Scratch Nassau and Freeport and ALL the rest are favorites for various reasons. Andros has excellent deeper scuba diving(and freediving if you have decent depth range). Hot as heck in August, though. The farther south on Andros, the better. Spearing on the north end is miserable. Local support is a very good idea in Andros.
Exumas are the prettiest combination of land and water, Pipe Creek at noon on an incoming tide is mind blowing. Lots of good shallow freediving inside the islands, great for lady and kids. You need your own boat and a good tender. I did not think much of either the spearing or the underwater terrain offshore. However, I'll bet local knowledge could lead to some very nice places. Up around the north end the outside diving is supposed to be pretty good, haven't done that myself.
For straight spearing, south of Bimini 20-40 miles is about as good as it gets in the Northern Bahamas, also the best vis. The Gingerbread grounds northeast of Bimini used to be incredible spearing, but the last couple of times I've been through there, it wasn't much. If you have the range, the Juimentoes, bank side can still be very good.
The Abacos are extremely nice if you have not done much Bahama cruising, good logistical support if you need it, great anchorages, decent vis, decent spearing, lobster, not much conch left, great for lady and kids, plenty of deep if you want, there is even some 40-50 ft stuff inside the reef.
If you have the time and range, the southern Bahamas, Conceptcion, Rum, San Salvadore, Mayaguana, etc are a thousand times better than the Northern Bahamas.
The Bahamas are my favorite part of the world, I'll be going back this summer as well. keep us posted on your plans.
Connor
