Experience world-class accommodations and exceptional service while fishing pristine Bahamas bonefish flats, diving the warm, azure Caribbean Sea, or relaxing on your villa’s private verandah. The remote north and northwest Andros Island flats and the fabled Joulter Cays can be explored with knowledgeable and personable Kamalame fishing guides. Staff naturalists will also take you snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking or sea-kayaking to reveal an unspoiled Andros Island. A freshwater swimming pool and a tennis court round out the on-site activities. We are able to offer you an all-inclusive, luxurious package at a price that reflects absolute quality. Discover the complete comfort of Kamalame.
The Fishing
Fish the abundant water close by the villa, venture to the fabled Joulter Cays just north of Andros, or even explore the untouched northwest side of Andros Island. Each day, you will meet your guide and boat (Maverick skiff with poling platform) at one of these fishing locations so that every angler will have an opportunity to access the different available areas. If you favor a more relaxed pace or if you just can’t stop fishing at the end of the day, wander onto Staniard Creek’s expansive flat out the backdoor of the Cay. Andros is well known for its large bonefish as our visits to the Joulters with Kamalame have confirmed. Fish averaging a solid 4 pounds to some in the 10-pound-plus class are encountered while even larger bones work the flats’ edges. There have been a few permit caught in the Joulters; however, these fish should be considered a bonus. It is a very impressive fishery.
Reef and light-tackle offshore fishing is offered in one of the lodge’s two 24-foot Pathfinder center console V-hull boats powered by 200-horsepower Yamaha motors. Seasonally, anglers can expect to target dorado, wahoo, king mackerel, tuna, grouper and marlin within sight of the lodge. Captains at Kamalame are well versed in both fly and conventional tackle.
Combine this exciting offshore action, Kamalame’s extraordinary facility, and the opportunity to be one of the lucky few to stalk Andros’ famed bonefish in rarely touched water, and you have all the makings for the trip-of-a-lifetime.
In today's world of ever-decreasing wilderness, it is truly exciting to discover a really exceptional fishing resource. For the avid bonefisherman, the St. Francois Lagoon, 292 miles southwest of Mahe -- capital island of the Seychelles -- has proven to be that rare gem. Frontiers has been arranging trips to the Seychelles since 1999 and experienced fishermen have been astounded by the numbers of bonefish and their high average weights. In addition to superb bonefishing, it is a great mixed fishery here with five species of trevally, three species of triggerfish and a host of other fly-taking fish to be caught. The record from Alphonse Island Resort is 42 different species caught on fly in one week!
And for those fly fishers who have been looking into the wishing well for something unique to satisfy their longing for the next greatest challenge, we introduce the milkfish. Also known in Seychelles as pati pati, milkfish can rip line off reels at about twice the rate of a large bonefish, they jump like a tarpon, and they demand techniques and presentations akin to fishing over selective trout. Milkfish are not carnivorous, rather the mainstay of their diet is algae, and for this reason they have been thought of as virtually uncatchable. Several guides at Alphonse Island Fishing Company have been experimenting for years in an attempt to unravel the milkfish puzzle, and although much is still to be learned they are now able to catch them with reasonable regularity.
The Fishing -
The Seychelles sit approximately 1000 miles off the coast of mainland Africa in the Indian Ocean. Alphonse Island is part of the Amirantes group of island and it is here that you access the St. Francois Lagoon. It is generally accepted that the St. Francois Lagoon has the best fishing in the Seychelles and arguably some of the best bonefishing anywhere in the world. Since Alphonse Island Resort opened in 2000, anglers have marveled at both the size and number of bonefish seen and caught during a day of fishing. One of the most unique things about this fishery is the way in which these bonefish travel. You will see singles, doubles, and small groups of fish in the 3-7 pound range feeding lazily over flats during the course of tide changes. It is a rare occasion when you actually cast to "schooling" fish, so you have the opportunity to select specific targets throughout the day! Even novice fishermen’s catch rates can be extraordinary while experienced anglers can expect to land more than a dozen fish per day -- often many more.
Anglers are ferried each day from Alphonse to the St. Francois lagoon (approximately 30 minutes) and then transported to the flats in skiffs. These same skiffs can be used to access a series of channels and cuts around coral heads to fish for giant trevally. Although these are considered a bonus species, fisherman are encouraged to take along some heavier tackle to try these bruisers on for size. Other fly-caught fish include three species of triggerfish as well as many other reef and flats species -- you'll have a variety all day long.
Putting Christmas Island to words is a bit like catching the proverbial moonbeam in a bottle -- it's difficult to do justice to the island's magnificent fishery and to capture the kaleidoscope of experiences. Christmas Island has become our single most popular year-round destination for bonefishing. Fishing is only part of this Pacific travel adventure. No matter what you've heard or read about Christmas Island, it remains a unique experience. It's still fresh and unpressured. If you like light-tackle action in a marvelous warm-weather climate, this is the place to find it -- plus, it's still a genuine value in today's fishing world. Attention divers: Christmas Island also boasts outstanding scuba diving.
