More bonefishing lodges have been opened in the past five years in the Bahamas than ever before. And most of them have been opened on Andros Island (104 miles long and 40 miles wide), the bonefish capital of the Bahamas. So what's new? The big news is that a remote lodge has been opened on the west side of Andros, known for its big bonefish, and a second has been opened near Moxeytown beneath the Middle Bight. All the guides on Andros are native to the island and speak English. From lodges on the east side of Andros it is an hour's ride by flats skiff powered by 40-horse outboard through the bights to fishing on the west side. The lodges are booked through Frontiers International and Angler Adventures.

The other news is that there are now four bonefish lodges on Cargill Creek, at the mouth of the North Bight, and southeast Andros lodges now are fishing the vast flats surrounding the Grassy Cays on the southwest side of the island.

From the Joulter Cays, at the north end of Andros to the Grassy Cays, at the south end, the Andros bonefish flats encompass approximately 1,000 square miles, the largest expanse of bonefish flats in the hemisphere, and now most of it is reached by flats skiffs. Andros Island offers the best chance anywhere for beginner to expert fly fishers to catch many small-to-large bonefish in a day of flats fishing.

Featured Locations: 1) Stafford Creek Lodge; 2) Kamalame Cay; 3)Flamingo Cay; 4) Andros Island Bonefish Club, Creekside Lodge, Bonefish Beach Club, Tranquility Hill Fishing Club; 5) Mangrove Cay Club; 6) Bair Bahama Guest House; 7) Coral Reef Club.

There are so many flats to fish surrounding Andros and in its three bights that it is possible to find sheltered lee-shore flats to fish during most windy days. On the south Andros flats large schools of small bonefish offer unlimited opportunities for hooking and playing fish, including "muds" where novices can take fish after fish and miles of wadeable flats for sight-fishing to "tailers." Similar conditions exist on the northern tip of Andros in the Joulter Cays.

Flamingo Cay Club on the west side of Andros is a 1920s duck-hunting club owned by Charles Bethel III. It was renovated last year into a club for bonefish, tarpon, permit, seasonal waterfowling, and scuba diving. The lodge hosts only six anglers and has doorstep access to the lightly fished west side of Andros, known for its large bonefish and occasional shots at resident tarpon and passing permit. The lodging, consisting of two modern air-conditioned cottages, is reached by float plane from Nassau. Experienced guides fish out of Maverick and Hell's Bay flats skiffs or go offshore for bluewater species and scuba diving in a 35-foot Marlin. An on-premise chef prepares Bahamian and American-style meals. Flamingo Cay is booked by Angler Adventures.

The new Mangrove Cay Club, developed by Liz Bain near Moxeytown beneath the Middle Bight on the east side of Andros, serves 16 anglers in 8 ocean-view rooms and, using modern flats skiffs, fishes a vast expanse of flats in the Middle and South bights and the west side of Andros. This lodge has some of the best bonefish guides on Andros and it has modern air-conditioned accommodations, which overlook the ocean, and an excellent Bahamian menu. It is booked by Frontiers International.

There are currently three lodges serving the Cargill Creek area on the east side of Andros where Cargill Creek meets the ocean and the east end of the North Bight. They include Rupert Leadon's popular Andros Island Bonefish Club (in business for over 12 years) and the recently renovated Cargill Creek Club, now called Creekside Lodge, which is adjacent to the Bonefish Club. Creekside serves 32 guests in 19 rooms. And the Bonefish Beach Club is a family-run lodge owned by Simon Bain, with four cabins located on a private island reached in three minutes by boat.

Farther down the coast at Behring Point the new Tranquility Hill Fishing Lodge overlooking the east end of the North Bight fishes the flats of all three bights for bonefish and creeks and lakes for tarpon, snapper, and jacks. It also fishes the reef for bluewater species, including barracuda. The lodge books some of the best professional guides in the Bahamas, fishing from new 16-foot Dolphin skiffs powered by 40-horsepower outboard motors. Its guests are served Bahamian-style meals.

To fish the seldom fished Joulter Cays on the north end of Andros you should try Prescott Smith's classy Stafford Creek Lodge located on Stafford Creek (six guests) within easy reach of the northeast flats of Andros and the Joulters. Smith is one of the most experienced bonefish guides on the island and one of the best casters in the Bahamas.

Kamalame Cay, located on a private island at the mouth of Staniard Creek, is a posh lodge that serves 14 guests in elegant lodgings, with tennis courts, offshore fishing, scuba diving and bonefishing on the northeast flats as well as the Joulters. Access to the lodge is by direct charter float plane out of Nassau or by commercial flight into the north Andros or Androstown airports.

South Andros. There are only 11 guideboats running into the flats of south Andros and the flats they serve are vast, so the fish are rested and innocent. The latest operation renewal is the former Bonefish Bay Club, which is under new management by Jerry Botcher of the Hungry Trout in Lake Placid, New York. He has renamed it the Coral Reef Club. The lodging is a basic motel that can host 16 people. Fishing trips include flats skiffs forays to the west side Grassy Cays flats and Deep and Little creeks. The popular Bair Bahama Guest House south of Kemps Bay fishes the east side of south Andros and down into the vast remote flats of south Andros, where there are many seldom fished wadeable flats. This lodge takes only 6 guests and has fine accommodations and food.

Tiamo Resorts is a secluded beach resort that runs three guideboats into the flats of South Andros Island, fishing South Bight and the seldom fished west side of Andros Island. Located in Driggs Hill, the resort relies on local fishing guides, including Stanley "Jolly Boy" Forbes with over 20 years of experience, to provide one of the best Bahamas bonefishing experiences around. South Andros is the Bahamas' unexplored bonefish paradise.