Hooked on the Bahamas

With over 50 years of angling under my belt, bonefishing in the Bahamas is the best I've ever had, writes DEREK EVANS

‘ELEVEN O’CLOCK, moving left to right, 30ft out. Trust me on this one, Derek. Strip, strip, stop, strip,” Ishi whispers. And whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. My first bonefish is on and ripping line from the reel at a rate of knots. I’m down to backing line as the run continues across the flats. Will this fish ever tire? My introduction to fly-fishing in the Bahamas is complete.

Pound-for-pound, these sportfish are the fastest and strongest I have ever encountered. The initial burst can reach 15km/h!

Marjorie Roberts, my taxi driver, is waiting at Marsh Harbour Airport on Abaco Island. “I drive you to Delphi Club to meet Mr Peter. You notice our highway? It is 130 miles straight road from northern point at Crown Haven to Sandy Point in south. It was built for logging industry,” she says.

On arrival at Delphi in Rolling Harbour I meet owner Peter Mantle and general manager Sandy Walker from Cork. “Sandy takes care of everything here at Delphi. Except I look after accounts,” Peter says.

Dinner at 7pm at the big table is the highlight of each day. I opt for shrimp tempura with spicy pineapple salsa starter and pan-fried mahi-mahi with cucumber and white butter sauce. Hot raspberry soufflé completes a sumptuous meal.

Delphi Club is five-star in every respect. The eight double bedrooms, each with verandah, have stunning views over a white sandy beach and the blue waters of the Atlantic.

Garret Reid, resident chef from Armagh, is top drawer. The big room is immaculately furnished with fishy themes and a great library. An outdoor heated swimming pool captivates this fisherman’s paradise.

MANTLE BUILTDelphi in 2008 on 5.5 acres at a cost of €6 million. "My family own 50 per cent, I have 36 investors and the Bahamian Bank met the balance." His wife, Jane, is "minding the fort" back home at Delphi Fishery in Co Galway.

Following breakfast our four Dolphin skiffs, each with two anglers and boatman, are powered off at breathtaking speed to the Marls, an area of some 300 square miles of crystal clear shallow water interspersed with Mangrove trees.

I am paired with Steve from England and boatman Ishi, a native of Abaco and dab-hand at bonefishing. I see barracuda, shark, garfish and shad scudding in the shallows and muted herons hovering overhead.

And there are bonefish. Lots of them. Silvery ghosts with tails often breaking the surface as they burrow for crabs, their favourite food. Sometimes they hunt in packs, often as loners.

Fishing for bonefish looks easy but there is a skill involved as I find out. Yes, I have the 9ft rod with sinking tip and shooting head and, yes, the Delphi diva fly to resemble a crab-like creature is guaranteed to work wonders. But, alas, these fish seem to sense my lack of experience! Ishi is stationed on the raised platform behind me, slowly and silently sculling the 17ft stiff-pole as he peers the shallows for bonefish. “I spot bones at 85ft,” he says. I await the call.

Quietly spoken, I hear: “Derek, two o’clock, three of them, coming towards the boat. Cast now. Let it sink. Strip, wait. They’re moving away. Try again. Faster, Derek.” Panicking, I entangle the line under my feet and form a lovely bird’s nest. I have spooked the fish and they’re gone.

Throughout the day I interchange with Steve and soon begin to tick all the boxes required to catch these artful strategists. I am duly rewarded and at close of play can boast four bonefish to the boat and umpteen near misses. Each weighs about 2kg (4.4lb) and barbless hooks ensure a safe return to the Marls.

After dinner I visit Pete’s Pub and Gallery in Little Harbour. The shanty-style bar at the water’s edge is renowned for its seafood dishes and typifies Bahamian outdoor nightlife with loud samba music and locals playing dominos.

The bronze foundry alongside the pub is owned by sculpture Peter Johnston and is a wonderful example of a 5,000-year-old lost wax process. The gallery depicts bronze and gold pieces of marine wildlife from the island. I order a bronze bonefish!

ON THE ROADagain, I arrive at Marsh Harbour in time for the early Albury ferry to Hope Town, a 20-minute journey. The settlement is small with two narrow thoroughfares for pedestrians, bicycles and cars. I take a 10-minute stroll and ask for directions: "Can you tell me the way to town, please?" A bemused resident replies: "Sir, you have just passed it!" Chimed music bellows across the settlement: "This is my story, this is my song . . ." and I decide to find the source. It is, of course, noon and the recorded music originates daily from the Baptist church.

Cap’n Jacks overlooking the harbour for lunch is memorable. The restaurant is one of the best in town and specialises in Bahamian food. Most patrons arrive by boat and embark via stepladder from the rear of the premises to the diner.

From Marsh Airport I return to Nassau and on to Deadman’s Cay Airport on Long Island. I sit on the bench seat at the rear of the 20-seat plane. The 45-minute flight necessitates a five-minute stop at Cherokee to collect two passengers! The airport at Deadman’s Cay is tiny with just one receptionist and one bag man. My hosts, Charles and Teresa Knowles and children, whisk me to their beautiful house for a welcome lunch.

Long Island is about 80 miles long with a population of 4,000. The Knowles, Cartwright and Deans form 80 per cent of the local telephone directory. “Today, we go for boat ride to the bay to see manta ray and shark,” Charles says. His 30ft speedboat is powered by a 200hp outboard engine and cruises at 45mph. Soon we are among the big fish. In clear shallow water he points to dark shadows of massive ray, shark and barracuda feet from our boat. On an ebbing tide he jumps from the boat and lifts beautifully coloured starfish, each about 300mm in diameter.

He continues barefoot on the wet sand to retrieve several conch or “konk”, the stable Bahamian diet. Conch is a slow-moving marine snail weighing about 1kg.

