Abaco is a mini-archipelago that stretches in a languid crescent for more than one hundred twenty miles, beginning with Walker’s Cay in the north, and running to the end of the Little Bahama Bank in the south at Sandy Point and Hole in the Wall.

Palm Beach, Florida lies just under two hundred miles to the west, while Abaco’s sister island, Grand Bahama, is a short boat ride away from Coopers Town and Little Abaco.

The three distinct regions that comprise Abaco are Little Abaco, Great Abaco, and the offshore cays. Including these cays, Abaco encompasses roughly six hundred fifty square miles, with a population of about ten thousand full-time residents.

The dazzling offshore cays bob in the Atlantic mostly east, and some north, of Great Abaco. The larger populated cays include Walker’s, Green Turtle, Great Guana, Man-O-War, and Elbow. The majority of the cays are uninhabited, and together, these cays provide a one hundred-mile-long sheltered cruising area for boating and fishing enthusiasts. This is one reason why Abaco is dubbed “The Sailing Capital of the World,” though the people of Great Exuma would argue that point. There is no arguing, however, that Abaco’s protected waters, safe harbors, deluxe marinas, charming settlements, secluded coves and sparkling sand beaches make this little archipelago a dream destination.

A warm and welcoming people, Abaconians are resourceful by nature, necessity having dictated their vocations toward boat building, farming, sail making and crawfishing. We may start to sound like a frozen CD, but meeting the people of Abaco is one of the highlights. Their forebearers date back to 1783 when Loyalists and slaves arrived after being forced out of the Carolinas and other colonies at the conclusion of the American revolution.

The tranquil local atmosphere is a great tonic for any business or other problems you may have left back home. This sense of well-being often seeps into visitors a day or two after arrival without any awareness. All of a sudden you just feel more relaxed, more at peace. Eating the local food helps, as it focuses on fare from the sea, and is prepared in a variety of spicy recipes.

When you look around you see people going about their daily lives with a simple sense of purpose. There is little unemployment on Abaco. This admirable work ethic has brought considerable prosperity to the island, most notably due to tourism. High quality service is the key to success in the tourism industry, and Abaconians excel in reliable friendly service. If you have questions, it’s easy to find someone with the answers. It’s also nice to realize that people here have not become jaded by tourism, as have people in other countries with tourist economies. This is a place where you can feel safe in an uncrowded environment, yet still have access to whatever level of accommodations and services you desire.

While there are good qualities about Abaco from head-to-toe, we have to confess to a special feeling for Treasure Cay, and its offshore neighbors, Green Turtle, Great Guana, Man-O-War, and Elbow Cays. Great fishing opportunities combined with wonderful accommodations, plenty of activities and mind-melting serenity make this area unique in all The Bahamas.

Sailing, boating, diving, snorkeling, fishing and other water-related activities are undoubtedly the focus of most visitors. An activity we highly recommend is exploring the offshore cays, finding your own deserted beach, and spreading out a great picnic on the pristine sand. Then, if you have a fly rod, wander over to a secluded cove and catch a few tailing bonefish.

Eco-tourism is booming. Hiking and biking is popular through natural areas ripe with bird and plant life. Sea kayaking through a number of protected areas provides a rewarding sense of adventure. More conventional activities include golf, tennis, and beach volleyball. And if you don’t feel like doing anything, that’s a highly rated activity too.

The commercial hub of Abaco, and third largest town in The Bahamas, is Marsh Harbour. The town offers a full array of services to visitors, including one of the best medical clinics in the islands.

Convenient commercial air service to Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay airports, from Florida or from Nassau, make Abaco an easy destination to reach. American Eagle flies daily to Marsh Harbor from Miami. Bahamasair flies daily from Nassau to both airports. Air Sunshine and Island Express fly to both airports from Ft. Lauderdale. Continental/Gulfstream flies to both airports from various Florida airports.

We also use several air charter services from Florida and Nassau for families or fishing parties who prefer this extra convenience. If you want to take the casual approach, scheduled mailboats from Nassau visit ports up and down the island on a weekly basis. Ferry service from Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay to the offshore cays is very good, or you can choose to rent your own boat.

