It just so happens that there’s a great local bar at the put in. It’s commonly know as the ‘Little Creek Bar’ even though its real name is the ‘New Ocean View’. The Sands family runs the bar, and yes, that is indeed the clan of our legendary guide Josie Sands.

via Little Creek Bar | Local Bar at Andros South.

Yeah… it’s a nice place… a very nice place.  It isn’t really too fancy (or fancy in any way, shape or form).  It is right where you want a bar though… right at the put-in/take-out down there in South Andros.

Those beers taste extra good, somehow.

A beer at the end of the day... nice.

Photo by Cameron.

PS – Today is my first day on the new job… Business Development Manager at Whodini.  I’m guessing there will be fewer co-workers walking around in their underpants than in my last job as a stay-at-home dad… I hope, at least.

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From October 17th through 23rd, Bonefish Tarpon Trust worked with guides from the Abaco Fly Fishing Guides Association, Black Fly Lodge, Abaco Lodge, Delphi Lodge, and Pete & Gay’s Guesthouse to tag 339 bonefish on Abaco. We also surgically implanted sonic tags in 25 bonefish and placed sonic receivers at a suspected spawning location as part of a study to identify important spawning sites.

via Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

That sounds like it was probably a lot of fun to be a part of, no?

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I’m not going here… there is no airline ticket about to be purchased… I am not tying flies for this trip… I am not scouring Google Earth… but if I were looking to spend a month in the Bahamas right now… a full month… I might look to this place right here.

I could stay here...

You can stay there for a month for $1,800.  A month.

It turns out I’ve had a fantasy very similar to this in the past.  One day I’m going to have to actually do this.  I guess I’ll do it when I need to do it.

There’s also a place in Exuma for $1,200. For a month.  Like… 30 days…

How well would you get to know a place after 30 days of fishing?  I’ve begun to get a feel for some places after just a couple days.  Thirty days sounds pretty damn good.  Very good.

This is my guest post for Deneki Outdoors, the owners of Andros South.  Love that place.

Photo by Andrew Bennett, fish catching by me.

While out stalking the phantom of the flats, it turns out you can do more than just catch and release. You can fish for science!

via Bonefish Science | Tagging and Fin Clipping Bonefish.

Tagging and fin clips… two great ways to help the folks at the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

–

Exuma, Bahamas, June 2010. It was our first trip to the island and definitely not our last. When my husband, Todd, asked me how I would like to celebrate my 40th birthday I told him, “Saltwater fly fishing of course!” He asked me “Where?” so I suggested we try the Bahamas since we had yet to fly fish there. It did not disappoint

via Bone Lake Country Living: One More Sweet Song.

I can’t wait to turn 40 so I can get a trip like this.

They said it couldn’t be done.

They said it was impossible.

They called me crazy… or worse.

“You need bait” they said.

I had something they lacked…  I had belief.

I knew it could be done.

I knew it was possible.

In fact, I knew it was inevitable.

Once I had focused in on the task it was going to make it happen.  There was no doubt.

Behold…

Behold...

Photos by Cameron Miller…

OK… maybe it wasn’t the best fish of the trip, but I am the only FIBFester that caught one!  Hand-lined that mo-fo!  Yeah!

Thankfully, I still had a few #8′s on my box from the last trip.  No way those fish could fit a #6 in their mouths.

Bonefish are really fantastic.  I love the stalking, I love the precision, I love the speed of the fish.

Sometimes, though, you want violence and big, pointy teeth.

Enter the Cuda.

While down at Andros South I got a tiny bit fixated on catching a barracuda. I went out every day after we got back from fishing in the hopes of finding and catching one.  I largely succeeded on the first part of that (the finding) and utterly failed in the second (a few flies attacked, but nothing even hooked).

After a few days it was starting to get to me.

I kept after it and I kept mentioning to the guides that I was hoping to catch a cuda.  I had the 10 wt. rigged with 45 lbs. wire leader and either a gurgler or needle fish fly ready for action.  The opportunities just didn’t come or, one day when I had a good shot I put the fly right on the fish’s head and spooked it.

The last day Kyle Perkins and I were teamed up with guide Freddie.  Freddie is the biggest guide at Andros South and has the smallest boat.  He likes getting in the skinnier water.  He also likes to sing and laugh and overall he was a fantastic guide to fish with both in terms of his knowledge of the water, but also his mentality that put a smile on your face even after you blew the cast.

Freddie = fun

That last day we ended up having some prop trouble deep into Deep Creek and when it was clear we weren’t going to get up on plane for the ride home, Freddie told me I might as well break out the cuda rod. This was very, very welcome news for me.  It meant an extra HOUR of fishing.  Awesome.

Now, there are probably people that say trolling isn’t really fly fishing and that this was cheating and that it doesn’t count.  I… don’t… care.

Fishing with a fly, even if you don't call it fly fishing

I took all the fly line off so I had half a wrap of fly line left and we started the slow troll back to the dock.  It wasn’t long before I got a first grab.  Then I got a second.  The third stayed on for four good jumps and a couple nice runs and then it came unbuttoned.  The fifth strike didn’t stick and I missed the sixth.

“Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” goes the saying.  I reeled up, saw that the tail end of the fly was destroyed and decided to cut the fly in half.  It was a long, bright yellow superhair fly with no trailing hook.  The fish were obviously biting the tail and nothing pointy.  With half this fly left I threw it back out.  About 10 minutes later I connected and the fish stayed on.

It jumped in anger.  It made vicious runs.  The rod throbbed from the power of the fish.  This is not bonefishing, but this was pretty much distilled awesomeness.

"Why don't you come home and meet the wife."

The fish got invited home to meet Freddie’s wife.  Androsians will eat a Cuda so long as it isn’t caught off a reef.

Blissed Out

I got a cuda tooth pulled from the fish to give to my daughter, who at four years old has a passion for dangerous and deadly creatures (I love that girl something fierce).

Note to self… next time use more glue… lots and lots of glue.

Glue! I need glue!

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A post from Eric of Moldy Chum about Andros South Guide Norman.  I fished with Norman one of the days I was there… he’s good at what he does.

If I were to guess, Norman is probably in his mid-thirties. It’s hard to tell though, as most guides on the island are in pretty g’damn good shape. When he’s not hunting Walter on the Westside, he owns and operates a nightclub just south of Congotown.

via Fly Fishing | Blog | Photos | Podcasts | Travel | Gear | and More – Moldy Chum – Bonefish, 7 o’clock – 20 feet.

Norman picking out a fly. Photo - Shadow River Media, Cameron Miller

Photo – Shadow River Media, Cameron Miller

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It has been a great, great week here in South Andros.  Today is the departure day… as you read this I am either in an airport or on a plane.

Here are a few things I learned this week…

- My casting is better than I give myself credit for… someone even said there is a “grace” about my casting.  That was a surprise.

- Given the right combination of factors, I can still trout set like a mo-fo.

- I really like fishing for cudas… even if that means trolling.

- A head lamp is a MUST HAVE on my next trip.

- My core belief that “modern gear is all pretty good” is being a little shaken.

- I may have a good business idea.

- Night fishing is full of danger and possibility.

- My flies worked.

- I need to find some sun gloves that I actually want to wear.

- The guides who were supposed to be “tough” weren’t.  They were honest and it didn’t bother me in the slightest.

- A guide who sings and laughs may be the most fun to fish with.

- I really, really want to come back here.

(photo credit Tom Larimer)

I fished today with the infamous Michael Gracie.  I got back to the lodge and went fishing.  Then, I went night fishing for tarpon (seen, but not caught).

I’m soaking it all up… I’m sham wowing the experience.

For the big sliver of the fishing I was with MG and guide Ellie.  We went to Grassy Creek on the South End and, for the most part, we were out of the boat, on foot.  We fished for science today, collecting fin clips for the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.

The fishing was a little slow, but we had a good time.  Gracie is a fun fishing partner and he tried to calm my frustrations after I broke off a very nice fish on the last cast of the day.  That was 16 pound tippet… first fish I broke off all day.

We had lots of sharks around today… all Lemons and some very interested in us.  After clipping one bonefish fin I wiped my hands on my pants and then a little three foot lemon showed up and began circling me.  Got to about 2 feet away and I was about to hit it on the nose the the butt of my fly rod, but it then noticed I wasn’t a bonefish and took off.

The last shot of the day was back on the boat with Ellie on the platform.  He poled us up this little side channel and I wasn’t sure where he was going.  Then, on the right, appeared a nice little flat and on the flat a school of nice fish coming right towards us.  I made one, 50′ cast that was just about perfect.  The fish ate, but coming toward me, it was hard to set the hook.  I did, but found myself spread out and when the fish took off it just separated from the tippet.  Fish gone and day over.  Still… how Ellie knew just where to take us… that was a special moment… that was local knowledge.  That move impressed me a lot.  I should have landed that fish.  My guess is it was a nice fish… maybe 7, maybe 8, probably not 9, but it was a really nice fish and Ellie… he knew where they were going to be.  I love that.

Back at the Lodge I grabbed my rod and went to the jetty in search of the cuda I’ve been stalking for the past few days.  He was there and the gurgler pulled him out of hiding and into the open, but he wouldn’t commit.  Another shot gone.

When I got back to the lodge from my Cuda hunting I was informed there was a possibility of doing some night tarpon fishing.  I jumped at the chance. So, fellow guest Robert and I met guide Sparkles and headed off in the dark to try and find tarpon.  We found tarpon, but they wanted nothing to do with us.  I managed to catch a Jack and also managed to fall into a hole in the sharp limestone bank of Deep Creek.  Nice.

Basically, I’m sucking up every moment of Andros and bonefishing that I can.  I am trying to go as hard as I can here because who knows when I’ll get back.  I’m pushing it… maybe breaking a little around the edges, but I’m going full tilt and I’m going to run this bad boy right up onto the beach.

Now… the photos from the day…

Guide Ellie pointing out a fish while Gracie tries to remove a hook from his shirt. Priceless!

Gracie with a nice bonefish

One of my bones from today.

An MG bone

Fishing... for SCIENCE! Fin Clips.

Throwing a lot of line withe the Redington in search of Cudas.

Night time fishing Jack. The flies outfished the chum!