Fishing guides › Antigua, Barbuda & Montserrat
FISHING GUIDE · ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
Antigua & Barbuda Fishing Guide
Antigua's sport fishing fleet trolls the deep water and offshore banks south of the island for blue and white marlin, sailfish, tuna, wahoo and mahi. Barbuda is quieter and is known for bonefish on the flats around Codrington Lagoon. Barbuda has its own strict rules, including no-fishing sanctuaries, a parrotfish ban and a special area permit.
📍 Antigua and Barbuda, northeastern Caribbean. Sport fishing boats and the main tournament work out of English Harbour (Antigua Yacht Club Marina and Nelson's Dockyard) on Antigua's south coast. Barbuda, the sister island to the north, has Codrington Lagoon and its flats.
Map: spots, ramps and marinas
★ Fishing hot spot · ● Boat ramp · ● Marina · ▭ Protected area (solid red = no fishing, dashed = fishing with rules)
Open the full Antigua, Barbuda & Montserrat map →
Quick facts
- The Antigua & Barbuda Sport Fishing Tournament is held in May; the 2018 event was the 52nd annual tournament.
- Tournament weigh-ins and nightly parties are held at Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour.
- Antigua's Fisheries Act says no one may hold a sport fishing tournament without written permission from the Chief Fisheries Officer.
- In 2014 the Barbuda Council set up coastal sanctuaries, no-net zones and anchoring zones under the Blue Halo project; five sanctuaries cover 33% of Barbuda's coastal area.
- Parrotfish fishing is totally banned in Barbuda, and fishing there needs a Barbuda special area permit.
What you can catch
- Blue marlin
Main billfish target; the May tournament has a marlin division. - White marlin
Caught offshore; a tournament target. - Sailfish
Offshore billfish target. - Yellowfin tuna
Trolled offshore; a tournament species. - Wahoo
Common offshore catch. - Mahi-mahi (dolphin)
Common offshore catch. - Bonefish
Fished on the flats around Codrington Lagoon, Barbuda, with a guide. - Snapper, grouper and barracuda
Reef fishing on the calmer west side of Antigua.
Month by month
| January | Offshore trolling for sailfish, white marlin and tuna; good bonefish months on Barbuda. |
|---|---|
| February | Offshore trolling; Barbuda bonefish season good. |
| March | Offshore trolling; mahi start to show. |
| April | Offshore trolling; tuna and mahi. |
| May | Antigua & Barbuda Sport Fishing Tournament (English Harbour). Blue marlin season starting. |
| June | Blue marlin, tuna and mahi offshore. Hurricane season begins Jun 1. |
| July | Blue marlin and mahi; hurricane season, watch the weather. |
| August | Hurricane season; fish on good weather days. |
| September | Hurricane season; fish on good weather days. |
| October | Wahoo season starts. |
| November | Wahoo; Barbuda bonefish season picks up. |
| December | Wahoo; sailfish and white marlin start to build. |
Tips
- If you bring your own boat from abroad, it needs a foreign sports fishing licence from the Chief Fisheries Officer before you fish.
- In Barbuda, get a special area permit before fishing, and do not keep any parrotfish.
- Watch for Barbuda's marker buoys: yellow with blue bands mark no-fishing sanctuaries, yellow with red bands mark no-net zones, yellow with green bands mark no-anchoring zones.
- Book Barbuda bonefishing with a local guide and get sanctuary maps from the Fisheries Division in Antigua or Barbuda.
- Seasons by species come from charter guides; ask your captain what is biting that week.
Rules and license
Fisheries Division, Antigua and Barbuda (Ministry responsible for Fisheries); Barbuda Council (Barbuda Fisheries, Codrington Lagoon National Park) · Official rules page ↗
- Foreign sports fishing vessels need a foreign fishing licence issued by the Chief Fisheries Officer (Fisheries Act 2006, s.27); fee: check current rules.
- Local charter boats hold their own licences; ask your captain to confirm.
- Sport fishing tournaments need written permission from the Chief Fisheries Officer (Fisheries Act 2006, s.38).
- Barbuda: a Barbuda special area permit is needed to fish (children under 16 may fish recreationally without one); fee: check current rules.
- Barbuda: parrotfish may not be taken, kept, sold or bought.
- Barbuda sanctuaries (Blue Halo, 2014): no fishing; no-net zones and anchoring-only zones are marked with buoys.
- Codrington Lagoon is a protected fish and lobster nursery; check current rules with the Barbuda Council before fishing it.
- Size and bag limits: check current rules with the Fisheries Division.
Rules change. Always check the official page before you fish.
Boat ramps and marinas
The map above shows 5 boat ramps and 0 marinas from OpenStreetMap. Tap any dot for directions.
- Boat ramp near Commissioners Bay
- Boat ramp near Deep Bay
- Boat ramp near Falmouth Harbour
Sources
- https://www.visitantiguabarbuda.com/events_festivals/annual-antigua-barbuda-sports-fishing-tournament
- https://southernboating.com/life/fishing/sport-fishing-tournaments
- https://www.marlinmag.com/antigua-barbuda-sport-fishing-tournament-2017/
- https://chm.cbd.int/api/v2013/documents/281423EA-20B3-97E7-6966-5B37894CDDDA/attachments/a2006-22%20Fisheries%20act.pdf
- https://www.caribjournal.com/2017/08/30/barbudas-marine-conservation-push/
- https://antiguaobserver.com/blue-halo-completes-demarcations-for-fishing-sanctuary/
- https://www.noonsite.com/report/barbuda-blue-halo-project-restrictions-for-yachts/
- https://virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/fishermen-fined-in-barbuda-for-catching-over-300-parrotfish
- https://www.fishingworldguide.com/en/blog/fishing-in-antigua-and-barbuda
Checked October 2026. BigJoe does not invent facts: every number on this page comes from the sources listed above.