Over dinner I order deep-fried conch and chips at Jerry Wells Seaside Village roadside restaurant. To my surprise the konk tastes delicious, particularly when washed down with island-brewed Kalik beer.

Charles is an energetic young man with many talents. Apart from fishing, he sells land crabs by the thousand; dives on coral reefs for sponges; landscapes new housing investments and played the leading role in the award-winning film Open Your Eyes.

In 2007, hurricane Noelle left thousands of bonefish washed up dead on the island. “We were lucky because stocks came back. Water levels reached 7ft high on Queen’s Highway,” Charles says.

MY BEACHFRONTself-catering lodgings at Salt Pond overlook Grotto Bay, venue for the annual Long Island regatta. The Turtle Room has all mod cons including wireless internet, TV and exclusive use of a sandy beach.

At Grotto Bay, hosts Jean Pierce and Kris Newman provide a lighting tour of an extensive cave system with still-forming stalactites and stalagmites. The three-chambered cave harbours five species of bat and is one of the largest in the Bahamas.

After breakfast I am underway to the “back country” of the Marls with bonefish guide Philip Cartwright. “Today, you will catch many bonefish,” he says. Cartwright has lived in Deadman’s Cay all his life and is married with four daughters.

The system is the same as before. I stand on flat bow and Philip is on a raised platform at the stern, slowly sculling between the mangroves. I am at the ready and feel confident.

The words resound in my ears: “Group. Ten o’clock. Get it off, now. Strip, strip. Yes, you’re in. Keep pressure on,” Philip blares. The ferocity of the take and speed of run creates a burn mark on my index finger as the line pours from the reel. In the course of the day, Philip stalls the boat and decides to fish 30 metres from the boat barefoot in knee-high water. This method is very productive because it reduces chances of spooking the fish. “Aren’t you afraid of the crabs?” I ask. “Just the odd one nips you on the toe, but that’s okay,” he says. His “bunny rabbit” shrimp fly-pattern appeals to the fish and I end the day with eight bonefish.

My time in the Bahamas is complete. May I say I was bowled over with the warm and friendly welcome afforded to me during my visit. I was treated like one of the family.

The islands are beautiful, rich in culture and heritage, and boast a “guarantee” of glorious sunshine. With over 50 years of angling under my belt this bonefishing is the most spectacular, rewarding and enjoyable I have ever encountered. The Bahamas is the capital of bonefishing.

Go there

British Airways (britishairways.com) flies Heathrow to Nassau Airport; Pineapple Airlines (pineappleair.net) flies from Nassau Airport to Marsh Harbour Airport, Abaco Island; Southern Air Charter Co Ltd (southernaircharter.com) return from Nassau Airport to Deadman's Cay Airport, Long Island, Bahamas; American Airlines (americanairlines.ie) from Nassau to Miami and on to Heathrow Airport.

Where to stay, eat, visit . . .

Where to stay

The Delphi Club, Rolling Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas. Tel: 00-1-242-366-2222 or delphibahamas.com. Luxury club overlooking sandy beach. Talented chef and friendly staff. Rods, reels and flies are supplied. Skiff boats and easy access to bonefishing.

Grotto Bay Self-Catering Beachfront Lodgings, Long Island, Bahamas. Tel: 00-1-242-338-0011 or grottobaybahamas.com. Luxury private units overlook the ocean.

Where to eat

Cap’n Jacks Restaurant and Bar, Hope Town, Elbow Cay, The Abacos, Bahamas. Tel: 00-1-242-366-0247. Specialises in Bahamian cuisine in casual outdoor atmosphere overlooking Hope Town harbour.

Seaside Village at Gerry Wells, Restaurant and Bar. Tel: 00-1-242-337-0119. Only minutes from Deadman’s Cay Airport. Fresh food specialist. The grilled lobster and conch with home fries are delicious.

Where to visit

Pete’s Pub Gallery, Little Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas. Tel: 00-1-242-577-5487 or petespubandgallery.com. Waterside pub and restaurant that typifies true Bahamian lifestyle. The art foundry alongside is renowned for bronze and gold sculptures.

Hope Town, Abaco. Take the ferry from Marsh Harbour in Abaco to Hope Town, a journey of 20 minutes. The settlement, population 300, is a throwback to the Bahamas of old.

Elbow Cay Lighthouse, Hope Town. Built in 1862, it is one of the last kerosene-fuelled lighthouses in the world.

Who to contact

Bahamas Tourist Office, 10 Chesterfield Street, London W1J 5JL. Tel: 00-44-0-20-73550800 or bahamas.co.uk.

For fishing trips and accommodation on Long Island contact Charles Knowles, Bahamas Discovery Quest. Tel: 00-1-242-472-2605 or bahamasdiscoveryquest.com.

What it costs

The Delphi Club: $3,000 (about €2,400) per person per week, plus $300 (about €240) per day of guided bonefishing. The price includes room, all meals, hotel taxes, local airport transfers and, where fishing, guides – and it’s based on two people per room and per boat. But the club does have special offers.

Beachfront Lodgings, Long Island, Bahamas: $130 (€108) per night (two-night minimum). After three nights, rate drops to $110 (€92) per night.

Seaside Village Restaurant, Deadman’s Cay, Long Island, Bahamas: grilled lobster and home fries $22 (€18). Conch and baked potato: $14 (€12). Grilled tuna and garden salad: $20 (€17). Garlic shrimp and sautée veggies: $25 (€21).

Albury Ferry Service, Marsh Harbour, Abaco: Marsh Harbour to Hope Town – $25 (€21) return. First sailing: 7.15am, last 5.45pm. Seven sailings daily.

• Derek Evans was a guest of Delphi Club, Abaco and Bahamas Tourist Office UK for flights and Long Island venture