flash and the natural browns and tans
with copper or gold flash. And tied on
any fly, you can't go wrong with a few silly legs hanging off it.
And finally, if you brought nothing but #2 or#4 tan winged Gotchas with bead chain eyes you would do just fine.
A good cast and proper strip is more important than the fly. If you can
drill a tight loop in a 10-15 mph wind your going to catch more fish.
When is the best time of the year to come?
This is easily the most often asked question. Last season the winter
months of January, February, and March were beautiful.....springlike.
May is known for light winds and clear skies. Last May was the wettest
in recent history with several unfishable days. You never know.
The fishing is always good
anytime of the year. It really doesn't matter. March, April, and May is
peak season and are the most popular. November, December, and January
are my favorite months for trophy bones. If I didn't live here and
wanted to book a trip I would come in November. Oddly enough not many fishermen come in January or
June which are excellent months. January is a great month for
large trophy sized bones and a chance to get away from some of the most
miserably cold weather of the year. June provides
excellent opportunities for sheer numbers of fish caught. Double digit
days are common and the winds are light. Oddly enough, I had a group of
eight who came in early July one year. Fishermen were catching 30-50 fish a day.
So much for the "It's too hot" theory.
How many fish will I catch?
That is a tough question and not a fair one. If the atlantic salmon
is referred to as "The fish of a thousand casts" then bonefish can be
referred to as "the fish of a couple three casts". South Andros is
arguably the best bone fishery on the planet. But every fisherman knows
some days are diamonds and some days are dust. All things being equal,
in the end it depends on well you can cast. On the same day an
experienced caster might catch ten when his less experienced partner
hooks two or three. On Jackfish flat you might find yourself
casting into a school of 200 two to three pound bones that keeps
circling back to you. Don’t mistake a big school for cloud shadow. In
other areas you’ll see sets of four to twenty larger fish swimming to
you in waves. If you find just one bone or a couple swimming together
odds are good they’re larger fish. Make that cast count!
Many times fishermen have returned to the lodge after a day of
fishing and say they saw a bonefish so big it was mistaken for a shark
or cuda and they didn't make the cast. Sharks swim in a slinking
"S" motion. Cuda will sit straight and motionless. Bonefish are always
moving and swim straight without much bending of their bodies. When in
doubt...make the cast.
How are the guides?
I've never met a Bahamian guide who didn't claim to be the best in the
business. Every lodge claims they have the best in the business and so
do I. All our guides are licensed bone fishing guides who were
born, raised, and live in Mars Bay. They grew up here fishing these
waters. The guides understand the fish and they know the fishery. They’re as
comfortable in a boat as they are on land and they’ll put you on fish!
Have you heard the stories of
rude guides who were abusive jerks? Maybe you've experienced one or
two. Not here, no way! Chris, Germaine, Pap, Loxley, and Ronnie are
patient and polite.
Do we pole or wade?
All boats are equipped
with poles and platforms. Two boats are equipped with leaning bars. Some
fisherman like to wade some like to pole.
It depends on the tides and the fishermen. We've had 75 year
old men who insist on wading and 40 year olds who won't get out of the
boat. If it's a flood tide you might pole the mangrove edges. Or
you might walk way up into a creek on that same tide. If the tide
is down you might pole a deeper edge or wade a flat that stretches for
miles.
Andros is a wade fishery. Some of the best fishing areas you can't get
a boat into. If you insist on being poled you're handcuffing your guide. We'll do our best to
accommodate you but expect to do a little of both.
Will it be windy?
Before making my first bonefish trip I dreamed of being poled across
windless flats on crystal clear days. It can be that way but rarely.
When fishing no wind conditions the fish are as jittery as a drop of
water on a hot skillet. And they can see you coming from a mile
away. Stretch out your leader and put on a light fly that lands softly.
Wind is a good thing and come planning on it. The ripples and waves
caused by the wind reduce the fishes ability to see you and allow the
fly to penetrate the water without spooking the fish.
