I just returned from my second trip to Turks and Caicos in 6 weeks and wanted to share some more info for those who are planing a trip there (you can see my 1st bonefishing Turks and Caicos report here). This trip began where I left off last time at Taylor Bay. I wouldn't call the flat there great but it does seem to consistently produce fish...it does have it's drawbacks though. Essentially, if you want to fish Taylor Bay, you will only have about an hour to do so each day. Because Taylor Bay is such a popular tourist beach, folks start showing up at about 9:00am and once that happens, you might as well pack it in. That said, the one hour of fishing you get when the sun is high enough to see fish until the first kid runs through the flat can be awesome. Both days that I fished there I was greeted by a few pairs and then a school of nice sized fish. The biggest school stuck around for 30 minutes and I easily managed 4 bonefish to about 6 pounds. The other thing about Taylor Bay, as far as I can tell, the bonefish only seem to enter the flat in one spot. So, if you want to fish it, get there earlier than you need too because there is really only room enough for one angler in the sweet spot. If you are fishing the island for a full day, I'd start there and then move on by 9:00AM. For some reason, tide was not much of a factor while I was there so while people say the 1st of the incoming is best, I did not find that to be true. Like my first trip to Turks and Caicos Providenciales, this was a family trip so I limited my fishing to a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon, which worked out great.
The second spot I fished while I was there was an amazing flat on the South Side. Since this one was given to me by someone who fishes there regularly, I'm not giving directions but if you are familiar with the island or are a good investigator you might recognize it from the photo above. I only scratched the surface here but you could spend a week on this flat and not cover it all. It's massive! The fish here were much bigger and I found them on the last of the out and 1st of the incoming tides or not at all (2 days I did not see a single fish). One day after giving up, we walked up on a school of small bones tailing in 4 inches of water. Such a cool sight!
I never changed flies the entire trip, so, I only know for sure they LOVE #4 tan gotchas. I also found the fish here to be very hungry and not easily spooked.
If you are planing a family trip and want to bonefish, then Turks and Caicos is perfect. Not that I want to kill the local economy, but I see no need to book a guide here. I only fished 2 spots in two trips and there are at least a dozen more easily accessible spots to try. If I were planning a fishing trip (ie not a family vacation) I would go to a place like Andros or some such place where the fishing is amazing and guides are part of the deal.
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