Bonefishing in Bahamas

as long as you have the fishing permit that came with your cruising permit your fine. The guy who told you this wants to take you for his fee.

As long as you have the fishing permit for the boat and tender, you're fine. Tell the Bahamian to go back to pounding conchs. What area are you in? I could possibly point you to a good guide.

If you see him again, tell him to read this:

Fishing Regulations

While helpful to know the bag limits this does not show who is entitled to fish or be counted as a member of a fishing party.

Yes, but if you note the things in the "illegal" list, bone fishing without a guide is not one of them.

Hi,

It does not say you even need a license on that form either.

OK, you win. Sorry I bothered every one.

Hi,

Not at all, It is a very informative document, it just lacks a bit of the basic info that most users of the Bahamas might be aware of but not necessarily all.

I believe there was a very recent update to the fishing regulations that Capt Bill posted. I saw this on the My Out Islands web site and contacted the Bluff House marina to verify who sent me an updated set of regulations with the same update...Conch can no longer be taken by foreign vessels.

• No vessel shall have on board any conch, turtle or......
• The general public is advised that the Queen Conch (conch) is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of its range within the wider Caribbean area, including The Bahamas. The Government, in an effort to ensure the continued sustainability of local conch stocks, has decided to prohibit the harvesting of the species by foreign boaters.

One other small technicality that could be important is to make sure that when you get your cruising and fishing permit that the tender is also covered as Capt J said. Also, I did read somewhere that the rule is written so that the fishing permit only covers those names that are on your manifest, (need to verify this).

Maybe they should start telling their own people not to take Queen Conch and everything else they rape. The cruising boats are definately not the problem....as they only take a few conch and that's it......

I have been bonefishing off and on here since arriving in the Abacos in early November. I have become good friends with one of the local guides here and have taken numerous other people out bonefishing in our boat other than my boss. My guide friend never mentioned anything like this to me. And he is well aware of the frequency our boat is out chasing fish. In fact, he has been more than generous to me with tips on the how-to and where-to, sometimes sharing the same flat with our two boats. As mentioned previously, sounds like the guide has some bad blood about not being hired by you.