The Fishing
Christmas Island offers what is perhaps the best bonefishing in the world, with vast numbers of fish - and some very big ones - on easily waded, clean, hard, white sand flats. Experienced flats fishers will often average 10 or 15 bones a day, with a 20-plus fish day possible anytime. And while most of these will average about 3-4 pounds, several could be in the 6- to 9-pound range. Trophy bones are always possible. We've had numerous reports of weighed and measured 10-14 pounders and even larger fish that have been spotted, hooked and lost.
More and more anglers are adding to the daily excitement with three different kinds of trevally - giant (to 100 pounds-plus), blue (to 15 pounds), and striped (to 20 pounds and more) - that are taken with fly, baitcasting or spinning tackle on the flats while bonefishing and also along the lagoon edges and in the surf. Trevally (a kind of jack) are awesomely strong fish that strike savagely at or near the surface. Some fly fishers are going with hopes of breaking IGFA line class records for these amazing fish.
If you are looking for an ideal place to break into offshore fishing or already enjoy catching tuna, wahoo and billfish, Christmas Island may be the place for you. Its remote location discourages most private and commercial boats from entering these fertile grounds. Sailfish and marlin are known to surround the island, often in great numbers, and have been caught while fishing from the boats outside the lagoon entrance. It is not unusual to raise several billfish at one time to the lures. These sailfish are the large Pacific variety and will average around 100 pounds. Blue marlin will test your stamina and angling skills.
Species variety is the attribute that best defines the saltwater flats fishing on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Boca Paila Lodge embodies this diversity perhaps better than any other lodge in the region. They have been catering to Frontiers’ clients for over 30 years. Many anglers have returned time after time for its warm ambience and prolific bonefish and permit.
Family owned and operated, Boca Paila is blessed with an idyllic tropical location. The lodge complex sits on a narrow stretch of land, with the Caribbean surf less than 50 yards to the east, and the expansive flats and lagoons 100 yards to the west. A quintessential white sand beach unfolds for a mile north and south, where guests can walk and never see another tourist -- let alone another hotel. As the lodge is in the middle of Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, there are no high-rise hotels within ten miles of this site.
The Fishing
A Frontiers exclusive, Boca Paila continues to be one of the best fisheries in the Caribbean with an average of forty grand slams each season (bonefish, permit and tarpon in one day) and over a dozen super grand slams (grand slam plus snook). Bonefish averaging 2-3 pounds are the most abundant game fish, but this part of the Yucatan may have the most reliable permit fishery in all of the Atlantic. Some fishermen come to the lodge to fish for permit (8-20 pounds) to the exclusion of all else. Juvenile tarpon in the 5-15 pound range are available year-round, and larger migratory tarpon in the 40-60 pound class are frequently seen in the summer and fall. Owing to the constant flow of fresh water into the lagoon that attracts the tarpon, snook are plentiful as well. The often overlooked "incidental" species of barracuda, jack crevalle, and snapper lurk in the background.
The Boca Paila guides have the longest average guide tenure (18 years) of any lodge in the flats fishing world. They are uniformly capable, and most are patient and can be excellent teachers. As the majority of the lagoon’s flats are too soft to allow wading, the preferred method of accessing the flats is via a 16-ft Dolphin flats skiff poled by your guide.
Los Roques is a bonefishing paradise and, in many respects, remains one of the best kept secrets in saltwater fishing. Often thought of as the "Christmas Island of the Caribbean" because of the predominance of wading and the good average-size fish, Los Roques is a world-class destination in its own right. This is varied and interesting fishing complemented by the prolific birdlife, good lodging, and an unforgettable tranquil island atmosphere.
The Fishing
There are over 350 cays and little islands that make up the archipelago known as Islas Los Roques. The Pez Raton fishing operation is owned by Alex Gonzalez who actually pioneered the fishing on Los Roques in the mid-80’s. The maximum run is 50 minutes but there are many productive flats within just a few minutes from the lodge. Each boat is driven by a boatman who drops off fishing pairs with their guide on various flats and meets them at the other end, thus eliminating wasted time backtracking across the flat just fished. The vast majority of the flats are waded, stalking schools, pods, or singles, and guides position you expertly with the wind to your maximum advantage. There is great variety to the flats at Los Roques -- some are vast and expansive, others small and referred to as pancakes; some are virtually spotless, others covered in turtle grass; there are many productive beach flats where the bonefish hang offshore and raid the ever-present schools of baitfish; sometimes you are in and amongst the mangroves and elsewhere you are on a patch of sand surrounded by nothing but azure water. Bonefish at Los Roques average 3-5 pounds and there is a realistic expectation for fish 7-10+ pounds all the time.
Although Los Roques is primarily a bonefish destination, you may encounter other species as well; be prepared with a second rod, fully rigged for cruising barracuda, tarpon (both small ones and the occasional big one -- up to 100 pounds!), jack, and Spanish mackerel. The tarpon is a delicate resource at Los Roques and should be considered a bonus, not an expectation.