Elbow Cay in Mid-April: What to bring???

[mabartle]

Just booked a house in Elbow and a 23' Albury Brothers for a week in mid-April. Trying to get a jump on my tackle planning for the trip, but I am having a hard time narrowing the list down. I have everything from ultra light inshore stuff to offshore standup stuff, but really need to travel with the bare minimum due to luggage weight restrictions. looking to do some trolling, some bottom fishing for snapper/grouper, and some sight fishing on the flats. and advice on what to bring (rods/reels & terminal tackle) and where to go is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Questsportfishing]

2/0 & 5/0 light wire MUTU circle hooks for snapper and grouper, some 084 7/0 eagle claw hooks for dolphin, some 1 & 2 hooks for bonefish, jigs, flys, 10 lb gear for bone fish, 20 to 50lb stuff for chunking dolphin, snapper and groupers . a couple good feathers for blackfin tunas.. great time of the year to go! have fun.

[54bullwinkle]

Fishing is good in April, but can still be a little sporty, especially in a 23 footer. Only venture out if you have really calm seas. No Sea Tow or Coast Guard and you wont have a whole fleet out there to help you out if you have trouble.

If you get good weather, the Dolphin usually pretty thick and big ones too. Shouldnt have to run too far to find them. Good shot at a Marlin then too. four 30 - 50 lb outfits should cover you offshore. Few mid size spinning outfits with braid backing will cover you inshore, bring different spools of mono to change your topshot.

[reel fishy]

30s would be fine for the offshore stuff. They can also double for bottom fishing gear. Those rental Alburys don't have HD rod holders so watch your strike drag. Some big lipped plugs like Yo-Zuri Deep Divers or Stretch 30s are a must for grouper trolling. Inshore a couple 8lb and 10lb rods plus a bigger 20lb rod for snapper. If you have a submersible light (like hydro-glow) bring that and try some night fishing. Plenty of mangrove, muttons and cubera to be found at night around the numerous reefs and rocks inside the Sea of Abaco. Plenty of good looking inshore water, hardest thing is to choose where to start. The farther you get away from Marsh Harbor the better the bonefishing gets. Bring some chum, sardines and ballys if you want quality bait. Running the boat I captain to Sea Spray Marina last week in April for the month of May. Last May water was a little chilly but the mahi bite was wide open. We also caught quite a few whites and sails. Only 2 blues the whole month for us but others caught more. Good luck, Elbow is a beautiful place.

[mabartle]

Sounds great. Can someone give me some more info on the yellowtail/mutton/grouper fishing in the Sea of Abaco. This is probably what we will be doing the most. How do I rig up for this type of fishing? What do I look for to find a good spot? Do i just pick a random coral head and anchor up current and let the chum drift back?

Chumming was mentioned in another thread. For traveling uprposes, does the dry chum seem to work (something like this: www.drychum.com)? Or...am I better off dry chumming off the dock at our house and throwing the cast net over whatever shows up and chopping that up for chum? Thanks again!

[GTFiji]

Our family is also planning trip to Elbow in mid-April. We are renting a 22' cat with twins and hoping to troll outside a bit if we get really lucky and the weather allows for it. I am considering hooking up with a another boat or hiring a guide to come out with us in our rental if we do go outside. From what I have found it sounds like we are going at a good time of year with endless fishing possiblities. There will be three of us fishing. I am taking our freshwater outfits spooled with 10lb test for the shallows and inshore reefs. I am taking a med 7' spinning outfit with 17' test. I then want to take or rent 2 or 3 7' rods with some backbone and spinning reels spooled with 25lb plus. I will use these to troll the outer reef and troll offshore if we get that far! I have yet to find a place that I am comfortable renting rods from so we will probably take everything. My concern is checking a 7' rod holder on domestic airlines and BahamasAir. Any advice on this would be appreciated!

I am taking jigs, deep diving plugs, some soft baits, a few top water lures, trolling feathers and a big assortment of hooks (2, 2/0 & 5/0) to use with cut and frozen bait. I also thought bringing some dry chum would be a good idea. I am going to buy it ahaed of time and take it with me. I cannot get chum blocks on Elbow Cay and I figure why not try the dry stuff!

[reel fishy]

Island Boy Tackle in Marsh Harbour. 242-367-3228 or 242-357-6670. Out of the gate at Abaco Beach Resort, cross the street, make a right and look for Jamie's Place on your left. It's upstairs from there. Call before your trip and see if they are stocking chum.

Also Hope Town Lighthouse Marina has a small tackle selection. Call them at 242-366-0154 and see if they have chum and frozen bait.