Now, I’m not at the point in my life where $4,000 fishing trips are within reach. If, however, I were in that position, I can tell you where else I’d be… South Andros from Dec. 5th to the 12th for a week at Deneki Outdoors‘ lodge along with some of the good folks from the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. BTT does this every so often and it just seems like a pretty amazing experience, if, ya know, you like bonefish. $1,000 from the cost of the trip will go to help BTT on their planned study of the economic value of the Bahamian Bonefish. This is the sort of study that has been done in Florida that put the $75,000 value on each bonefish in the FL fishery. Kind of important and valuable information that can drive all sorts of conservation/land use decisions.
As an example of how that plays out, Deneki Outdoors’ website shared this:
Impact:
Quantifying the economic importance of the recreational bonefish fishery should provide leverage for improving conservation measures toward protecting healthy bonefish populations in The Bahamas. In Belize, for example, a similar study found that the ecotourism-related expenditures for recreational fishing for bonefish, tarpon, and permit exceeded $50 million per year. Based on this study the Belize Legislature passed legislation making bonefish, tarpon, and permit catch and release gamefish. We anticipate that the economic value in The Bahamas to be much greater, and to spur strong conservation measures.
Joining from BTT will be the captain, Aaron Adams (this guy co-wrote Chico Fernandez’s book on flyfishing for bonefish), and Stu Apte.
You do all the normal bonefishing you’d normally do, but you also get to hear about bonefish from a couple guys that have forgotten as much as the rest of us will probably ever know about the phantoms of the flats.
To review… catch bonefish in South Andros, help support the fishery as too few have and learn more about the fish from two anglers who have an incredible depth and breadth of bonefish knowledge.
