When planning Mangrove Cay Club over 13 years ago, we gave careful thought and attention to all of the minute details of our facility and operation. Mangrove Cay Club was designed to raise the bar on the level of comfort offered by a bonefishing lodge. We believe we have achieved our vision of “having it all”. The best access to an amazing fishery, a beautiful setting, comfortable accommodations, excellent food, attentive staff, professional guides, equipment that works and hands on management.
We started with virgin coppice on rocky ground and built the road to take us to our waterfront property. We cleared space for the buildings but left most of the natural vegetation.
Mangrove Cay ClubWe built four spacious duplex cottages designed for privacy and minimal intrusion from neighbors
View more... and a main lodge designed for conviviality. All of the buildings are divided by a thick growth of trees and shrubs for privacy, connected by pathways and surrounded by meticulously landscaped lawns and flowerbeds.
Each of the four bungalows is divided into two suites, separated by a thick soundproof wall. The eight suites all have high cypress ceilings and a bedroom, a sitting room, an oversized bathroom and a private porch overlooking the Middle Bight. Access to the porch is through sliding glass doors from the bedroom, where two queen size beds face the sea. We can accommodate a maximum of 16 guests, a comfortable number to ensure high quality service and management’s personal attention.
It is a short walk to the main lodge. As you enter through the front door, there is a small shop and office to the right. Here you will find telephones and a laptop computer with wireless high speed Internet for your use.
The rest of the lodge is open with a large bar and sitting area at one end and the dining area and entrance to the kitchen at the other. There are also bathroom facilities for men and women. The dining area opens out on to a large veranda overlooking Middle Bight followed by a few steps down to the patios and a few more steps down to the attractive wooden dock. This dock is where guests are picked up by our guides each morning and dropped off in the afternoon, and where many evenings are spent fishing for sharks.
At the west end of the property there is a small sand beach at the end of a seawall built of native limestone. A jetty, also built of native limestone is the best place on our property to practice a few casts. The chairs and lounges in the thatch roof gazebo at the other end of the seawall is the place to watch the spectacular sunset at the end of a day of adventure.
The lodge is one of the finest facilities in the Bahamas and is immaculately maintained by Liz and Alton Bain. They are part owners of the operation and their attention to detail is evident throughout the property. It is a wonderful place to relax after a great day on the water.
Species
Barracuda, Bonefish, Jacks, Mangrove Jack, Mangrove Snapper - Gray Snapper, Permit, Sharks, Tarpon
Andros Island, the largest of The Bahama Islands, is actually several islands of which there are three main inhabited islands: North Andros, South Andros and Mangrove Cay. Mangrove Cay is in between North Andros and South Andros and is surrounded by the waters of the Bights, wide and meandering waterways that bisect Andros from east to west. The Bights, known as the North, Middle and South Bight are themselves dotted with countless uninhabited cays and islets with shallow shores.
One huge flat on the West Side of Andros Island “The Land of the Giants” has incredible numbers of very large fish can be found here on a consistent basis.
Mangrove Cay Club is located on the north shore of Mangrove Cay which is the southshore of the Middle Bight. The lodge is tucked just inside the Bight fa View more...r enough from the windward east side of the island to provide us with sheltered access to the flats and estuaries of our fishery.
We chose this location to give us water access to mile after mile of prime bonefish water without ever having to trailer a boat to a launch point or take a rough boat ride in the open ocean. We have access to all of the waters of the Bights, the eastern flats and the remote and legendary West Side.
It is widely known that bonefish follow the tides, using them to feed in shallow water. Tides on Andros behave in an odd way that works to our advantage. When the tide is low and rising on the east side, it is high and falling on the west side and vice versa. This gives our guides the advantage of being able to move through the Bights all day, never leaving you sitting on a shoreline waiting for the tide to “be right”.
There is no tide or moon phase that cannot be successfully fished at Mangrove Cay Club.
Andros bonefish are plentiful and average 3 to 5 pounds with regular appearances of fish 6 to 10 pounds. Several 11, 12 and 13 pound fish are landed every season. Our daily recorded statistics prove that the waters just minutes away from the lodge are equally productive in both size and numbers. In fact, some of the largest fish have been taken within sight of the Mangrove Cay Club just across the Bight around Big Wood Cay and Moxey Creek.
Bonefish are seen in schools of anywhere from a few fish to very large numbers, often in the hundreds. Large fish tend to travel in singles and doubles although they can hang out in large schools with smaller fish.
The Bights and West Side of Andros have soft bottoms and are best fished from the bow of the skiff. Wading is done on hard, sandy bottomed flats which are all located on the eastern shores and the south west of Andros.
We have boat access to the North, Middle and South Bights, the north and south West Side, the eastern flats and the Southwest cays of Andros. We are frequently asked if guides are assigned to certain areas to fish. The answer is no – the area is so vast there is no need for this restriction.
