Fishing in the Abacos
One of the many reasons to come to the Abacos or anywhere in the Bahamas for that matter is the great fishing. The Sea of Abacos is a shallow body of water and is perfect for people who want to just cruise around to all the different Cays to anchor out and visit each island. But just outside the barrier islands bordering the Sea of Abacos, i.e., the Atlantic Ocean, the fishing is fantastic. And, mostly, there are no laws limiting fishing activities.
I always wondered why, mostly during the summer months, there are so many fishing boats in the Abacos from Florida until a Floridian recently told me that State of Florida has so many restrictions on recreational fishing that, in his opinion, it is almost a waste of time and money to even take a boat out for a one-day fishing trip. This is not the case here in the Bahamas.
Before we spent this season on land renting a house, I never knew much about fishing in the Abacos. As a cruiser it was just an activity that we did not run into much. This changed when we got to know better some friends living next door to the cottage we rented. Our Neighbors have a 20-foot power boat and they go out fishing every morning that weather allows. And they almost always come back with a catch. The other day I happen to see them come in and they had caught 4 Mahi-Mahi each weighing about 15 pounds. They also caught a medium size yellow fin tuna. They fillet their catch right on their dock. The most common fish caught in the Abacos seems to be Mahi-Mahi, Wahu, Grouper, Hogfish, and Tuna.
Neighbor with Bahamian Lobster
Our friends catch so much fish that this year they had to buy a separate freezer to keep all their filleted fish in. They eat fish for dinner every night and they often give us some fish on days they have a big catch. I think they must have a pretty low grocery bill. Of course our neighbors did invest in a power boat and some high quality fishing gear, but fishing is one of their passions and the power boat has many other uses. On days when the weather is really calm, our friends will go out in the afternoon and hunt for lobster. I think lobster is harder to catch, but our friends usually catch one or two on most trips. In the Bahamas there is a lobster season.
My wife and I don’t fish, but fishing is one of the many activities that people come to the Bahamas for. After seeing our neighbors success at fishing, who knows we may take it up after our sailing days are over.
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