Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas

[WTpearson]

Hey guys, I'm headed to Green Turtle Cay off Abaco for 8 days / 7 nights in August with a group of 10. We've rented 2 boats for the week and I plan to do a lot of spearing. The crowd will be mixed; my brothers and I are decent freedivers, though.

I know better than to ask for anyone's personal spots, but I'd really like to hear about any of yall's experiences on the island (or surrounding islands), general areas that may be better or worse for diving/spearing (I hear heading north to Manjack Cay is a good idea; we'll probably look to hunt in 60' or less), contingency plans for bad weather/rough water, and advice on what to bring. I'd really like to hear about what can be purchased on the island, and whether it is really worth it for me to haul a bunch of food and beer out there. We are flying private over there so we have some flexibility on what we can bring there and back, but weight is an issue.

Also, if anyone is aware of public numbers or charts that could point me in the direction of some wrecks to dive with the whole crew, I'd really appreciate that. II've been researching it and had a hard time finding much, I found the buoys that were deployed by Reef Relief, but thats pretty much it. I plan on putting in the work when we get there, towing divers and running, but because this is my first trip out there, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys, I'll make sure to follow up with pictures and video upon our return. If anyone finds themselves in SWFL hit me up, I spear out of Naples on the weekends.

Cheers,
WT

[Powers]

My favorite place. I'll be there mid-August.

For the family, head to No Name Cay to the South of GTC and feed the pigs.

The grocery stores are well stocked. We always shop at Sid's. The liquor store has a decent selection of hard stuff and wine and they make a mean grilled ham and cheese.

The spearing is good behind GTC on the ocean side. There are lot's of coral heads and you can easily identify them just by driving around. If you rented from Wade at Sunset, some of his boats have spots marked on the GPS. The locals hit this area pretty hard, so hogfish and lobster populations are lighter and the grouper are smart. The further north you go, the better. Whatever you do, take fish directly to the boat and never stay in the same spot more than two or three fish. The sharks are well tuned to spearfishing.

Royal Bahamian Defense Force has been present the last two years. Know the rules and keep your ID and boat rental paperwork onboard.

Have fun!

Will

[WTpearson]

Will, thanks for the advice. Definitely going to head to No Name at some point to feed the pigs. We're going to put in some tourist time, for sure. The whole crew is between 25-30 year olds. Probably going to hit Nippers Sunday, so that will be on the way.

I was hoping the boats might have some stuff on them. If we want to find some hogs should we head out to deeper water? 40, 50, 60'? Our goals are to get some big hogs and blacks.

I hear you on the sharks, I was anticipating the reef sharks being a nuisance and have heard from multiple people to get the fish out and move frequently.

Appreciate the help man!

WT

[troutdiggler]

Beer is $60 a case on GTC, maybe cheaper where you fly into.

[dstack]

doing this trip on the 14th, love the advice!

[WTpearson]

$60 a case for beer....looks like I may be drinking a lot of liquor on this trip.

Anyone aware of opportunities to trade fish/lobster for beer on the island?

[mattlex]

Just got back from green turtle a few weeks ago. Phenomenal place. I built my boat for that trip, we left from Ft Pierce and made the 180 mile run. Assuming you are flying into marsh so buy your beer there (a little cheaper.)

Rent a golf cart for $250 a week, they make running to town and evening bar hopping much easier.

Pigs are a must for the women, cook lunch on the beach often, the sharks are thick, sid's grocery is pretty well stocked, and have a few goombay smash's for me!

Golf cart (we rented from brendals dive center)


Beach on Nunjack




pigs on no name


Miss Emily's


And do you have extra room?

[WTpearson]

Originally Posted by mattlex

Just got back from green turtle a few weeks ago. Phenomenal place. I built my boat for that trip, we left from Ft Pierce and made the 180 mile run. Assuming you are flying into marsh so buy your beer there (a little cheaper.)

Rent a golf cart for $250 a week, they make running to town and evening bar hopping much easier.

Pigs are a must for the women, cook lunch on the beach often, the sharks are thick, sid's grocery is pretty well stocked, and have a few goombay smash's for me!

Golf cart (we rented from brendals dive center)

Beach on Nunjack

pigs on no name

Miss Emily's

And do you have extra room?

Thanks for the info man! We are actually flying into Treasure so I'm trying to decide if it will be worth while to drive into Marsh Harbor to get groceries, or if we should just incur the extra cost of buying everything on Green Turtle.

We have reserved 2 carts through Brendal's and we definitely plan to check out the pigs. We have a place for 12 and will have a solid group there, if you're in the area second week of August hit me up!

Cheers,
WT

[mattlex]

probably not worth the hassle, enjoy your trip and nunjack has some beautiful shallow reefs to the north end with a cut to the beach. Shoot me a pm with any specific questions

[WTpearson]

Originally Posted by mattlex

probably not worth the hassle, enjoy your trip and nunjack has some beautiful shallow reefs to the north end with a cut to the beach. Shoot me a pm with any specific questions

Thanks man, will do. And yea, I'm going to head north to check out the area off Manjack and to do some exploring of the more uninhabited areas.

[dstack]

mattlex, unable to send you a pm for some unknown reason? How far north would you run at minimum of GTC to get into the better spearing area?

[mattlex]

about ten miles north minimum

[dstack]

Perfect, thanks bud!

[WTpearson]

I've been trying to reach the Bahamian Department of Fisheries for a couple months now to gain an understanding of regulation and what permits we need.

We are going to be renting boats, do we need a Sportfishing Permit? Do we need any other type of permit to be able to spearfish?

Anyone know if we can bring back conch legally?

Any insight into the legal side would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
WT