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.

Now, I don’t know about you, but for me, my fishing hat is like a special friend.  It has been there with me for a while and it has seen good times and bad. It is faded, badly, from blocking all the sun which otherwise would have burnt my nordic skin. Some people look at my hat these days and they say “You need a new hat!”

Those people are wrong.

I got this hat back in 2010. It was charity.  I’m pretty sure Michael Gracie sent it to me as a way of easing the pain of not being able to make the trip to FIBFest I. I got the invite, but the domestic situation didn’t allow for me to make it.

The hat was bright orange, which I thought was an odd choice for a hat to be worn in pursuit of the notoriously spooky bonefish.

I wore the beejeesus out of that hat and it is no longer orange.  It is now a kind of dusky pink, which makes me think of the flies I tied up for Andros in the first place.

This last year, I did get to go to FIBFest II and I wore that hat every day.  I wore the hat from Andros in Andros and there isn’t a better place to do something like that.

I wear it just about every day even now.  I have a bit less hair than I used to and I need a lid to keep the sun from sending me to an early grave.  I wore it in Hawaii while getting spanked by the elusive O’io. I wore it on the McCloud and on the Upper Sac and on the tiny urban creek and in the surf and out while I looked for carp.  It is a part of me.  It is a companion… almost like a good dog.

I love my hat and all the memories it has been there through.

My good friend.

Here’s a new Bragging Rights Portrait of Eric Rathbun of Moldy Chum who recently had the opportunity for the ethereal experience while chasing Bones in the Bahamas.

via ” Bahama Bonefish ” Tropical Bragging Rights Fish Art portrait -  Mike Savlen.

That is just pure awesome.  Mike does some really, really good work.  This picture was taken at FIBFest… some really good pictures were taken by Cameron and now one of those has been turned into a pretty kick arse painting by Mike.

I want one.

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Another FIBFest related post from the good folks at Deneki.

Photo by Cameron Miller

Chasing bonefish had never held huge appeal to me… after all, I’m a steelhead angler that thrives on punishment. Give me a river full of fish and I start losing interest – the hunt is what captivates me.

via Hunting for Bonefish and Steelhead | Tom Larimer Guest Post.

Tom Larimer wrote another good piece for the Deneki Blog about the hunting aspects of bonefishing compared to steelheading.  I have to say, the hunting aspect of bonefishing is something that really grabs me.  That you have to see the fish before you catch it… you have to know where to expect it and when it will be there, then you have to make the cast and get the retrieve right… I love it.

I imagine that it has a lot of parallels to hunting, although I’m not a hunter myself.  You have to know where the elk or deer or grouse are going to be.  You have to get in the right position.  You have to see your target and you have to make the shot.

Of course, you get to let your bonefish go.

A few folks have asked… so… I gave it some thought.  I think this patterns was the one I wish I had more of down there in Andros at FIBFest.

Reverse Gotcha... bunny tail... rubber legs... ya know... "stuff"

Maybe this has a name… I’d think it is just a bit too similar to other patterns to have it’s own.  It’s goodness.  I added some UV Cure whatever to the back of the fly, which is a move I really, really like.  Some folks said it would make the fly land too heavy… I didn’t see that, but it is possible that would be an issue in really skinny water.  This fly is a #2… so… not little, but after reading some of Aaron Adams’ thoughts on the matter, I think we should probably move up a size or two on most of the flies we throw.

Hope this helps.

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.

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 was always going to be a long day of travel to get from South Andros back to San Jose, CA in a day.  If I was an East Coaster, it would have been easier.  It took four flights, one airport sprint session and the slowest van ride ever (he drove 50 in a 65) to make it back… but I made it, about 11:30 PM (also known as 2:30 AM on Andros Time).

My bag… not so much.  It should get here later this morning so I can give my girl the shells I bought from the Shell Man.

While FIBFest is now very much over… the memories of the week will last a long, long time and the friendships I’ve made this past week will last even longer.

That said… it isn’t too bad being home either.

One reasons to be home.

The pictorial report will be up in a while, but I wanted to share a little bit of magic I saw tonight here in Andros.

I went out tonight after dinner to the little jetty at Andros South in search of ‘Cuda’s.  I didn’t fine them.  What I did find, however, where a couple hundred phosphorescent green flashbulbs going off in the water.

I don’t know what they were.

They weren’t there long.

They were beautiful.

Flash, flash, flash.  Green little lights that lit up and then faded away all over the water for a hundred feet.

It just doesn’t get much better than that, bonefish or no bonefish.  This is a special place.

OK… Andros is coming up really, really fast.  Today… Thursday.  Tomorrow… Departure Day.  Saturday… Andros.

The posts are starting to come fast and furious.  When things really get kicking off, you can follow the mayhem mostly by following the Deneki website.

In the meantime, you can check out some of the blogginess from some of the folks who will be joining me (or will I be joining them?) at Andros South:

Michael Gracie

Complete Thought

Outdooress

There’s even a hashtag for FIBFest, for those of you who do the Twitter thing… #FIBFest.

Anticipation is cresting.  Come the adventure!