15
Mar 15

Upon Realizing I’ll be in the Bahamas in Three Weeks

I just counted it up and realized I’ll be in Abaco in three weeks. This has gotten me a little riled up as I have much to do before we depart. Here are some of the various tasks which I will be hoping to check off over the next three weeks.

  • Find all the chargers for all the cameras. That’s my DSLR, the GoPro, the Nikon waterproof camera, my daughter’s waterproof camera and the Countour camera, which I also have to find.
  • Sunscreen… lots of sun screen.
  • Flies… I have sadly neglected my tying desk since the move. I’m guessing I have the right hooks… do I have the right chain eyes? I need about a dozen spawning shrimp and maybe 20 or 30 other patterns.
  • Get my daughter’s passport from her mom… yeah, shared custody.
  • Figure out the rental car sitch.
  • Try to arrange a day on the water for my dad and I and maybe a visit out to Abaco Lodge.

I’ve never been to Abaco and I’m looking forward to it. It is a family trip, not a fishing trip, although there will be fishing, of course. There will also be sand castles and snorkling and some cracked conch, reading and relaxing.

The countdown has begun.


25
Feb 15

Things that are happening

I’ve shared before the research that shows you are actually happiest when planning a trip. So, I’m pretty happy right now. No, I’m not talking about my there-and-back trip to Dallas next week, or my trip to San Antonio in May… no, I’m talking about fishing trips.

I just booked tickets to Florida in June. I know what I’m doing exactly one day of the week I’ll be there. I’m fishing with my dad and Derek Rust on a Saturday to try and get my dad into a tarpon. Beyond that… I’m just going and I’ll see what I can line up in terms of fishing days.

Coming to see the #skinnywaterculture

Coming to see the #skinnywaterculture

I’m also in possession of some crazy expensive tickets for Abaco. That’s Spring Break with the whole fam. I’m hoping to grab a day or two to fish, but I’ll also have an 8 year old and 1 year old along. I plan to get the girl fishing too, maybe over at the Abaco Lodge off the dock.

The girl loved this part of the day.

In short, I have stuff to look forward to and I kind of love that. Now I need to open up the fly tying desk again and put some thread and sparkles on some sharp and pointy hooks.

Hope you have something to look forward to as well!


21
Feb 15

The Real Bahamas – Abaco

Thinking about Abaco… where I’ll be in a couple months.


02
Nov 13

Don’t dig up the mangroves

The folks of Treasure Cay are not happy with a new proposed lodge. Turns out the lodge has plans to dredge a creek and get rid of some mangroves, which all seems terribly at odds with the idea of a fishing lodge.

Although unsanctioned dredging in a creek near the entrance of Treasure Cay was reportedly stopped on Wednesday, residents plan to move forward with their petition against developers of the proposed Treasure Cay hotel and fishing lodge, Sand Bar Club and Spa.

The title of the story mentions “Abaco Lodge,” but by that they mean a lodge in Abaco, not THE Abaco Lodge. The Sand Bar Club and Spa is the culprit in this case.

More on that story here. Looks like the dredging is being done by this PLP Member of Parliament’s company.

 


28
Nov 12

Science Wednesday – Tagging in Abaco

Well… this is cool. A blog called “The Abaco Scientist.” Ruling.

They are tagging fish to track their movements and pinpoint spawning locations. If we know where they spawn, we can protect those places.

From the blog:

Today brought less-than-ideal weather for catching bonefish to tag – 25 mph winds and rain showers.  Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Buddy and Cindy Pinder, Justin Sands, and Paul Pinder of the Abaco Fly Fishing Guides Association, we were able to find large schools of bonefish on the move in The Marls.  By the end of the day, we had surgically implanted tags into 12 bonefish (6 males and 6 females).  All 12 fish were sexually mature and “running ripe”

 

Tagging fish in Abaco.

Good stuff. Keep up the good work!


31
Jul 12

Interview with Buddy Pinder

I asked on Facebook who folks would like to see an interview with and someone said “Buddy Pinder in Abaco.”

Ta-DOW. Here ya go.

