Flats fly fishing in the Bahamas, especially for bonefish, is a multi-million dollar industry. But a growing presence of anglers on DIY or self-guided trips has some guides in the country asking for legislation that protects the famous flats from anglers who don’t pay to hire a guide.
Eyewitness News from the Bahamas talked to multiple fly fishing guides who spoke in support of the crackdown.
“Put wardens out there, put it out to the public, and when they see (self-guided flats fly fishing) going on, they can report it,” said guide David Tate.
Tate specifically called out homeowners in Grand Bahama who advertise their places as the perfect launching point for DIY flats fishing.
“They rent their properties out to people who come in and fish on their own without hiring a guide,” Tate said. “When you get there (to a flat) with people who pay, and you meet these guys just walking over the flat, too, who are not paying.”
Bahamian government officials are seemingly on the guides’ side, as they’ve promised a regulatory body to protect Bahamian guides from foreigners who seek to “exploit flats fishing,” per Eyewitness News. No timeline has been given for when that body might be formed, or what authority it would have.
These issues were brought up at the 8th Annual Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Science Symposium, which was held November 7-8, 2025.
You can view the entire TV report on this issue from Eyewitness News here.
Guides only fishing means fishing becomes totally elitist and literally a monopoly. The next step would be restrictions on who could be a guide and so the entirity of fishing becomes a corrupt insider game. Would the guides be in favor of all food being required to be served by a waiter so there could be no self made sandwiches?
Yup.
As much as I understand a country whose whole economy is based on tourist dollars wanting to capitalize on it, moves such as this are very much bone headed and short sighted.
Limiting fishing to guided only experiences limits the audience to an audience that already has more access, and precludes the people who either can’t afford the fees for guides or like me do not like fishing with guides. (or any one else for that matter).
When I travel for fishing a big part of the experience is finding spots and doing a lot of the legwork myself, so guided trips are a not something i want to participate in.
I doubt I am in the minority with this, and i think in passing laws or regulations that limit access you are also making the choice of saying we only accept the lazy, rich, demanding type of tourist, who will pay for all the amenities even if they don’t care about the locals/the country etc.
This is were the short sided aspect of this logic comes into play. if the tourist don’t care about were they are as long as they can pay for anything they want, then your country is also not that important, and they can replace it with any other location that provides similar experiences.
In the long term that also means tourism in the Bahamas would be directly affected by the turns of the market and trends of rich people, who change their “prime” destinations on a whim.
anyways guides of Bahamas just remember there are many many other flats fishing destinations out there so consider the repercussions to your choice.
Well said.
While I realize that the Bahamas are not the US, and that laws and regulations are different…this feels like an attempt to monopolize a resource for the benefit of a very few.
I can’t support that under any circumstances, regardless of how the request is spun by those who will benefit from the attempt to monopolize.
I understand the feelings of these people who are working for a living. But they are catering to a mostly elite class. Outlawing DIY fishing is a pretty crappy thing to start doing on this planet, which is gradually being purchased in its entirety by the wealthy. One thing I know for certain is that guides in the Bahamas have a much higher success rate catching fish, because they know the tides and the places. If it’s worth a day with them, many can afford it. But many cannot afford a week. I sincerely object to hearing these fellows use the words “exploiting the fishery” with regard to DIY. If anybody is “exploiting”, it’s them. Lastly, my lone experience there left me fuming when I returned to the States and learned that their currency is worthless. Nobody nowhere told me this. I hate being scammed. I’ll never go back.