Your assigned guide will choose the flats you will fish from an almost unlimited number of options and his choices are based on tides, wind, weather and where experience tells him he will find fish. Please note that, if you have a preference of which type of fishing you prefer (wading or boat fishing), you should let both your guide and Liz know before you go out so your guide can plan accordingly.
Guides are rotated during your stay, and you can generally expect a new guide to be assigned to you every third fishing day. The rotation is a good way to match guides with guests and provides the opportunity to enjoy old favourites, as well as learn from different guides during your week.
Most fishing is done from the bow of the boat giving you and your guide the elevation to see fish and the mobility to move from flat to flat.
For some anglers, wading is the preferred option. It may be your choice to wade alone or with your guide. Let your guide know, and he can plan to include as much or as little wading in your day as you desire.
Occasionally, wind can make fishing from the boat impractical and even getting to the flats uncomfortable. On these days, we have the option of using The Big Boat (our 26’ twin hull with twin 150 hp engines) as a ferry to transport you and guides to lee shores and creeks for wading. This program has saved the day when many of our guests were resigned to a good book or a day at the tying table. These ventures can be very satisfying – in February of this year an 11# bonefish was caught, minutes from the lodge on a day that most lodges could not even get to the flats
Southwest Side of Andros – Wading Trips
Under the right conditions, we also use The Big Boat for transport to the remote and seldom fished Southwest Side of Andros. The area is a vast collection of hard bottom and sandy flats that are home to huge schools of bonefish.
The boat is operated by Captain Johnny Green and you are dropped off with your guide to wade the flats. Johnny stays with the boat and can be summoned to move you from flat to flat.
Because of the expense involved, we do charge extra for use of the Big Boat for long trips to the southwest side of Andros. The rate is a surcharge of $650, which can be split between 1 to 6 anglers.
Casting Lessons
If you want to learn specific saltwater techniques or just brush up on your skills, casting lessons conducted by our guides are available.
If you would like the guide to incorporate the casting lessons into your day of fishing, let us know. If you would like the guide to come to the lodge during non-fishing time to do a casting lesson, we charge
$125 for 45 minutes, from 1 to 4 anglers.
Fishing off of the Dock
Many of our guests enjoy fishing off the dock at night. Shark visit the area around the dock in front of the lodge on a regular basis, encouraged by regular chumming. We have had many hook ups and some landings of bulls, black tips, lemons and nurse sharks. We bait up heavy spinning reels with chunks of fish, cast it our and let it sit. You can watch the sharks coming in and searching for the bait. When they pick it up, the fight is on. The kitchen saves the bait we need and we supply the spinning gear, hooks and wire leaders. So, if a long day on the flats is not enough fishing for you, you can continue to fish from the lodge late into the night.
When we built Mangrove Cay, our goal was to set the standard for comfort for a bonefishing lodge in the Bahamas. Our eight suites sit within 4 large bungalows spread out along the shore, screened from each other by a lush growth of trees. All are a short walk on a sand path to the main lodge.
Each of the four bungalows is divided into two suites, separated by a thick soundproof wall. The suites have high cypress ceilings and ceiling fans, an air conditioned bedroom, a sitting room, an oversized bathroom and a private porch overlooking the ocean. We accommodate a maximum of 16 guests, a comfortable number to ensure high quality service and personal attention.
On the outside wall of each suite is a rod rack that will hold four rods, a bucket for soaking reels and a convenient freshwater ho View more...se for washing rods and all other equipment each day. Both outside and inside the entrance are hooks for wet clothes and gear.
Mangrove Cay ClubThe sitting room is furnished with a sofa and chair and some small tables providing the space for laying out tackle and equipment. Fresh ice and bottled drinking water are placed in your suite each day.
Each bathroom has its own 40 gallon water heater so there is never a shortage of hot water. The bathroom has lots of shelf, counter and hanging space and a very large walk-in shower with shelving for shampoos, razors, etc. We provide abundant towels, waffle weave bathrobes, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bath soaps, hair dryer and bug spray.
The air conditioned bedroom is off of the sitting room through double sliding doors and contains a bureau, a wardrobe, a night table and two queen size beds facing the sea. There are sliding doors from the bedroom out to the porch and padded lounge chairs. You can greet the day and check out the weather without seeing another guest or having to get dressed.
For too long, bonefishing in the Bahamas has required spartan accommodations. Mangrove has changed that. Our lodging is very comfortable and allows you plenty of privacy and comfort during the non-fishing hours of your stay.
TV
WIFI
Breakfast
Restaurant
Drinks
Individual toilets
Guide Service
Boat
Spoken Languages
English
Mangrove Cay Andros, Andros Island, Bahamas 
