Barry Morse from the U.K. was kind enough to do a report on his trip to Eleuthera, which follows below. For all the “press” Eleuthera gets on DIY style trips I find it to be one of the more difficult places to actually catch fish. I’ve had many one, two and three fish days there. Had a twenty fish day, but that was by far the exception. The great thing about Eleuthera is it is a beautiful place with wonderful beaches, restaurants, amenities and every kind of accommodation imaginable. A nice place to take a non-fishing companion with the opportunity to catch a few fish thrown in. Barry’s Report: First of all, if you are a complete ‘newbie’ to fly fishing for bonefish and live in or near U.K., go to this link. http://www.bonefishadventure.com Graham’s organized trips to Eleuthera are the cheapest and most useful intro to the sport. I benefitted hugely from the help and instruction. I followed up with a DIY trip of my own to Eleuthera along with my accomplice, Lars, to consolidate what we had learnt from Graham. The fish were very hard to locate on both of our trips but we managed to land a few. Once located the bones were very spooky indeed and repaid our clumsy efforts by taking off for the horizon at the slightest of bad casts. A good feature of DIY on Eleuthera is that, with a ‘rent-a-wreck’ hire car, there are many good access points to the flats. We based ourselves at the ‘Duck Inn’, Governor’s Harbour, which is about mid-way down the 110 mile island. Being only a couple of miles wide Eleuthera’s shores are accessible ‘Ocean Side’ or ‘Sea Side’. Getting there from U.K.: B.A. direct from Heathrow to Nassau. After one night in Nassau there is a connection the following morning from Nassau to Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera. This flight arrives with plenty of time left to pick up the car, dump your bags and get out on one of the nearby flats. There is a good one actually behind the airport. Accommodation and costs: First visit we were with Graham from Bonefish Adventure and stayed full board at the Rainbow Inn. This and vehicle hire was included at around £1,000 for the week + petrol and beer and BA fare. Overnight in Nassau was at the Orange Hill Hotel, better known to us Brits as ‘Fawlty Towers’ but don’t be put off by that. Rooms here around $130 for a twin. Our second visit followed the same route but we stayed at the Duck Inn, Governor’s Harbour, self catering with a shop nearby. This is perfect fishing accommodation and you can step outside before breakfast and fish the harbour area. Cost here was about $400 + food. Transport was a ‘rent-a-wreck’ arranged for us by John at the Duck Inn. $50 /day plus petrol. Conclusion: You won’t ‘fill your boots’ with bonefish here but you will learn a lot and there is a fantastic buzz the first time that you actually wade; spot a bonefish; put a fly in front of it then hook up. Much of this is missing when fishing with a guide whether from a skiff or wading.
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