Those in search of Andros bonefish can stay in places that range from upscale resorts, like Kamalame Cay and Tiamo, to simpler fishing lodges such as the famous Mangrove Cay Club. The ultimate way to fly-fish for Bahamian saltwater species, however, is aboard the Eleven Mothership, a 74-foot Hatteras yacht, part of the Colorado-based Eleven Experience group, which owns Bahama House on Harbour Island. From mid-October to May, the vessel is anchored off the uninhabited southwestern coast of Andros, a wilderness of tidal creeks, deserted cays, tangled mangroves and mile-upon-mile of white-sand flats. (The Water Cays are generally reckoned to be some of the best wading flats in the world.) This is a place of vast skies and eerie silences. Unexploited and unpolluted, the waters are teeming with marine life.

Guests are picked up from the airport at Congo Town (just to the south of Tiamo) and transferred to the Mothership by a 26-foot Regulator boat, a journey of about an hour. The Hatteras itself has three staterooms (for a maximum of four guests) with en suite baths, a spacious, wood-paneled living room, plus an air-conditioned bar and dining room on the upper deck. A private chef prepares breakfast to order, stocks coolers for eight-hour days, and makes full use of the available fresh fish and seafood for dinner.

Much of the fishing is done aboard custom-built Beavertail fishing skiffs, manned by experienced Bahamian guides and equipped with G.Loomis rods and Nautilus reels. In some places it is also possible to use paddleboards. The remote stretch of coastline from the South Bight up to Big Miller Creek is famous for extremely large bonefish, as well as tarpon, permit and barracuda. As the Mothership is only available by exclusive charter, excursions are customized according to the wishes of individual clients. Some may prefer to purse the bonefish shoals, while others forsake quantity in order to track down the fish of a lifetime.