You'll need to be able to cast in
10-15 mph winds. Please practice double hauling and throwing a tight
loop before you come. It's the difference between catching one or two
bones for the day or ten. Waiting until you get here will result
missed opportunities.
What is the best moon and tide?
There seems to be some confusion about the moons and tides. First,
forget about the moons and tides, just book the trip. Regardless of moons the fish counts remain the same.
Weather patterns and barometric changes have a much stronger effect
on feeding. A frontal day will shut the bones down. They feed heavily
before and after a front moves through.
Some fishermen believe that bonefish feed at night with the full moon
and don't bite during the day. They're stomachs are full and their
mouths are sore from digging in the sand and feeding all night, who
knows. Bahamians and some lodge owners say if you want to catch a
monster big bone you should come during the full moons. The largest
bonefish I ever caught was on a day after a full moon.
Others say you should come on the new moon. The new moon is
actually a dark or black moon. I do a lot of bottom fishing for grouper
and silk snapper to put on the table. When fishing on the days before
and after the new moon when the sky is dark at night and the bite is on!
I know I'll load the cooler up. I theorize that on a dark night the fish
can't see their prey therfore they can't feed heavily at night. When the
sun comes up they're hungry. I have also fished the creeks at night. I
take a little scoup net to catch shrimp for bait. On a moonlit night
there's not a shrimp to be found, slow fishing. I suppose the shrimp
have evolved to instinctively avoid the light. On a dark night the
shrimp are crawling on the bottom and floating on the surface out to sea
with the outgoing tide. It's like a giant chum trail. I can catch all
the bait I need. This brings in all kinds of preditory fish to feed on
them. The jacks are on top picking off the floaters the snappers are on
the bottom feeding on the crawlers.
I have seen epic days on all the moon
cycles. There are four moons a month. The first quarter, new, second quarter,
and full. On the new and full moons there is a spring tide or a "big
tide". The low tides are lower and the
high tides are higher than usual. On South Andros, during the spring
tide, the variance between high and low tide is three feet. Neap tides
or "little tides" occur on the quarter moons the variance between high
and low tide can be as little as a foot and a half.
The local Bahamians will tell you that the tides "switch" on the
weekends. This is generally true for most months. In other words, the
week will begin with either a low or high tide about the time you reach
the dock in the morning. The reason for the weeky "switch" is that peak low or high tide lags a
little less than one hour each day. After
six or seven days what was high tide on a particular day is now low
tide. The reason I say "generally true" is because some weeks begin with
peak low and high occuring at 3-4 AM. By the time you get to dock in the
morning it is midway between high or low.
To complicate things further, between Mars Bay and the inland
creeks of the Water Cays there is a four to five hour difference between
low and high tide due to bottom drag and creek restrictions. Throw in a
strong easterly wind and a high tide might hang up when one would think
it should be dropping. If you shoot into Grassy Creek where the tide
collides from the east, west, and south they can be even less
predictable. If the tide is high at Mars Bay in the morning you
might run to the Water Keys to fish the incoming tide. Once it floods
you might run east to Cistern Point or Beach Key and catch the bones as
they move out of the mangroves and onto the ocean side flats.
It's another myth that bonefish only feed on the is rising tide.
And when the tide begins to drop the fish head out to the deep blue sea.
That is garbage, garbage, garbage! Naturally, they need enough water to
cover their backs. One of my favorite set-ups is fishing a dropping tide. As the high tide
starts to drop the fish begin moving out of the mangroves and into
deeper water. When I say "deeper water" I mean enough to cover their
backs. You can stand on one spot as the fish swim to you, wave
after wave. My highest fish count days were on the dropping tides.
Let me give you an example.....This January I was fishing a flat just
off Cistern Point on a dropping tide. The fish were feeding in 8-10
inches of water. They backed out as the tide dropped but the fish were still
there in 8-10 inches of water. As the tide came in they moved in with it but
still in 8-10 inches. They were feeding on that flat all day regardless
of the tidal flow.
Yes...of course they move in search of better feeding
grounds or whatever. When they do they're moving fast as if they're on a
mission. Almost daily, right in front of the lodge, you can see schools
of bonefish moving south fast, always south, never north.
