The National Bonefishing Final Comes to George Town This November

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism's bonefishing series finishes in George Town. Its championship runs from November 10 to 15, 2026, at Hideaways at Palm Bay, according to the ministry's July 29 announcement. This is only the second year of the series, and both years the ministry has scheduled the final on Exuma. In 2025 it was set for Black Point. This year it moves to Great Exuma, a short drive from town.

For anyone with a home near Elizabeth Harbour, that matters more than a typical visiting event would. Every boat in the series has to carry a licensed Bahamian guide. That makes the championship a showcase for the people who already work Exuma's flats. It also arrives in the same fall that Stocking Island's best-known stop, Chat 'N' Chill, went through an enforced closure and repairs.

Three islands, then Palm Bay

The 2026 series opened in Andros and runs south through the fall. The dates and venues come from the ministry's schedule, which ZNS also carried:

1. Andros, at Andros Lighthouse Yacht Club in Fresh Creek, September 30 to October 4
2. Long Island, at Stella Maris Resort Club, October 14 to 18
3. Exuma Championship, at Hideaways at Palm Bay in George Town, November 10 to 15

The Long Island leg ended last weekend. That leaves about three weeks before the boats gather at Palm Bay. The ministry says the series offers more than $100,000 in cash and prizes across Andros, Long Island and Exuma.

The route has changed since last year. The 2025 launch release planned legs in Grand Bahama, Andros and Eleuthera. Its championship was set for October 21 to 26, 2025, at Black Point Bonefishing Club and Emerald's Inn in Black Point. The 2026 schedule drops Grand Bahama and Eleuthera, adds Long Island, and moves the final from Black Point to George Town. In both years, the series ends on Exuma.

Every boat carries a licensed Bahamian guide

The format explains why the final belongs to the island's guides as much as to the visiting anglers. Each team is two anglers on one boat with a licensed Bahamian fishing guide. The rest of the setup, as the ministry describes it:

The guide is the one person on each boat who has to be local and licensed. The anglers can come from anywhere. In practice, a championship on Exuma's flats shows off Bahamian guiding as much as anyone's casting. The ministry presents the series as a partnership between "guides, anglers, government, and local communities across several islands," with conservation education and stewardship built into the program. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust's role centers on careful catch-and-release handling.

The island has a local guiding body. The Exuma Bonefish Guides Association is listed in George Town. No public material yet says which guides will work the championship, so the association's role in November remains open. Hideaways at Palm Bay, the host, already lists guided bonefishing among its guest activities.

An Exuma name is already in the record

Exuma's place in this series is about more than geography. When the series opened in July 2025 at Grand Lucayan Resort on Grand Bahama, Caribbean Today reported that the winning team was Omeko Glinton of Grand Bahama and Malachi Rolle of Black Point, Exuma, fishing with guide David Tate. They scored 118 points. That first leg drew 12 anglers and six guides.

So a Black Point angler won the series' very first leg, in a year when the final was planned for his home settlement. Under the 2025 rules, the top two teams from each island qualified for the championship, and 12 open places were available to local or foreign anglers who registered. The 2026 announcement does not say how teams qualify for Palm Bay. Anglers hoping to fish the final should ask the organizers directly rather than assume last year's rules still apply.

The harbor around the final

Stocking Island's best-known restaurant has had an unsettled fall. The Tribune reported that Chat 'N' Chill on Stocking Island was closed in early August after inspections by several agencies. These included the Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Inland Revenue and local government. On August 12, founder Kenneth "KB" Bowe told the paper that work to address the issues had begun and that the restaurant should be ready "in about two weeks." In the same report, Exuma's chief councillor Glen Davis called Stocking Island "a high travel tourist area for boaters" and said he hoped the restaurant would reopen soon. The Tribune also reported that other parts of the property stayed open to visitors while the work went on.

As of September 2, a reply on a TripAdvisor forum thread described renovations under way with no set reopening date. The restaurant's own website lists the Sunday pig roast from noon to 7 p.m., or until the food runs out. If you are planning a Sunday on Stocking Island with guests, call ahead to confirm the restaurant is serving. The same goes for the crossing. Elvis Water Taxi advertises daily runs from the Exuma Yacht Club in George Town to Stocking Island, Chat 'N' Chill included, and a quick call will confirm whether the boat is running that day.

In the same Tribune report, Davis described how much of Exuma's economy runs through restaurants, fish fries and small operators in town. A week of visiting teams, each with a guide and a boat, brings more custom to those same businesses in November.

What is set for November, and what is still open

The ministry has promised a social calendar around the fishing: angler pairing parties, cultural entertainment, awards ceremonies, community events and networking for participants. It has not published a public timetable, weigh-in arrangements, an awards-night date or details on public access. Here is what a George Town resident can count on for now:

• The dates, November 10 to 15
• The venue, Hideaways at Palm Bay
• The format, catch-and-release teams of two with a licensed Bahamian guide on every boat
• The prizes, with the GOAT Award waiting for any team that lands a bonefish, tarpon and permit in a single day

Anglers who want in should note that registration is $500 per participant and that international anglers may enter. Everyone else can watch for the community-facing events to be announced as the championship gets closer. Those events are where a George Town audience is most likely to meet the guides and teams.

If you spend your time on Exuma near the water, whether at a home with a dock, a mooring in Elizabeth Harbour or with a flats guide you already know by name, our team at Rolle Realty Group is always glad to talk about the island beyond the listings. We can also help you weigh how a quieter corner near Black Point compares with a George Town address during a busy November. Contact Us for a private conversation.