Walker's Cay, a 69-acre/28-hectare island at the northern tip of the Abacos chain in the Bahamas, is less than a four-hour boat ride from West Palm Beach, Florida, and a 15-minute flight from Freeport, Grand Bahama.
The cay once enjoyed a reputation as a hot spot for world-class deepwater fishing and diving until it was slammed and shuttered by back-to-back hurricanes in 2004. It remains closed and waiting for a buyer to redevelop its facilities.
What makes Walker's Cay such a rich fishing ground is its exposure to the Atlantic on the north and east, and its proximity to Matanilla Shoal, which attracts gamefish looking for baitfish.
The smudge of land was owned by the Abplanalp family from New York for the past 50 years and was originally named Walker's Cay after a judge who was banished to the island in the early 1900s.
Over the years it became known as a fishing village whose waters were teeming with record-setting gamefish. The Abplanalp family built it into a fishing mecca beloved by vacationers, politicians and statesmen.
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