There is one legitimate reason to book a quarter moon. The week
begins with a low tide. It sets up better for those of you who like to
wade.
And finally, regardless of moon and tide, when the tides change from
incoming to outgoing or outgoing to incoming there is a brief slack
period. The bite seems to stop. Once it begins to flow in either
direction the bite picks up.
If you're thoroughly confused then I've done my job. You and
I could "Yeah BUT" each other until the cows come home on the subject.
The point of all this is to say "Forget about the moon and just book the
trip".
Is there anything for my spouse to do?
If you'd like to bring your spouse along for the ride he/she will make
us both miserable.
It is a fishermans paradise but South Andros is undeveloped. There is no
night life, no places to shop, no quaint villages to explore. Any
convenience store in the states would qualify as a Super Wal-Mart on
South Andros. All slots are reserved for fishing guests. The accommodations are clean, comfortable,
and air conditioned.
What kind of money is used?
The U.S. and Bahamian dollar trade one to one, both are readily accepted
anywhere in the Bahamas. Bring small denominations because vendors
sometimes have difficulty breaking large bills.
How’s the food?
If it requires a blow torch or flaming brandy we don't mess with it. Having said that, everything is delicious and made from scratch. Ask anyone who's been here.
Some guests say they'll return just for the food.
Breakfast is usually American; eggs and bacon or
sausage, omelets, biscuits and gravy, corned beef and grits, pancakes or
French toast, etc. Cold cereal and oatmeal is also available. Some of
the more adventurous guests like to try the traditional Bahamian
breakfasts like boiled fish or stewed conch.
Lunch is a piece of fruit, yogurt, chips, candy bar, and a sandwich.
With salad sandwiches the salad and bread are packed separately to avoid
a soggy sandwich. Some guests want peanut butter and jelly, no problem.
Also included in the cooler is plenty of water and a couple sodas.
When you arrive at the lodge after a day of fishing there will be
an appetizer on the counter of either conch fritters, calamari, smoked
salmon, shrimp, stone crab, lobster or conch salad, chicken wings ,etc.
The dinner menu is Bahamian most nights and American others and is
three course. We start dinner with a soup or salad. The main courses is
cracked conch, lobster, silk, lane, or mangrove snapper, hogfish, or grouper, rack of
lamb, or rib eye steak. Some fishermen have shell fish allergies
so we keep chicken and pork loin on hand also. All the fish, lobster,
conch, and stone crab are caught locally. The lamb is from New
Zealand. The steaks are fresh, never frozen Nebraska beef. The lamb and
beef is grilled to perfection over a blend of hickory and mesquite. The
vegetables are fresh and shipped in weeky from Nassau.
And then finally dessert. It might be a
cheesecake, coconut pie, key lime pie, guava duff, etc.
Please let us
know in advance if you have special dietary requirements like diabetes
or shell fish allergies.
Do you have
internet access and phone service?
Yes.....usually. Outages are common. The internet flows like water in
the states. It flows more like mud down here. If it's not
working.....it's not working. There's nothing I can do.
The lodge does have wireless service. Phone calls to the states are
complimentary through our VOIP line. Mars Bay does have cell service. Blackberry, IPhone, and most other cell phones usually work.
Check with your carrier prior to departure to be sure you have
international coverage. If you're not sure please remember to turn your roam feature off.
One guest returned home to find a $2000 phone bill.
Do you have
any fishing gear available?
No, bring everything you need. Check the
What to Bring page for a
complete list. If you forgot something Bill will gladly lend you his
gear. If you run short of flies we'll tie some up for you.
What is a day at the lodge Like?
4:30 AM – Morning Staff arrives to prepare the coffee, breakfast, and
lunches.
5:00 AM – Coffee is brewed and ready.
6:30 AM – If you are not already up Bill will wake you up.
7:00 AM – Breakfast is served
7:30 – 7:45 AM – Load up in the truck and drive one minute to the Mars
Bay Dock to meet your guide, stow your rods, and put on a raincoat.
