island news
GREAT INAGUA
Now is the time to begin the booking process for Fall/Winter 2025!
If you want to secure the best dates in prime time for fly fishing, booking in advance is the only way. We consider March through May as the prime months for bonefishing, with December through February good winter fishing, especially for big bones. Those double digit monster bonefish love the cooler water. And if your focus is tarpon along with the bones and the occasional permit, June is a great choice.
Inagua is the third largest and most southerly island in the Bahamas chain. It lies 350 miles away from the casinos and hubub of Nassau. On a clear calm day the mountains of Cuba can be seen to the west across the old Bahama channel. Inagua's climate of sparse rainfall and consistent trade winds create rich salt pans from which Morton Salt harvests over a million tons a year. For many years, avid birdwatchers made up the majority of tourists that visited this remote island. Anxious to see cranes, herons, rare Bahamian parrots, burrowing owls, terns and stunning tropic birds, these ornithologists knew that the island's briny interior was a perfect habitat for an amazing array of birds. Perhaps the most dramatic avian visitors are the 60,000 scarlet pink West Indian flamingos that come to Inagua to feed on the brine shrimp, mollusks and water snails that make mature birds so brilliantly beautiful. In 1959, these ornithologists farsightedly established, through an act of parliament, the Bahamas National Trust. Four years later, the trust established the Inagua National Park taking charge of over 287 square miles which covers not quite half the island.
In the years that followed, a few of the park's visitors were also anglers. They were surprised and delighted to find good numbers of flightless characters weaving their way among the mangroves. They ultimately returned to pursue the tarpon, snook, bonefish and permit they had spotted. They caught their fish and kept quiet about their secret spot. Many returned year after year enjoying what may be the most unique fishery in all the Bahamas.
The island's interior lake, Lake Windsor, or the "pond" as the locals call it, is a vast maze of mangrove wetlands some 8 miles wide by 20 miles long. Open lagoons are connected by secret tunnels where anglers stoop under cathedral-like arches as the branches of red mangroves claw at the sides of the skiff. A good guide not only knows where to find fish but how to get home, making his services essential for both angling success and safety.
The tarpon here run 5-60 lbs. while larger fish sighted. All the tarpon fishing is done by sight in very shallow water. Landing fish here can be difficult, but the takes and fights are chaotic as the tarpon "go airborne" when hooked in these shallow waters. Good populations of permit prowl the mangrove edges and snook secretively lurk barely visible under the leafy green fringe. Bonefish schools are found on these interior flats, but they are not the primary quarry here. Bonefish are better pursued on the north and south perimeter of the island. In fact, there is a beautiful white sand bonefish flat within walking distance of picturesque Mathew Town near the lighthouse built in 1870...a perfect spot for after hours fishing.
If we have any trepidation about Inagua's fantastic fishery, it concerns the number of quality guides available and the extent of the habitat. We feel that although the fishery is resilient, it cannot handle too much pressure. It is for this reason that we believe 6 to 8 anglers would be maximum at one time.
The Guide, the Man on the island in terms of guiding is Ezzard Cartwright. He can be called directly at 242-339-1362 and he takes care of everything including housing, meals and transportation. Adjacent to his home are two duplex style cottages that he owns and rents out to visiting fishermen. Each apartment has 2 bedrooms, a full kitchen and a combination living/dining room complete with a satellite TV. An outside barbecue area provides a dramatic place for an evening cocktail and comes fully equipped with a spectacular sunset scheduled for your pleasure each day at dusk. Breakfasts are made by each angler from the kitchen stocked according to pre-trip wishes. Lunches are taken in between casts. Dinners are catered and include fish, chicken, conch chowder and chops. Freshly baked pies and cakes are brought in for dessert
Ezzard is often booked well in advance so we recommend calling him as far in advance as possible. Remember that the island is super remote in terms of any services and infrastructure, so you need some help, even for DIY, either from Ezzard, Henry Nixon, or the people at Outback Lodge.
Ezzard runs a well-established program. He meets you at the cottage in the morning and drives you from 30 -60 minutes to one of his usual spots. He works out of an aluminum John boat with a Yamaha 40 hp outboard. he casting decks are large with no obstructions to catch lines. Decks and floors are carpeted to mute sounds. Ezzard trailer sto the "pond" and also to the north and south exterior bonefish flats. These exterior flats hold bonefish that typically average 4-8 lbs. and each year Inagua serves up a 30+ inch bonefish to some lucky angler.
One more word of caution, because Inagua is somewhat difficult to reach and because the island requires a certain flexibility of attitude, we recommend Inagua to experienced and hearty anglers only. But for those anglers, we heartily suggest Inagua!
DETAILS
Bird tours and Tarpon fishing: Call Inagua National Park wardens Henry Nixon and Casper Nixon, (242) 225-0878 and (242) 339-2125, for tours to see the flamingos in the park. Visitors are not allowed in the park without a warden.