Sadly, I didn’t have the budget to fly to Abaco and fish with Buddy, but he did manage to get me the answers to my questions through his wife Cindy.  Thanks for that!

As a guide in Abaco, what is it that makes Abaco different from other Bahamian islands?
The marls world-class fishing.   There is no other fishery quite like it.
When did you get your first fly rod and do you remember what it was?
 I got my first fly rod in the early 90’s.  It was a 10wt Fenwick.  It was given to me by my second client.  He brought if for me the second year he came back to fish with me.  That rod led to my passion for fly fishing.  The first rod I actually bought for myself was a two piece 8wt Sage RPLX that I still have in my rod collection.

Buddy doing the business

When you are on the water a lot you see some interesting things.  What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen out on the flats?
 A pod of dolphins in less than two feet of water out in the marls about 20 miles from open water.  That’s not where you’d expect to see something so big because they are half out of water as they are swimming.
What is something that you think every angler should bring along with them to Abaco that many don’t?
Every angler should have a relatively new fly line on their reel and bring a spare line along with them too.  Nothing casts quiet as good or quite as far as a new line!  I have one client that fishes with a 20 year old line. He’d be amazed what a new line would do but no matter how many times I tell him that he keeps coming back with the same old line.

Buddy, hiding from the sun

What would you say is the biggest threat to Abaco in terms of bonefishing (netting, development, pollution)?
Because of the popularity of bonefishing and the increased numbers of visitors to Abaco overfishing is probably the biggest threat to bonefishing here.
What is something you really love about Abaco that is non-fishing?
One of the things that I love about Abaco is that it is still sparsley populated so it’s a very peaceful place to live.  We only have one traffic light on Abaco so there aren’t any rush hour traffic reports here yet. Plus the water is stunning to see.  Just looking at it can raise your spirits and relax you.
 What is your favorite rod/reel for bonefishing?
I’ve fished with a lot of great equpiment over the years.  My favorite reel is the Tibor Everglades that was given to me by a client many years ago. I have a room full of rods and I still use a lot of them.  I even had my own signature rods built a few years ago which are great casting rods.  But I’d have to say my favorite rod is the 8 wt Orvis T3 because it is a very stiff fast rod that casts great in strong winds.  Interestingly enough that rod was also a gift from a client.  You may have realized by now that I have had a lot of pretty special clients over the years.
If an angler were going to bring just one fly with them in different sizes and weights, what would that fly be?
Probably the best all around fly would be a Gotcha tied on a size 4 hook with either lead eyes or bead chain eyes.
 Thanks Buddy. Enjoy paradise.

Cindy Pinder


29
May 12

Nervous Water

I love this quote…

“Nervous water.”

No that’s not some kind of urological disorder.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Pursuit-of-bonefish-has-happy-conclusion-3566988.php#ixzz1wEOCeKzN

A story about success in Cherokee Sound in Abaco.

Nervous Water is always something amazing when you see it and there are a million things that look like nervous water… usually little bunches of turtle grass in the current.  Always screws me up.  When you are looking for fish, everything looks like fish… until nothing looks like fish.

 

 


30
Sep 11

Psst… more free bonefishing

Seems like it is the time of year for folks to start giving trips away.  This time, it is Frontiers and Abaco.

The catch, however, is that you need three buddies who are willing to pay full price and then your trip is free.

I don’t have buddies like that. If you do, you are sitting pretty and are about to go fishing in Abaco.

 


28
Sep 11

A beautiful thing, I miss dearly…

The Bahamas…

(I hope this video comes up… it wasn’t working in the preview and I don’t know why, this is where I found it… the guy who made it is Ryan Lightbourn)

 


18
May 11

Abiconian Goodness

I’ve been in touch with Johan for a little while… folks that love the same things tend to cluster.  Turns out my friend Shane met Johan in a bar out that way recently.  I just found this little vid on Vimeo from Johan.  Johan is Norwegian, which is a good thing to be.  1/4th of my genetic make-up comes from there and while I understand it to be beautiful country, I can only imagine my ancestors left for the same reason Johan was down in the Bahamas… there are no Norwegian Bonefish.

 

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