Bottle Creek is the largest community on North Caicos and derives it name from the large tidal creek that separates North Caicos from the nature reserve barrier island. In years past it was inhabited by bottlenose dolphin according to early settlers, hence the name. It is now a protected National Park so netting and commercial fishing is prohibited – catch and release only.
Bottle creek is approximately a mile wide and consists of several large sequential flats. These are best fished when the water is cooler on a falling tide as the fish move down from the higher mangroves in large schools and are easily located either by boat or by wading. The bottom is hard, making it ideal for wading and stalking larger fish that tend to be either single or doubles; from mid-tide and falling you can expect to see fish tailing from a distance in ankle deep water. Bottle Creek is protected from the prevailing Northeast wind and is fishable in most conditions.
The tidal flow can be strong as there are four significant outlets to the ocean that carry nutrients into the creek. The tidal offset is approximately three hours to the ocean side.
To the South of Bottle Creek lie a series of small cays that each has flats adjacent to channels that empty to the ocean. The flats are dry at low tide, but early on the rising tide can be very good for large fish coming out of the deeper water and onto the flats. These channels and flats continue through to the ocean side where the East Bay flats offer huge open shallow water that often hold large fish on a falling tide early in the day. There is a good flowing estuary back into Bottle Creek at the North end of this flat that may offer productive fishing when the prevailing Northeast wind overpowers the fishing in EastBay.
Overall, fishing bottle creek offers a pleasant experience as it offers some protection from the prevailing wind and the large expanse ensures the ability to stalk large fish without interruption