Fishing Hot Spots

Lake guides for this map

Month-by-month patterns, fish, ramps and rules for each water:

All fishing guides →

Fishing Hot Spots by island group

Cays, reefs, banks and deep channels with good fishing water. Tap one to fly to it on the map.

Bonefish flats, blue holes and the Tongue of the Ocean

The Bahamas sit on shallow banks cut by some of the deepest water in the Atlantic. Bimini lies right on the edge of the Gulf Stream, so blue marlin, sailfish, wahoo and big tuna run close to shore, and the Northwest and Northeast Providence Channels and the Tongue of the Ocean drop to thousands of feet just off the reef. On the banks, the flats of Andros, the Berry Islands, Abaco, Long Island, Crooked Island and Acklins are world famous for bonefish, with permit and tarpon in the right places. Out on Cay Sal Bank and Hogsty Reef the reefs are remote and full of snappers and groupers. In the Turks & Caicos the wall drops off right next to Grand Turk, Salt Cay and West Caicos for wahoo and tuna, and the Caicos Bank flats hold bonefish.

Visiting boats need a Bahamas or TCI cruising permit and a fishing permit, and there are limits on catch and gear. The Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park and many other national parks, reserves and sanctuaries are no-take. They show in red on the map, and BigJoe does not put fishing spots in or next to them. Check the Department of Marine Resources (Bahamas) or DECR (Turks & Caicos) rules before you fish.