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Talk about big bonefish! Read this from longtime subscriber, Nathaniel Reed, who fished North Riding Point Club (www.northridingpointclub.net) on Grand Bahama Island this past month.
“I fished five days at North Riding Point recently. We were blessed to be there when the skies were comparatively clear and the guides were able to spot bonefish at considerable distance. The club was full, but we seemed to find many locations that didn’t have another skiff in sight. Importantly, we were able to cross the Bahamas Bank twice to Carter Cay. My partner, Dan Lufkin, landed his largest bonefish ever on this trip—a 13-pluspound monster. We both landed numerous bonefish between five and eight pounds, and I caught a 10-pound fish. I had my best day of the trip at Carter Cay, where I caught seven bonefish: a nine pounder, two eight pounders, a seven pounder, a six pounder, and two five pounders. My partner that day also caught seven bonefish: a ten pounder, a nine pounder, an eight pounder, a seven pounder, two five pounders, and a single one pounder that ruined his average for the day.
“The guiding on this trip was superb, and the food was delicious. The other guests were delightful and everyone had good, if not great, days. The size of the bonefish around Grand Bahama Island is really impressive. Yes, we all landed four-pound fish, but we all saw and cast to bonefish over ten pounds every day.”
Postscript: So, where is Carter Cay and how do you get there? I turned first to Google Earth and found the small island northeast of central Grand Bahama, where North Riding Point Club is located. It appears to be way out there, and indeed it is, according to North Riding Point’s Mercedes Kornfeld. He writes: “Our guides venture to Carter Cay, as well as Sales Cay and Strangers Cay, only when we have calm weather. We have a twoboat minimum rule for all trips out there. All of our boats have a compass, VHF radio, and the guides have cell phones. We are the only ones who go there, so these cays hardly ever see a flats boat. Anglers like the large schools of fish and the size of the bonefish you get there. Stanley Glinton, our head guide, thinks that currents in the area attract larger fish. It takes about 50 minutes to get from the ramp to Carter Cay. We don’t go there too often. Most of our offshore runs are to Sales Cay and Strangers Cay, weather permitting. Sales Cay is about 35 minutes from the ramp. This year we have had a lot of doubledigit fish landed. I think it is because the water is warmer than usual. We had no cold fronts to speak of last winter. Just the other week, Stanley Glinton tells me he had a guest nearly land a bonefish that looked to him like a world record fish. Unfortunately, it got away. Indeed, the northern shores of Grand Bahama and the deserted cays of the Abacos have the largest fish in the region. This is what our anglers who have fished all over the world tell us. We have a wall of fame in the lodge with photos of only double-digit fish. This year, I have added new photos every week.”