Most ferry boats are covered, so you stay dry even in rough weather crossings, but we still like to be prepared for bad weather. We always take rain jackets with hoods on the ferry boats just in case, and we wear either sandals with good support, or tennis shoes because the gunwales of the ferries and the docks are usually slippery. Good traction soles are a must.

Treasure Cay is one of our favorite places in The Bahamas, both as a base for fishing, and for just chillin’, Mon. The large marina offers full services to boats of all sizes, and you can be sure to see some eye-popping yachts here any time of the year. Boaters have access to all the marina facilities including the swimming pool, bar, Spinnaker’s restaurant, and a complete dive shop.

Condos and villas ring the marina and spread into the gardens that include clay and hard-surface tennis courts. A huge grass park in the center of the resort is ringed by a Little Switzerland gift shop, Florence’s Cafe, a laundromat, golf cart and bike rental shops, a small market, plus a larger grocery and liquor store.

Just across the main road is 3-Mile Beach, often rated among the top ten beaches in the world. Erosion has washed away a lot of the sand, but this beach is still dazzling. The Banyon Beach Club, a nice condo complex, is located here, along with a number of houses available for rental. The Banyon Beach Bonefishing Club is one of the better bonefishing operations in The Bahamas, and is ideally suited to accommodate anglers traveling with non-angling companions. More rental houses are available farther along the road, including the Treasure Houses, and all the way out to Windward Road, which faces Green Turtle, Whale, and Great Guana Cays.

An 18-hole Dick Wilson golf course rounds out the resort’s amenities. At the far southeastern end of the golf course are bonefish flats that produce good fishing for the first few hours of the incoming tide.

Treasure Cay Resort & Marina has bonefish guides and offshore boats available. One of the Resort’s bonefish guides is Orthenell Russel, the “Bonefish King.” Orthenell is a character, one of the old-time guides with plenty of stories to keep you entertained. The offshore boats fish the reefs for jacks, barracuda, cubera snapper and mackerel, and fish the blue water for marlin, sailfish, tuna and dorado. Most of this fishing is with conventional gear, slinging plugs and spoons over the reefs and using trolling lures in blue water.

The people we know who cruise in this area drag some kind of lure or bait behind their boats most of the time. They catch a variety of fish throughout the day, and usually keep enough for dinner.

While Treasure Cay is a great base, Green Turtle and Great Guana Cays are just as good if you want a more remote location. Green Turtle Cay is three miles long and about a mile-and-a-half wide. The irregular coastline consists of spectacular beaches, a number of deep bays that provide protected anchorages, plus shallower bays and sounds. Growing pineapples, salvaging wrecked ships, and fishing have supported the locals over the years, but tourism leads the economy today.

New Plymouth, located near the southern end of the cay, is a picture book New England style settlement, with a main cement dock that is used by the weekly mailboat and the commercial water taxis. Lowe’s water taxi service makes the two mile run from Abaco on a continuous basis throughout the day. People coming from Treasure Cay can be dropped off for a couple of hours to look around New Plymouth, take the next ferry over to the Green Turtle Cay Club for lunch or a walk, then take another ferry back to Abaco later in the day.

New Plymouth is a port of entry with full services for boaters, vacationers, and day visitors and includes a marine hardware store, grocery and liquor stores, a post office, a bank open two days a week, and Batelco telephone and fax services. A two-hour stroll through the narrow maze of clean streets will take you to many interesting shops and a stop at the Albert Lowe Museum, located in a one-hundred-fifty-year-old house. The restored museum displays Alton Lowe’s paintings, plus model ships and an amazing collection of photographs depicting the history of Abaco. At the end of your walk there are several restaurants and bars you can choose from for a snack, rum drink or a Kalik.

We prefer to get back on the ferry and head over to the Green Turtle Cay Club. Black Sound is on your right as you cruise north toward the Club. Two marinas and additional services for boaters are located here, including boat storage facilities.

