Doctrine · not a honey-hole list

Seasonal fundamentals

When a coast, a type of water, and a fish actually line up. If you elected Texas on the list, this page opens on Texas — Seychelles stays off the board until you ask for it. Filter by region, method or habitat, and species. The year bar is peak versus present. Limits cite TPWD and FWC — verify before you keep one.

Bahamas

Bahamas — bonefish country

Winter singles. Summer schools. Permit on the west sides when it lays down.

Andros is the capital — west-side white sand, schools by the acre, double-digit singles in the creeks, tarpon in the bights, permit May through October on the west side and outer cays. Abaco is Marls and ocean cays; verify what is actually running after Dorian. Grand Bahama is the thinking wade, a town to sleep in, big singles on foot. Eleuthera and the Exuma edge take more weather and give you more permit. Tides here are a modeled lunar clock, labeled as such — there is no NOAA gauge on these islands. Flats licensing has been tightening; verify before you wade. Jacks will find you. They are not why you booked the week.

December. Peak winter bonefishing. Schools give way to singles. Permit are a maybe. You came for the grey ghost.

Type

Skiff

Pole the skinny, run the guts. A skiff loses a flat at dead low and loses the fish when you run across the bank they are using. Islamorada and Biscayne are poling theaters with boat traffic as a species. Flamingo is a different boat — backcountry, color, wind. Venice is a third — river-marsh, not a sight flat. Texas Rockport and Baffin are the same idea in grass and rock. Idle before you think you should.

Andros Abaco G. Bahama Eleuthera

December · peak

What is actually on

Bonefish

Peak Present Off

Closures

No coast-wide harvest closure on the board. Still verify before you keep a fish.

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

Peak DecemberBahamas

Thermal window

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68–88°F · best 72–84°F

Absent in Texas. Keys: big, few, educated. Bahamas: the capital — winter singles, summer schools of 3–5 lb fish. Puerto Rico: east islands more than San Juan. Seychelles: Alphonse and Farquhar sand, not Mahé town water.

Fly. 8 wt. Gotcha, Crazy Charlie, shrimp. Long fluoro, soft landing. Bahamas will forgive more than Biscayne.

Spin. Possible with a tiny jig. The honest tool here is the fly.

Leads the brief on Andros, Abaco, G. Bahama, Eleuthera.

Bahamas. Bahamas: treat as C&R. Flats licensing has been tightening — verify before you wade.

Official source

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