7:45 - 8:00 AM – Throttle up and go fishing!!
5 – 6 PM – Return to dock after a day fishing
6 PM – Hors d’oeuvres are served in the dining room.
7-8 PM – Dinner is served.
Why should I come to Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge?
You do have plenty of choices. There are more lodges in the Bahamas than
you can shake a fishing rod at. You can spend an additional $1000 to
$2000 on a fancy lodge with canopied beds and cloth napkins. We can
respect that BUT...the fishing won't be any better or the food. We think
you'll have no problem cracking your own pepper and we use paper dinner napkins. We
have had complaints. Someone thought we served too much food....we were.
One guests was unhappy about not enough closet
space and another thought his pillow was too hard. One gentleman said he
had a great week but
could have done without watching a couple dogs fornicating on the beach.
He didn't have to watch. Some people are hard to please. Here are a few
reason to come....
First,
Bill is the American manager and owner. He has been running the lodge for ten years. He's dialed in and runs
a tight ship. You're in very capable hands. He's
easy going, polite, and very friendly.
He's up in the morning well before you carrying coolers and mixing gas.
At the end of the day he sits down and has dinner with you. Whatever you
need the answer is "Yes".
Second, we are the most southern located lodge on Andros.
The winds can blow a steady 15 mph for weeks. This
creates a natural barrier to the southern tip for lodges north of Mars
Bay. It's just to dangerous to cross the big water coming around High
Point. In other words, they can't get south by taking the ocean side
route. They must take the inland creeks making for a very long boat
ride. We fish the southern tip daily all the way
to the Water Keys and all the inland waters between. Our proximity means
no less than an hour a day of extra fishing. You're wading a flat while the other lodges are
on plane at full throttle. Click here
for a map of our fishing area.
Third, our
guides don't punch a clock. We are out early and home late. They should be back at
the dock not later than an hour before sunset. We need time to go look
for you if case of a breakdown. The best time to find tailing fish is
late afternoon. When the other lodge guides have showered and are home
drinking beer you're casting to tailing fish. So....let's add that up.....Less run
time to and from your fishing destination is at least and extra hour a
day. Add another hour or two per day of extra fishing time because the
guides stay out later. On a six day trip you get no less than an extra
TWELVE to EIGHTEEN hours of fishing time!! That's like getting
two extra days for free.
Forth, there is flat big enough for a dozen fishermen right in front of
the lodge. Obviously if the tide is high you won't be able to fish until
the water drops a bit. For three years in a row the largest fish of the
year has been caught in front of the lodge. If the tide is right your guide can drop you off on the way in
and you can fish your way to the lodge or walk fifty feet when you get to the lodge
and be fishing until dark.
Fifth, the lodge purchased new motors
for the 2013 season. Bill maintains all the boats and
motors personally. They are over-maintained. He does all the fiberglass
repair and gel coating. The motor heads and manifolds are retorqued,
compression is checked, new Raycors, impellors, thermostats, fuel pump
diaphrams, rebuilt carbs, and new lower unit oil every
year. We have towed boats home from every lodge at one time or another.
In ten years Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge has never had a breakdown. We
have had one or two boats limp in. And another that ran out of gas just
in front of the lodge. They were home in time for dinner.
Sixth,...We are a small lodge. We book singles,
pairs, and sets of fishermen to fill the lodge. But some groups want to
reserve the entire lodge for themselves. It might be for a corporate
outing or just a group of freinds. If there is at least eight in
your group we'll reserve the entire lodge for you. We have five rooms with capacity to sleep ten guests
but we limit it to eight guests. We keep an extra room available for
the guy who snores. There's one in every group.
Also,
we're not always fully booked.
Even though you may have booked a
double occupancy trip with you and your buddy odds are good you'll get your
own room.
If there is a vacant room, grab it.
Seventh, We only run four boats but keep five in top shape. If one
is not running properly we can have a back up boat ready to go in five minutes.
And finally, the dock is less than a minute away. No long rides to and
from the dock
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