Green Turtle Cay Club is at the northern end of White Sound, which is cut in two by a strip of land that separates the deeper water from a large shallow back bay lined with mangroves. The club has an atmosphere of casual old-style elegance, with dock space for 35 boats, villa and suite accommodations, a swimming pool, beach, two bars and an excellent restaurant.

While any beach-loving vacationers would be happy here, so would anglers. A short walk up over a moderate hill will bring you to Coco Bay. You can have at least two good hours of bonefishing here most days. The bottom structure is a combination of sand and grass, and wading is easy in most parts of the bay. It is a little more difficult, but anglers can also walk to Bluff Harbour Bay and catch bonefish cruising the shorelines on the incoming tide. Bonefish will also lay up in certain areas here during the high tide.

Across the Sound, perched on top of an eighty-foot high hill is the Bluff House, a hotel with deluxe villa and room accommodations. The views are spectacular from the restaurant, which is one of our favorite places for dinner. You will need reservations during the season.

South of Green Turtle are several private cays, Whale Cay and then Great Guana Cay. In good weather this is a fun area for recreational boating and reef fishing, though the Whale Cay Passage can be dangerous due to strong cross-currents that can create unpredictable waves. All boaters should familiarize themselves with the potential problems before cruising here.

Great Guana Cay is one of the most beautiful little islands anywhere. The small settlement is like something you would imagine in a South Seas dream; coconut palms, Casuarinas, turquoise water, a crescent beach and welcoming locals. The Great Guana Beach Resort & Marina has its own dock adjacent to the government dock, with about twenty boat slips and a dinghy tie-up area for visitors. This is another of our favorite lunch spots on days we go cay hopping. Daily ferry service is available from Marsh Harbor, and the mailboat calls weekly.

Guana Seaside Village is a newer resort, small and intimate, built in 1996. If you’re looking for a romantic getaway, you can’t beat this location. The windward side beaches run for seven miles, the length of the cay, so you can find a spot all to yourself any time of the year. In places rocky sections of the reef run in to the beach, forming pools and drop-offs. On calm days you can fly fish these areas for small jacks, snappers and grouper.

There are also a couple of leeward bays that offer excellent fishing for tailing bonefish. Bonefish and reef guides are available through both Great Guana resorts, or you can take the ferry across to Abaco and meet O’Donald Macintosh for a day of guided fishing in The Marls.

Accomadation
Treasure Cay Resort & Marina - Treasure Cay
This is a top choice for an all-round family or couples vacation. Accommodations range from marina-view rooms and suites, to villas and townhouses on one of the most beautiful white sand beaches in The Bahamas. Amenities include a swimming pool, restaurant, two bars, golf cart and boat rentals, golf, tennis, diving and snorkeling excursions. Bonefishing guides and offshore charters can be arranged.

Season: October through July.
Suitable for: Anglers and non-anglers.
Optional Activities: Diving through the certified marina dive shop, snorkeling, an array of beach/water sports, golf, tennis, and excursions to the offshore cays.
What’s Included: Deluxe accommodations, guided fishing, meals and Bahamian taxes can be included in one package. Trips of any length are available.
Not Included: Air fare to/from Treasure Cay, optional gratuities, alcoholic beverages, and any optional activities not in your package.
Pricing: On application.
Contact: Reservations and information - 800.327.1584. Fax - 954.525.1699
Email: info@treasurecay.com
Internet:
www.treasurecay.com

For more great information on fly fishing The Bahamas see:
Mini guide to fly fishing The Bahamas - Andros Island Mini guide to fly fishing The Bahamas - Eleuthera, Spanish Wells & Harbour Island Mini guide to fly fishing The Bahamas - Long Island

Stephen and Kim Vletas co-founded the famous Westbank Anglers in 1986 in Jackson, Wyoming and have since also opened stores in Dallas and Charlotte. They believe the only way to write successful travel books is to visit and study each location personally, so, for six to eight weeks every year they travel to The Bahamas to gain the intimate knowledge of fisheries, guides, and all the important details of island life that abound in their books. Check out their website at www.bahamasflyfishingguide.com .