Capt. Rick Grassett’s Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge, South Andros, Bahamas Fishing Report for 11/13/2016
 
I hosted a group of friends and clients at Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge in South Andros, Bahamas during the past week. Stewart Lavelle from Sarasota, FL, Bill Crelin, from Milwaukee, WI and I drove to Ft. Lauderdale last Saturday where we met up with Tim Nolan, from Miami, FL and traveled to Congotown, South Andros on Watermakers Air. Jerry Poslusny, from Rochester, NY and Kirk Grassett from Middletown, DE met us at the lodge via Western Air through Nassau.
 
Weather was good most of the week. We had a couple of very windy days on Sunday and Monday, which can happen in the tropics, but we had sunny conditions most days. The weather and tides improved to near perfect conditions as the week went by. Bill Howard, the resident owner/operator, does a great job making things run smoothly during our stay at the lodge. We dined on a variety of excellent authentic Bahamian dishes including fresh fish, lobster and conch. 
 
One of the best things about Mars Bay Lodge, the southernmost lodge on South Andros, is the variety of options that are available. You can fish the vast sand flats and scattered mangrove keys to the south or head west through a couple of creeks to fish remote backcountry areas consisting of large flats, mangrove shorelines and smaller creeks. There is also a very nice wadeable flat in front of the beach at the lodge.
 
The staff of guides did a great job putting us on fish. We fished from flats skiffs and waded and fished everything from large schools of bonefish to cruising or tailing singles and doubles. We had great action with bonefish with some 4 and 5-lb fish in the mix. Larger bonefish were in the 6 to 7-pound class and Jerry and Kirk caught and released bonefish of 9 and 10-lbs respectively. Top producing flies during the week were Ververka’s Mantis Shrimp, Greg’s Flats Fly and Gotchas. Like fishing anywhere, there were some great days and some slower days, but overall it was a great trip to a great lodge!
Back home in Sarasota, tripletail, Spanish mackerel and false albacore in the coastal gulf should be good options now depending on conditions. Look for bait schools, diving birds or breaking fish to find albies and mackerel. Look for reds and big trout mixed with mullet schools on shallow flats. Trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, flounder and more should also be good options on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay.
 
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
IFFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters
Orvis Outfitter of the Year-2011
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
www.snookfin-addict.com, www.snookfinaddict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.us 
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
(941) 923-7799

 

Capt. Rick Grassett
Latest posts by Capt. Rick Grassett (see all)

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR