Acklins Island, The Bahamas
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On The Fly Saltwater
May 2026
Article and photos by Jimmy Jacobs.
One of the most appealing parts of heading to The Islands of the Bahamas is targeting bonefish. But what makes it even better is the vast array of options available for getting out of the boat and wade fishing. The often, pure white sand flats offer fantastic scenic panoramas, along with the ability to more easily spot the “gray ghosts” of the flats.
An Acklins Island bonefish.
Add all that to being in a location where you are extremely unlikely to be sharing the angling with other fly casters and you have an idea of what the action is like on Acklins Island. Positioned 280 miles to the south of the capital in Nassau, this isle is off the beaten path. And, when you visit Salina Point Bonefish Lodge at the southern end of Acklins, you have truly left the crowds far behind.
Rev. Felton Rolle is the proprietor and can provide shuttles from the Spring Point airport on the north end to his modern, comfortable lodgings. The 30-minute drive to Salinas Point Bonefish Lodge gives you some insight into Acklins Island. Most of the southern end of the island, with the exception of the modern highway, looks just as it did when Christopher Columbus first sighted the island chain.
The landscape is dominated by low scrub composed of gumbo limbo, lignum vitae and pigeon plum with occasional thatch palms. There is virtually no wildlife on the island, just some lizards and birdlife. Quite hilly by island standards, a row of ridges rising up to 60 feet high runs north to south down the spine of the isle.
The flats at Croaker Cay.
The government says the population of Acklins is anywhere from 565 up to 900 inhabitants. On the other hand, locals say that number includes folks in graveyards and they place it at closer to 400.
From Salina Point you have access to a number of great angling sites. All of these locations are along the eastern edge of the Bight of Acklins that is surrounded to the east of the island.
The Bight of Acklins is actually a shallow lagoon surrounded on three sides by Acklins, Crooked and Long islands. This Long Island is not to be confused with the larger isle of the same name found farther north in the Bahamas. The fourth side of the lagoon is fringed by a barrier reef, which has made this area popular with the boating community. The calm waters are perfect for cruising in shallow-draft vessels.
Additionally, the area is noted for holding bonefish plying the flats. Yet, as noted, few anglers get this far south and some of the bones probably never encounter an angler. Pods of 20 to 50 fish roam over the seagrass and sand flats, and these gatherings make it easy to spot them even when the wind is rippling the water’s surface.
These also were the least spooky bonefish we had ever encountered. Unless you blasted the fly down in the middle of the school, you could expect to get multiple shots at the fish. Catching more than one fish from a pod was even possible. The bonefish on the southern end of Acklins Island simply do not see enough fishermen to get wary.
The shuttle boat for reaching the flats.
To reach the flats, the bonefish lodge provides a shuttle boat, and during our stay the “guide” simply fished too. If you wanted help or tips on the angling he would provide them, or if you preferred you could enjoy a pure DIY experience.
Everywhere we fished, there was no difficulty in picking a fly. While tan was the most productive color, the pattern seemed to matter little. Crazy Charlies, Gotchas, Bonefish Scampis and even Avalon Crabs worked fine.
During our stay we searched for and found bonefish in several locations. Our first day upon arriving, we managed to hook up with several bones during a late afternoon excursion to Croaker Cay. This small isle does not show up on any maps, nor did Big Creek that we also fished over the next couple of days. Obviously, having a local guide came in very handy.
Casting to the bones at Big Creek.
The longest run by boat that we made was north along the eastern shore of Acklins to Jamaica Cay. This islet sits at the northern end of Reserve Bay and offered two options for the wade fishing. Out on the open flat we looked for those roving bands of bonefish over sand and grass bottoms.
A Jamacia Cay bone.
On the other hand, on the rising tide you could wade back into the sparse mangroves to look for single or smaller pods of bones. On the fall of the tide, stalking the outer edges of that area could reveal some of the fish moving out of the mangroves. Either way, they could be accommodating with regard to hitting flies.
The bottom line is the southern end of Acklins Island may be a bit of a haul to reach, but the angling opportunities make it worth the trip.
