You know the drill by now. First it was a Scottish salmon river, then a Catskills trout headquarters, even a tiny chunk of Wisconsin Driftless. it’s fun to daydream about owning fishing real estate. Yesterday, Gray’s Sporting Journal sent an email blast out with something extremely daydream worthy: The Salinas.
Located on the southern tip of Long Island in the Bahamas, not the one with the traffic and the strip malls, the one surrounded by turquoise water. The Salinas is listed over at Hayden Outdoors for the very reasonable sum of $49,500,000. Just forty-nine and a half million dollars. Pocket change, really. I’ve got a jar of random coins in my kitchen pantry that I’ve been meaning to take to Coinstar for a few years now, so we might be getting close to making an offer.
Now, what does $49.5 million get you? Well, only about 9,000 acres of pristine Caribbean beachfront property, 12 miles of untouched white sand beach, a set of intertidal lagoons, mangrove forests, a wildlife preserve, and an old private airstrip. Oh, and the entire working footprint of a former Diamond Crystal Salt operation from the 1960s, which sounds less glamorous until you realize that over the past few decades nature has essentially been reclaiming it on its own. Flamingos are moving back in, lemon sharks are using the shallows as nursery grounds, and migratory shorebirds are setting up shop.
But let’s cut to the chase. And by chase, I mean the bonefish.
Long Island is, according to basically everyone who knows anything about saltwater fly fishing, something close to a mythical destination. I’m sure Bonefish Bjorn would approve. The Salinas sits at the center of some of the most extensive bonefish flats in the Bahamas. Shallow, crystal-clear water stretching for what feels like forever, exactly the kind of environment where the “gray ghost” lives its best life and makes your reel scream. The current masterplan for the property includes 12 miles of kayak and paddleboard waterways, boat ramps, and what is essentially a built-in platform for world-class flats fishing right out the back door.
The property’s official pitch describes it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for a “visionary developer.” I prefer to think of it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for me to obsessively daydream for a day or two this weekend, before I’m rudely awakened by realities of Monday morning.
In short: 9,000 acres. 12 miles of beach. Your own private airstrip. Bonefish as far as the eye can see.
So, wanna buy a bonefish flat? Better check the sofa for spare change…