Great Inagua Outback Lodge
For anglers who want an exciting, off-the-beaten-path DIY adventure, Great Inagua fits the bill!
Great Inagua is home to the Inagua National Park, which is a one hour drive from Matthew Town and covers 183,740 acres of the island. Birdlife dominates the park and the flamingo, the national bird of the Bahamas, is the star attraction. Inagua National park is the site of the largest breeding colony of west Indian Flamingos in the world. Today, the population numbers approximately 60,000 after having made a 40 year journey back from the edge of extinction. Other bird life includes Tri-colored Herons, Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Brown Pelicans, White Cheeked Pintails, West Indian Whistling Ducks & Burowing Owls. Henry Nixon is the Park's warden, and can give guests a tour of Lake Windsor's tarpon hot spots, or take them birding!
For DIY anglers, Great Inagua offers a true wilderness fishing experience. Remote oceanside flats and creeks, as well as the interior lakes and their maze of channels and lagoons, offer anglers outstanding opportunities for bonefish, tarpon, snook, jacks, barracuda and more species. Above average sized bonefish are the norm here, and the tarpon fishing, with fish running from 5-50 lbs, can be outstanding!
Inagua Outback lodge is the result of the hard work and vision of Inaguan Henry Hugh. Henry's dream after he retired from Batelco (the phone company of the Bahamas) was to relax in his own quiet island paradise, far from the daily routine of the island's only settlement, Matthewtown. The lodge, which can accommodate up to 6 anglers in two cottages, is located along a remote section of beach, more than 15 miles from Matthewtown, but within walking distance to good beach and flats fishing. You will be amazed at the celestial display on a clear night--no city lights to detract from the magnificence!
Inagua Outback Lodge is powered by the sun & wind, with a diesel generator for those who prefer air conditioning. The comfortable cottages have full bathrooms, nice beds with clean, fresh bedding, and fans for those who prefer to go without a/c. Water is supplied by a 1500 gallon cistern. The lodge also has wi-fi, satellite tv, free international calling and even cell phone coverage!
Your stay includes a well maintained truck with good 4 x 4 off-road tires. Meals are taken in the newly-built dining room next door as you listen to the waves lap along the beach. An American breakfast is served in the mornings, a sandwich lunch is packed and taken along for the day of exploring, and a delicious Bahamian dinner is served at the lodge at the end of the day. Ask your host Henry to prepare his delicious conch salad--with conch caught right in front of the lodge that day!
If you have at least four anglers in your group, the lodge is all yours for the week!
For bookings and more information contact Vince Tobia at Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters
Now is the time to begin the booking process for Fall/Winter 2025!
If you want to secure the best dates in prime time for fly fishing, booking in advance is the only way. We consider March through May as the prime months for bonefishing, with December through February good winter fishing, especially for big bones. Those double digit monster bonefish love the cooler water. And if your focus is tarpon along with the bones and the occasional permit, June is a great choice.
Inagua is the third largest and most southerly island in the Bahamas chain. It lies 350 miles away from the casinos and hubub of Nassau. On a clear calm day the mountains of Cuba can be seen to the west across the old Bahama channel. Inagua's climate of sparse rainfall and consistent trade winds create rich salt pans from which Morton Salt harvests over a million tons a year. For many years, avid birdwatchers made up the majority of tourists that visited this remote island. Anxious to see cranes, herons, rare Bahamian parrots, burrowing owls, terns and stunning tropic birds, these ornithologists knew that the island's briny interior was a perfect habitat for an amazing array of birds. Perhaps the most dramatic avian visitors are the 60,000 scarlet pink West Indian flamingos that come to Inagua to feed on the brine shrimp, mollusks and water snails that make mature birds so brilliantly beautiful. In 1959, these ornithologists farsightedly established, through an act of parliament, the Bahamas National Trust. Four years later, the trust established the Inagua National Park taking charge of over 287 square miles which covers not quite half the island.
In the years that followed, a few of the park's visitors were also anglers. They were surprised and delighted to find good numbers of flightless characters weaving their way among the mangroves. They ultimately returned to pursue the tarpon, snook, bonefish and permit they had spotted. They caught their fish and kept quiet about their secret spot. Many returned year after year enjoying what may be the most unique fishery in all the Bahamas.
The island's interior lake, Lake Windsor, or the "pond" as the locals call it, is a vast maze of mangrove wetlands some 8 miles wide by 20 miles long. Open lagoons are connected by secret tunnels where anglers stoop under cathedral-like arches as the branches of red mangroves claw at the sides of the skiff. A good guide not only knows where to find fish but how to get home, making his services essential for both angling success and safety.
The tarpon here run 5-60 lbs. while larger fish sighted. All the tarpon fishing is done by sight in very shallow water. Landing fish here can be difficult, but the takes and fights are chaotic as the tarpon "go airborne" when hooked in these shallow waters. Good populations of permit prowl the mangrove edges and snook secretively lurk barely visible under the leafy green fringe. Bonefish schools are found on these interior flats, but they are not the primary quarry here. Bonefish are better pursued on the north and south perimeter of the island. In fact, there is a beautiful white sand bonefish flat within walking distance of picturesque Mathew Town near the lighthouse built in 1870...a perfect spot for after hours fishing.
