With over 50 years of angling under my belt, bonefishing in the Bahamas is the best I’ve ever had, writes DEREK EVANS

‘ELEVEN O’CLOCK, moving left to right, 30ft out. Trust me on this one, Derek. Strip, strip, stop, strip,” Ishi whispers. And whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. My first bonefish is on and ripping line from the reel at a rate of knots. I’m down to backing line as the run continues across the flats. Will this fish ever tire? My introduction to fly-fishing in the Bahamas is complete.

via Hooked on the Bahamas – The Irish Times – Sat, Jun 12, 2010.

Even the Irish are going bonefishing… why am I not on the water somewhere???

#UPDATE# – Colton Harris was caught today in the Bahamas… I had a feeling this would be the end… he wasn’t even fishing! Read more here.

I read the first story in Outside Magazine a while ago and caught news today via the OM Facebook page about a possible update on Colton Harris, teenage criminal mastermind and modern day Robbin Hood (without the benevolence or otherwise good intentions).

Seems Colton may have stolen a plane in Indiana and flown to Abaco… where he promptly crashed.  The kid taught himself to fly, but has yet to get a hang of the landing part.

From the Black Fly Bonefish Club:

@BFBonefishClub :Much excitement over the barefoot bandit landing in our frontyard at the lodge. Local hog hunters were not successful in finding him.

Let’s see… a 6’5″ white kid roaming around Abaco?  How long could the kid really hold out?  I’m guessing he’ll be sticking out a bit when he isn’t crashing in the vacation homes of wealthy Americans who may have second/third/fourth homes in the Bahamas.

I didn’t see a fly rod in this picture…

Hi... I'll be staying at your Abaco beach house, if that's OK with yoou... and even if it isn't.

For your viewing pleasure, a guy from TCO Fly Shop casting to and catching a bonefish in Abaco.  You can see in the video that the bone is tagged, turns out they did the tagging. More people helping out the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust… I like it.  Good job TCO Fly Shop!

After less than a year, a tagged bonefish has been re-captured off Abaco.

That’s the work of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust for ya.

You should be a member… if you are reading this you probably want to catch bonefish in the future and the folks that are doing the science to figure out what areas even need to be protected are the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.

Join.

A nice little write up on Stu Apte (and Captain Vaughn Cochran) fishing at Black Fly Bonefish Club in Abaco can be found on the  Black Fly blog.

There’s a plug for Airgate Aviation which flies from Daytona to Abaco… direct.  The pricing is a little… um… steep… but maybe there is some magic in there that brings the cost down.

How’s the fishing?

We rig up, get our boots on, pick our fly and hit the water. We walk about 50 feet and here comes the first fish, then another, and another…the fish are leaving the flat on the outgoing tide and they’re feeding along the way.

Doesn’t sound like it sucks.

Yes, seems like a place I'd like to be.

Given my recent experience with turtles down in Mexico, I was intrigued to find a post about turtles and poachers on the Black Fly Outfitters blog.

Basically, there is now a price on the heads of the total douchebags that are pilfering turtle nests in Abaco.

“Nesting Giant Sea Turtles in South Abaco Face a Real Threat From Human Interference & Pilfering of
Nest Eggs – Cash Reward Now Offered to Help Find Culprits” (Link added)

bastidos.

I’ve said it before, one of the best things about fly fishing is how it connects you to the environment of the places you do your fishing.  You come into contact with environments and creatures you’ve never seen before and you get to know the issues facing these places and animals.  Maybe I wouldn’t care about turtles if I hadn’t seen one lay eggs in Vallarta.  I did, though, and now this feels a bit more like my issue than it would have otherwise.

Hope they find the bastard(s) responsible.

A week in Abaco with famed photographer Val Atkinson doesn’t sound bad at all, really.  Oct. 17-23 Val is hosting a trip for Orvis at Abaco Lodge, now made famous for being the filming location for Pirates of the Flats.

Honestly, it sounds like a good time.  I particularly like this bit…

Anglers on this special trip can even participate in valuable bonefish research by collecting fin clippings and occasionally tagging their catches, prior to release. Each member of the group will receive a Helios saltwater rod, and a one year membership in Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

Pirates were here... photo Val Atkinson

Bonefish on TV… I like it.  Wait… I have cable and not satellite… so I don’t get to see this show?  WTF?  Well, you privileged bastidos who get to watch Hooked on the Fly will soon get to see the Black Fly Bonefish Club out on Abaco.

On the Black Fish blog, you can read how things are going…

That day, as Clint pulled away from the dock he pointed the bow of the skiff not in the usual direction leading to the nearby flats, but toward the deep blue water instead. Not long underway, they came upon a rare sighting of a whale enjoying the day by lolling at the surface. After a brief time of whale watching they moved on to find a promising weed line and in short order had two nice mahi mahi in the fish box tagged for the evening meal. Making the run back to the flats they were rewarded with a hour of tailing bonefish before calling it a day.

Sounds like a pretty nice day.

Black Fly Bonefish Club in Abaco looks like a place I’d like to visit.  One of the handful of places that has really embraced social/on-line media, Blackfly also has a blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account… not including Youtube efforts like the one below.

Abaco, the Bahamian island just north east of Grand Bahama, was the site of Pirates of the Flats, so if you’ve watched that (and I have), you have an idea of what the water looks like there.  It doesn’t suck.

The Miami Herald had a good story recently focused on bones in those islands to the East of Miami.

Miami Herald Bone

The writer was Sue Cocking (yes, unfortunate), the guide was Captain Ronnie Sawyer and the location was Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos.

The story serves as a reminder that some days are tough, the weather doesn’t care what your plans are and a good guide is a good idea.