Yeah, well, I was out with an old college buddy last night, so instead of something thoughtful, you get a YouTube vid. Good news is that no fish appear to be wildly mishandled in this one.  Some dramatic music for some pretty relaxing times.

Yes… Tim Rajeff talking about casting in the wind and the various situations you face out there. Some good advice in this Deneki bit.

Check it out.

In saltwater you need to deal with 4 distinct wind situations – in your face, at your back, from the left and from the right – and Tim takes us through some quick pointers on how to deal with each of those situations.  Have a look!

Rajeff, a man who knows casting

Couldn’t pass up pointing you good, bonefish loving peeps to Deneki and their Catch magazine post.

Brian O’Keefe and Todd Moen from Catch Magazine joined us at Andros South last month, and today we get to share some of their work!

Check it out.

His name actually is Andrew Bennett, but he’s the guy behind Deneki Outdoor. Here’s a cool interview that Fishing Jones did.

Here’s a sample question asked…

You’re Ivy League; shouldn’t you be launching a tech start-up or bundling subprime mortgages?

Check out the interview to see the answer.

Fishing Jones, is, of course, Pete McDonald, who is part of the Pulp Fly writing project. A great number of the writers for the project came out of FIBFest (Bruce Smithhammer, Pete McDonald, Michael Gracie and myself). A lot of good things have happened there at Andros South. Good job Andrew.

The Bonefish Flat recently went to Long Island to the Long Island Bonefishing Lodge.

The Long Island Bonefish Lodge is a whole new bonefishing experience that I think those who have some experience under their belt would enjoy.  The lodge itself is located on what must be a hundred square miles of pristine bonefish flats.  It consists of three duplex style cottages that can hold eight anglers.  The main lodge is where you eat and stock up on Kalik at the end of the day. 

The Bonefish Flat walking a Long Island Flat.

Kirk Deeter just got back from a week in Long Island (the better of the two so named locations).

I just returned from a remarkable bonefishing trip in the Bahamas–Long Island, to be specific. It’s a stripped-down, do-it-yourself deal, involving big bonefish (a 5-pounder won’t bat an eye), unspoiled flats that most people don’t have the stamina to walk across in a week, let alone fully explore (I’m talking miles and miles of knee-deep water), great food and wonderful cultural experiences.

The story can be found at Fly Talk.

Truth told, this opportunity landed in my lap about the same time Cuba did and I had to decide which one to do, not being wealthy or idle. Long Island has long drawn my attention, so I’m fairly jealous I didn’t make the trip.  It still stands out as a pretty sweet DIY friendly location.

The place he stayed is the Long Island Bonefishing Lodge, a new place that is focused on the budget and DIY crowd.  The cost for a week is about $1,600, which is a fair deal.  You don’t get guides, but you get brought out to where the fish are and let loose.

The price is a good one and is probably value for money.  If and when I make it to Long Island, I’ll certainly look at this as a real option.

One option I had looked at before was staying at a hotel that was about $100 a night.  That didn’t include meals or transportation to the flats, so the $600 rate of lodging would probably easily get close to $1,600 without the certainty or pointing-in-the-right direction that this place would offer.

I love the coming together of cheap and bonefishing and while $1,600 isn’t “cheap,” it does get a bit closer to cheap than something around $4-5K.

I got an email from Andrew at Deneki today.  His outfit owns and operates Andros South and it turns out one of his guides, Norman, has encountered a tragedy. Norman’s young daughter Nala died last week in an accident on South Andros. I’m pretty sure I talked to Norman about Nala when I fished with him during FIBFest last year.

Norman is a really nice and quiet guy. He comes across as professional, honest and knowledgeable in his guiding and I got the sense from him that he was a pretty solid all around guy.

Norman tagging a bonefish for BTT

Norman could use some help right now to cover the costs for the funeral.  If you’d like to help out, you can contribute to this fund, set up by Deneki. You won’t get a tax deduction, but it is still worth doing.

Sending good thoughts to Norman. I can’t imagine what he’s going through.

Mmmmm….. bacon….

OK… so, another video. I have a post I want to put up, but it needs to wait until Monday when more eyes can see it.  Until then, these anglers will take you on their trip to Andros.

Jim Klug and Ian Davis from Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures are over in Grand Bahama right now.  They sent a few pictures over this way… and I think I’ll just let those pictures speak (mostly) for themselves.

I do have to say… the red hat was a bold choice.  Red… not usually selected by guides, but often by photographers.  Bold… bold indeed.

Looks like exactly what I wish I were doing right now.