I saw this post over at Deneki about backhanded casting.  I agree.  It is a great skill to have. I wouldn’t have gotten my Grand Slam in Belize if I didn’t have a backhanded cast.

One thing I noticed in South Andros was that my backhand cast is actually better looking than my forward cast.  The loop is tighter and seems to lay out flatter.  I don’t really know why, but my backhand cast is a thing of real beauty.  I’ve been trying to figure out why and trying to make my forward cast more like it, but I haven’t cracked that code just yet.

Anyone have that answer?

Well, this is actually something I’ve done before.  I’m not sure where I first heard this, but I’ve done this.  I’ve done it when I’ve been on my own and I’ve done it when I’ve been with guides.  Seems a pretty good idea.  If it doesn’t work, oh well, but it certainly is worth a shot, I’d say.  It is not likely to actually hurt anything.

Reach down onto the flat, grab a little handful of sand from the bottom, and rub your fly around in it.

via Bonefishing Tip | Rub Your Fly in the Sand.

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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On day 1 of Deneki FIBFest at Andros South last month, your fearless editor decided to sport a nice new red shirt that was really going to look good in hero shots. The problem? You have to catch a fish before you can take a hero shot.

via Fly Fishing Lodges | Deneki Outdoors — Blog | Bahamas | Chile | BC | Alaska.

I saw that shirt in the morning and thought to myself “Interesting choice.”  Red is supposed to pop in pictures though… you go through some fly fishing photos and you’ll find some strangely bright colors.

I sometimes wonder if it is a bad thing being tall… 6’3″.  Do the fish see me more?  Do I see the fish more?  There are so many factors to consider… but do yourself a favor… leave the red shirt at home!

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!

I fished with Tom Larimer today and Josie for a guide here in South Andros with Deneki Outdoors.  Tom is a steelhead guy, fishing the Deschutes (among other places).  We had a good time, even if the weather didn’t cooperate for most of the day.

We started off on fire… four fish to hand fairly quickly.  The day was full of promise.

Then… the wind came up, the clouds rolled in and the lights went out.

We didn’t catch another fish and we only saw a few (although one was a pig).

Still… a good time was had.

Tom tied up this fly last night… he called it the “Bahamian Condom” because it is made mostly of rubber.  The first two fish to see it crushed it.

After we got back I went out and tried again to catch a Cuda.  The second cast I had a nice, 3 footer smash the fly… but it didn’t bite the pointy part… so… I’ll try again tomorrow.

It isn’t every day you get to go fish and have a kick ass photographer along for the trip who is going to do nothing more than take pictures.

That was my day.

So… instead of cluttering up things with my words, I’m going to let Cameron’s pictures give you a sense of the day.

Norman picking out the fly... only fly we used all day.

Ready for action

The magic fly for the day.

A tagged bonefish... nice.

Fish on.

Tagging the fish.

Casting

Joy

Well, I made it to South Andros.  I also have a nice cold that is gunking up my lungs and nose pretty well, but I made it and I’m sure a few hours of sleep will get me back to fighting shape for Androsian bonefish tomorrow.

One little surprise I had was that the trip from SFO to Miami turned out to be 1st Class.  I book with miles and that was the only fight that got me where I needed to get when I needed to get there.  I didn’t realize it was 1st Class. I’ve never sat in 1st Class before.  There is a WHOLE lot more leg room up there!

I didn’t get to enjoy the added that much as I was coughing and weezing for a lot of the flight, but thanks to a NyQuil, I was able to get a couple hours of shut-eye.  When I got to Nassau I pulled up the only bit of carpeted ground to get some more.  Andrew Bennett (owner of Andros South) came and got me to meet the rest of the FIBFest folks and the two paying clients also here this week. In short, it is a great group.

You can follow all the goodness on the Deneki blog.

Checking out Andros, waiting on the bags

Tomorrow… the fishing.  Needless to say, I can’t wait.

The race to get ready for Andros turned out to be a bit of a sprint.  I was waiting on three packages that ended up all coming on Thursday (I left on Friday).  One of those packages had gear from Redington… two rods, a 7 and a 10, and two reels.  When they arrived I could finally really get serious about what I was bringing with me.  So… here’s my quiver for Andros.

Main Bonefish Rod – Rise Level 9′ 8 wt. ($250)

Fun Bonefish Rod – Redington CPX 9’6″ 7 wt ($330)

Barracuda/Tarpon/Other Rod – Redington RS4 9′ 10 wt. ($220)

So, all told, $800 of rods along.

When I went to Belize in November I had three rods along, but the combined value was closer to $2,200 (two Sage Xi3′s and an Orvis Helios).  So, I’m taking a different approach on this trip.

The two Redington rods are loaners and the Rise is a rod I own, but didn’t pay for (to fully disclose all that should be disclosed).

I’ve only cased the Rise rod once on grass and the Redington rods are totally virgin.  In fact, I didn’t realize that the 7 wt. was a 9’6″er until a few minutes ago.  Longer is usually not encouraged for bones due to windy conditions, but I caught my first bonefish on a 9’6″ St. Croix 7 wt., so, this is like coming home a bit.

I thought about bringing a 9 along, but in the end I figured three rods was probably good and I was pretty close to the recommendations made by Deneki for South Andros fishing.

As you read this, I’ll probably be in the air or waiting for flights on my way to FIBFest.  By the time the day ends I will have a Kalik in hand and I’ll be on Androsian soil.

There is a reason why I keep posting stuff about Deneki Outdoors and it isn’t because I’m going to FIBFest 2.  Deneki posts up great content all the time.  Some of it is educational, like their newly released Bonefishing 101 guide.  Other posts are about the guides, the Androsian people, the experience.  Day, after day… great stuff.  Makes ya want to go there.

More about Bonefishing 101…

What is Bonefishing 101? It’s a .pdf file that you can download to your computer, and it covers the fundamentals of bonefishing.

* The Ready Position

* Casting on the Flats

* Spotting Bonefish

* Setting the Hook

* Fighting Bonefish

via Bonefishing Tips | Free Download | Bonefishing 101.

If this is Bonefishing 101, surely the week I’ll be spending down at Andros South will be something along the lines of graduate work.