I have a friend heading to Grand Bahama for his honeymoon. He a guide here in CA, so he’s looking to get a day of fishing in and is shopping the indie guide scene.
He found one “Captain,” who I have it on good authority doesn’t himself guide and sends hapless Americans out with local lobstermen who have no idea how to guide on the flats for bonefish. He reached out to a lodge who offered a day rate and got a quote of $650.
Now… $650 sounds a bit high for me. I know guide days vary a lot from location to location and still the most expensive guide day I’ve heard of in the Caribbean is about $850 (Turks & Caicos), but this still seems about $100 too much to me.
I think we paid Sam Taylor either $500 or $550. When I first went with Captain Perry I think he was $450, but that was a few years ago.
What are you paying for a day of guiding (not a lodge day, just an indie guide) on which islands?
Dad and Sam on the flats of Grand Bahama
- If you liked the story above, check out these stories below
- Moldy Chum and Norman, the South Andros Guide (1.000)
- Interview with Tom Karrow (1.000)
- To Strip or Not to Strip (0.943)
$650 is the full day rate North Eleuthera and bring your own lunch. Limited areas to fish. Lots of pressure during vacation prime times.
October 2012 when we went to Abaco, the going rate was $450. to $500 a day.
Turks and Caicos is crazy expensive. I think Silver Deep is up to $950 per day. The guide I went with (Darin Bain – turksandcaicosbonefishing.com) charges $850 but if you book multiple days, he may give you a discount.
The fishing was good IMO but a shorter boat ride would be preferable. We hit a large flat off Middle Caicos which took over 45 minutes of fairly rough boating to get to.
Mangrove Cay in 2012 I had an experienced guide take me to the west side for $550. That’s a haul, and was still cheaper. Demand and the number of guides may greatly affect price on different islands
600.00 a day with Ansul Saunders in Bimini and I think that is the going rate in Bimini.
In Abaco the going rate is between $450-$550 for a independent guide that usually offers waters and the customers bring there own lunch and beers. The lodges are about a 1/3 more on average.