Long Island, Bahamas
Target species: Bonefish
January avg. temps: 80 high, 69 low
Round-trip airfare to nassau: $360; plus approximately $150 to Long Island
Accommodations: Beachfront cabana at $150 per night for two people (best for couples; includes meals)

About 4 miles wide by 80 miles long, Long Island is a Bahamian out-island 160 miles southeast of Nassau. Pierre and Anne Laurence opened Chez Pierre (chezpierrebahamas.com) on an isolated beach here in 2002, with six cabanas on the water flanked by a superb restaurant where Pierre does very capable duty as chef. Bonefish prowl the flat in front, where I’ve watched them tailing before I even got out of bed in the morning. And there are enough drive-to flats around the island to make it a worthwhile destination for do-it-yourself (unguided) anglers. I’ve chased bonefish across the Bahamas for a lot of years, and this is the best—and nicest—deal I’ve found. Explorer Chartbooks (explorercharts.com) offers a series of maps that’s very helpful for navigating unmarked secondary roads and locating bonefish flats.

--John Merwin