On This Water

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.

March. Transition. Winter singles mix with the first schools. A good month to have both a shrimp and a crab tied.

March · peak

What is actually on

    BonefishPermit
Peak Present Off

Closures

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

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

Present MarchBahamas

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

Thermal window

68°94°

72–90°F · best 76–86°F

Keys migratory peak Apr–May. Boca Grande Pass is the spring stack. Jupiter inlet and beach. Texas beach/passes mid-summer. Venice south passes in the heat. Bahamas: resident fish in bights Apr–Oct.

Fly. 10–12 wt. Cockroach, toad, or baitfish. Bow to the king on the jump. 40–60 lb shock.

Spin. Live crab or large swimbaits at passes. Texas beachfront July–early fall is a bay-boat game, not the skinny skiff.

Leads the brief on Andros.

Bahamas. Bahamas: treat as catch-and-release.

Official source

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