My buddies and I do a trip each year and due to family obligations, it looks like going forward it will need to be exlusively in January/February. Any suggestions on what the best option for a trip in Jan/Feb is for bones, tarpon, snook, etc? I'm trying to figure out weather wise what the most "stable" option is.
I would guess it depends on what you're willing to pay. In the Bahamas many of us visit Acklins every winter because it is so far west/south that it's out of harms way. Also because it is such a "pure" experience for a GREAT price. February has been good in my experience.
Los Roques is further south / closer to the Venezuela coast but I priced it and it was several times more expensive than Acklins.
Thanks Juro. I haven't been to the Bahamas so wasn't sure if they had the same weather issues that say Mexico and Belize have in Jan/Feb, i.e. strong winds.
We are going to Los Roques in Jan. That is the best bonefishing I've ever experienced. And the weather is perfect. Juro is correct, though. It is pricey. But you get what you pay for. 5 star dining and amaaaaaazing bonefishing. There's tarpon and permit there too.
Acklins is a great option to get away from the weather, but there's no guarantees. I went last year in Feb and got hit with 4 cold fronts and the fishing was terrible. The first 5 days nobody was catching anything. Thankfully it cleared up the last couple of days and the fishing was good. Like I said there's no guarantees, but if you're going to go to the tropics that time of year, you definitely want to be heading to Acklins or Crooked where the risk of the weather hitting you is much lessened. That trip ruined me for trying to get better prices and hit the islands earlier in the year. I'll stick with paying more and going later in the year now.
I've got many trips down to the bahamas under my belt at this point and there is definitely no guarantee on wind and weather-no matter which islands you hit. My 2 cents-southern Bahamas or Belize. On the bright side, there is always a lee somewhere and if the surface is all chopped up if you ever do find them they won't be all that skittish.
Lee mentioned a great option in Belize. There's also Los Roques and other places along the coast of Central America. Costa Rica might be a good place to try. I went there for the first time this year and it's a beautiful country with great fishing.
I went to Glover's Reef in February (years ago) and had awesome weather all week. It was a great place to learn how to bonefish. The snorkeling is amazing as well! I've fished Acklins in February and had a lot of wind on one trip and great weather one trip. In my opinion, there's not a lot of point in worrying about it; be flexible, have a good attitude, stock up on rum and beer and the rest will take care of itself.
Enjoy your trip wherever you go and take pictures for us!
The Bahamas are certainly an option in January, but you may hit a cold front, which can slow the fishing. (actually the catching!)
The farther south you go in the Bahamas, the better, but there are still no guarantees at that time of year.
Belize is an option, but you can get cold fronts there too.
Los Roques is much further south, and cold fronts are not a problem there to the best of my knowledge. However, any place can have cloudy weather anytime, which just makes the bones harder to see. In that case, concentrate on areas with very light colored bottoms. I like to walk beaches when it is very cloudy, because you can usually get closer to the fish making it easier to see them, and they are generally not very spooky along the beaches. Plus you usually encounter a host of other species along the beaches which you can target.
Seychelles would be good too! Or Christmas Island.
forgot to mention the reason the weather and bonefishing is so consistent in Los Roques:
its location is only 12 degrees north of the equator, thus the air and water temperatures vary little. The climate at Los Roques is dry and it rarely rains. The area is relatively unaffected by cold fronts and hurricanes.
Thanks guys. Appreciate all the great feedback. Think we have it narrowed down to Belize or the Bahamas. We leave for Panama in two weeks. Will post pics when I get back.
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