If we have any trepidation about Inagua's fantastic fishery, it concerns the number of quality guides available and the extent of the habitat. We feel that although the fishery is resilient, it cannot handle too much pressure. It is for this reason that we believe 6 to 8 anglers would be maximum at one time.
The Guide, the Man on the island in terms of guiding is Ezzard Cartwright. He can be called directly at 242-339-1362 and he takes care of everything including housing, meals and transportation. Adjacent to his home are two duplex style cottages that he owns and rents out to visiting fishermen. Each apartment has 2 bedrooms, a full kitchen and a combination living/dining room complete with a satellite TV. An outside barbecue area provides a dramatic place for an evening cocktail and comes fully equipped with a spectacular sunset scheduled for your pleasure each day at dusk. Breakfasts are made by each angler from the kitchen stocked according to pre-trip wishes. Lunches are taken in between casts. Dinners are catered and include fish, chicken, conch chowder and chops. Freshly baked pies and cakes are brought in for dessert
Ezzard is often booked well in advance so we recommend calling him as far in advance as possible. Remember that the island is super remote in terms of any services and infrastructure, so you need some help, even for DIY, either from Ezzard, Henry Nixon, or the people at Outback Lodge.
Ezzard runs a well-established program. He meets you at the cottage in the morning and drives you from 30 -60 minutes to one of his usual spots. He works out of an aluminum John boat with a Yamaha 40 hp outboard. he casting decks are large with no obstructions to catch lines. Decks and floors are carpeted to mute sounds. Ezzard trailer sto the "pond" and also to the north and south exterior bonefish flats. These exterior flats hold bonefish that typically average 4-8 lbs. and each year Inagua serves up a 30+ inch bonefish to some lucky angler.
One more word of caution, because Inagua is somewhat difficult to reach and because the island requires a certain flexibility of attitude, we recommend Inagua to experienced and hearty anglers only. But for those anglers, we heartily suggest Inagua!
DETAILS
Bird tours and Tarpon fishing: Call Inagua National Park wardens Henry Nixon and Casper Nixon, (242) 225-0878 and (242) 339-2125, for tours to see the flamingos in the park. Visitors are not allowed in the park without a warden.
Great Inagua Outback Lodge
For anglers who want an exciting, off-the-beaten-path DIY adventure, Great Inagua fits the bill!
Great Inagua is home to the Inagua National Park, which is a one hour drive from Matthew Town and covers 183,740 acres of the island. Birdlife dominates the park and the flamingo, the national bird of the Bahamas, is the star attraction. Inagua National park is the site of the largest breeding colony of west Indian Flamingos in the world. Today, the population numbers approximately 60,000 after having made a 40 year journey back from the edge of extinction. Other bird life includes Tri-colored Herons, Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Brown Pelicans, White Cheeked Pintails, West Indian Whistling Ducks & Burowing Owls. Henry Nixon is the Park's warden, and can give guests a tour of Lake Windsor's tarpon hot spots, or take them birding!
For DIY anglers, Great Inagua offers a true wilderness fishing experience. Remote oceanside flats and creeks, as well as the interior lakes and their maze of channels and lagoons, offer anglers outstanding opportunities for bonefish, tarpon, snook, jacks, barracuda and more species. Above average sized bonefish are the norm here, and the tarpon fishing, with fish running from 5-50 lbs, can be outstanding!
Inagua Outback lodge is the result of the hard work and vision of Inaguan Henry Hugh. Henry's dream after he retired from Batelco (the phone company of the Bahamas) was to relax in his own quiet island paradise, far from the daily routine of the island's only settlement, Matthewtown. The lodge, which can accommodate up to 6 anglers in two cottages, is located along a remote section of beach, more than 15 miles from Matthewtown, but within walking distance to good beach and flats fishing. You will be amazed at the celestial display on a clear night--no city lights to detract from the magnificence!
Inagua Outback Lodge is powered by the sun & wind, with a diesel generator for those who prefer air conditioning. The comfortable cottages have full bathrooms, nice beds with clean, fresh bedding, and fans for those who prefer to go without a/c. Water is supplied by a 1500 gallon cistern. The lodge also has wi-fi, satellite tv, free international calling and even cell phone coverage!
Your stay includes a well maintained truck with good 4 x 4 off-road tires. Meals are taken in the newly-built dining room next door as you listen to the waves lap along the beach. An American breakfast is served in the mornings, a sandwich lunch is packed and taken along for the day of exploring, and a delicious Bahamian dinner is served at the lodge at the end of the day. Ask your host Henry to prepare his delicious conch salad--with conch caught right in front of the lodge that day!
If you have at least four anglers in your group, the lodge is all yours for the week!
For bookings and more information contact Vince Tobia at Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters