SANDY POINT MAN WINS

June 1998 Table of Contents - Current Issue of The Abaco Journal - Abaco Bahamas' Home Page

SANDY POINT MAN WINS ABACO BONEFISH CHAMPIONSHIP

Patrick Roberts of Sandy Point won the Abaco Bonefish Championship sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism by catching 17 bonefish in an eight hour period. As Champion of Abaco, he will now go to Grand Bahama to represent Abaco in the National Championship on 13th-14th July.

There were nine competitors in this year's fish-off, representing Hope Town, Green Turtle Cay, Dundas Town, Treasure Cay, Coopers Town, Cherokee Sound and Sandy Point.

At a briefing held in the Magistrate's Court, Marsh Harbour, on 3rd May the Ministry of Tourism's Sammy Gardiner went through the rules with the fishermen and the observers. Althought the meeting was informal, there was a definite tension in the air as fishermen picked their observers by lottery. When Maitland 'Bonefish Dundee' Lowe, last year's Abaco Champion, drew Cecil Delancy as his guide, he told him: "Get your bags packed - You're sleeping in Hope Town tonight!"

The rules of the tournament gave one point for any bonefish under 20" in length from the tip of the nose to the apex of the tail, two points for over 20" to 25" and three points for fish over 25". Only fly tackle could be used. The tippet material could not exceed 8 lb test and no bait was to be used. 'Blind casting', fishing without fish in sight, was also a no-no. All competitors had to be Bahamian citizens. "What about me?" Maitland joked. "I'm from Cherokee!"

Nobody could have asked for better conditions on 4th May, the day of the competition. There was not a cloud in the sky and waters were fairly calm. Lines in was at 8 am and lines out at 4 pm.

The results from Abaco will make competitors in the championships from other islands blink. Over half of the Abaco fishermen caught more than ten bonefish, a clear indication that Abaco is one of the premier bonefish centres in the world. All the fishermen worked in different areas showing that wherever you fish in Abaco, your chances are good.

In his address to the fishermen, Mr Sammy Gardiner pointed out that The Bahamas has five of the top ten bonefish destinations in the world. After the Abaco results he will probably amend that figure to six. He admitted that his Ministry had for years underestimated the appeal of bonefishing and its importance as a tourism destination factor. The national series of island competitions was designed, he said, to encourage experienced fishermen to become skilled guides. "In Andros, many bonefish guides earn $40,000 a year." The island winners - including Patrick Roberts from Abaco - will all take part in the National Championships and the National Champion would take part in the World Bonefish Championships, also to be held in Grand Bahama later this year.

   FISHERMAN         OBSERVER              FISH  POINTS

Patrick Roberts      Rex Lowe               17      25
Terrance Davis       Bruce Lightbourne      16      21
Maitland Lowe        Cecil Delancy          14      20
O'Donald McIntosh    Chris Russell          17      20
Pope McKenzie        Hilly Bootle           11      12
Marty Sawyer         Roosevelt McIntosh      8       8
Orthnell Russell     Patrick Smith           4       4
Paul Pinder          Morgan Turnquest        2       2
Ed Newell            Loretta Smith           0       0

This Issue Table of Contents - - Previous Issues

Other Abaco Bahamas Links
Home Page (oii.net) - Message Board (AbacoBoard.com) - Latest Happenings (AbacoToday.com)