So what do I and many other fishermen do when we have some time off…..Go fishing of course!

Fishing and diving in the Bahamas as a child was always the source of my fondest memories, and ever since I venture off Florida’s east coast to my favorite place in the world as often as possible.  The Abaco’s are by far my favorite islands in the Bahamas, and I get there as much as possible.  Being  150+ miles from Florida makes the Abaco’s a bit out of reach for a long weekend trip, but if you have a week or more to get away and want to experience some of the most amazing fishing and diving  the Bahamas has to offer then the Abaco’s chain should be on your short list.  My favorite place to stay is at the Elephant Beach House on Guana Cay which is pretty centrally located and just a short walk down the beach to the world Famous Nippers Bar and Grill.  You can learn more about the amazing elephant beach house at ElephantBeach.com

Bimini is probably my second favorite island to fish and stay on.  Islands in the stream as Hemingway used to call them are exactly what they are.  Located approximately 50 miles of Florida’s coast makes them easily accessible for long weekend trips.  I’ve been taking my own boat over there for over 10 years now and am always up for a Bimini run, especially in Wahoo season.

Last month Captain Steve Brownlee and a few other fishy friends and I loaded up the Andros for a short 4 day trip to Bimini.  Although June is not a prime fishing month for pelagics like wahoo, the prospect of a few days of bottom fishing and enjoying island time was all incentive we need.   Bimini has several great places to stay, but Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina is always my place of choice.  Big Game Club has an awesome marina and is centrally located in Alice town on North Bimini.

The guys and I left out of Ft. Lauderdale Thursday morning and were through customs and having an early lunch at big game club before 11 am.  After we filled our bellies with conch and lobster we headed out to find some tasty fish to catch.  Over the next we days we caught various grouper, hind, mutton snapper, amberjack, barracuda, sharks, triggerfish and a few other tasty species.  We fished hard and had more fun than we deserved over the next few days until it was time to go back to reality.  We were home in time for a fish fry Sunday night where we began to plan our next trip.  July sounds like the next best month for a trip to the islands in the stream or maybe well take some real time off and head to the Abacos for some epic fishing, because after all, that’s what fishing guides do with their time off!

Captain Matt can be reached at 813-205-2327, online at www.FishingGuideTampa.com, on twitter at @captainmatts or at Facebook.com/Fishwithcaptainmatt