Abaco Lodge: The Best Fishing in The Bahamas

The lodge consists of 7 double rooms with a capacity of 12 anglers. All of the rooms offer air conditioning and a private bathroom. Wireless Internet will keep you connected back home. Phone service is available and there is great cell coverage throughout the island. There is also a large flat-screen TV for catching all the games. The bright, charming lodge welcomes guests with spectacular waterfront views. Enjoy a cold Kalik by the pool, or gather around the fire pit where under a setting sun the day’s fishing stories enter into island lore.

The lodge’s main bar is stocked with spirits, cold beer, soft drinks, plenty of ice, and mixers for cocktails. We also have an on-site fly shop where you can purchase everything from flies, leaders, and tippet, and lodge logo wear. Fly-tying equipment is also available.

• Capacity: 12 rods.
• Accommodations: 7 Doubles with 2 queen size beds. All have air conditioning and private bathrooms.
• Pool Area: Kick back with a drink in your hand to enjoy the view.
• Main Lodge: Dining room, sitting room, bar and fully equipped fly-tying table.
• Telephone and Wifi Available
• Meals: Beautifully prepared Bahamian specialties concentrating on magnificent fresh seafood.
• Full Daily Maid Service and Laundry Service available.
• Fly Shop: is fully equipped with flies, rods, reels, lines, selected items of flats wear and local crafts.
• Non-Fishing Activities include snorkeling, kayaking, diving and golf.
• Lunches: Picnic lunches and cold drinks are taken to the flats in a YETI cooler.

What time of the year should I come?

Fall Season – October & November
The fall season in the Abacos can offer some of the finest Bonefishing of the year. Starting in August, tourist season ends and hurricane season begins. So, by the time October rolls around and the lodge opens, anglers will be greeted by fish who haven’t seen a fly in almost 3 months. The fish are willing and ready to eat following a break in tourism and the end of hurricane season. We also tend to see generally larger fish and great numbers of tailing fish during the fall, as the bigger bonefish enjoy feeding all day in the shallow flats due to slightly cooler water temperature. Because the weather can be a little more unpredictable due to cold fronts, our guides can take advantage of the occasional clouds and breeze to get you closer to the larger fish, often times getting multiple shots due to lack of pressure the last few months. On calm days, the fall season offers outstanding fishing on the Ocean-side of Abaco. The Oceanside boasts a significantly larger average size fish (4 – 7 pounds) with shots at fish approaching double digits happening regularly. On the flat, hot, calm days during the fall season, anglers may have a chance to target permit on the oceanside and riding on the backs of stingrays on the Marls side closer to the lodge.

Winter Season – December, January & February
The winter season on Abaco is characterized by high, blue skies and sunshine paired with pleasant weather. The winter season comes with the most wind, but some great fishing as well. Good visibility allows us to see fish on all types of bottom and, as the sun gets higher, the fish get more and more comfortable as surface temperature increases. So, there is no lull in the fishing in the heat of the day and being on the boat is very pleasant. During the winter, we also see larger fish more frequently on the flats as well as large schools moving between the channels and the flats based on water temperature. Beyond the bonefish, large barracudas frequent the shallow flats during the late winter, and, occasionally, baby tarpon can be targeted in the dark-water mangrove creeks. Like the fall, the oceanside fishing for large, tailing fish can be extremely rewarding in the winter.

Spring Season – March, April & May
Springtime in the Abacos offers arguably the best Bonefishing anywhere in the world. The weather is beautiful with comfortable temperatures and minimal cloud cover as the cold fronts and north winds have tapered off, and the water temperature stabilizes to a level that our fish love. Fishing approaches take many different forms. We see large school, tailing fish on the mangrove shorelines, and larger singles and doubles moving between the flats to feed and back to the deep water when they have had their fill. This is the time of year when we have days where it seems every fish that sees a fly wants to eat it and it is not out of the questions that a boat could return to the lodge after a 30+ fish day. One of the more unique species, the mutton snapper, is also best targeted during the late spring season. Fish vibrant, blue and red snapper move onto the flats in April and May and offer a challenge to even the most seasoned anglers. As the spring gets warmer, we will also start seeing tarpon moving around the island and the permit fishing begins to heat up as well.

Summer Season – June & July
The summertime is our most calm season. Light winds and hot weather allow for good visibility and great sight fishing. Though the fish sometimes feel the pressure from the boat or hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance from afternoon showers, they are easy to spot and ready to feed, especially early in the morning. As the day goes on, large groups of fish will congregate on the slightly deeper flats to feed, creating ‘muds.’ Looking for fish in and around the muds are a great way to end a long day on the flats and often lead to some surprise catches. The flat calm summer days also produce a large number of shots at our famously large Abaco Permit. These fish are frequently seen riding on the backs of stingrays feeding hard. Anglers can expect to have a few shots at the same fish allowing for fly changes and strategy changes so long as the fish doesn’t spook! The summertime tarpon fishing in Abaco has been getting better and better each season. Both close to the lodge and on the edge, larger migratory fish can be targeted and often eat with reckless abandon!

Getting to Great Abaco Island and Marsh Harbour International Airport is simple. There are many direct flights from the U.S. and it is also possible to fly via Nassau. Our Lodge is located on the Marls side of Abaco Island, just a 10-minute drive from the airport.

• TRAVEL FROM THE U.S. – Numerous direct flights a day to Marsh Harbour.  Major carriers that fly directly into Abaco include: Delta, American and Silver Air (a United subsidiary).
• TRAVEL FROM NASSAU – Bahamas Air, Sky Bahamas and Western Air have multiple flights a day.

Location

Located approximately 180 miles off the coast of Florida, the Abaco’s cup the eastern edge of Grand Bahama Island at the northernmost tip of the Bahamas archipelago. Abaco Lodge is the sole bonefishing resort in the Marls, on the island’s western edge. The Marls is enveloped by a designated National Park; inside its perimeters, with an average depth of about four feet and little tidal influence, lives one of the top-rated bonefisheries in the Bahamas. 

Your guides at Abaco Lodge know every inch of it. From blue holes that attract juvenile tarpon (and not-so-juvenile barracuda) to productive bonefish flats and hundreds of cays extending from Cross Harbour in the south to stretches well north of the lodge, you’ll explore new and unpressured water daily.