28
Mar 11

Andros… Fishing, Day 1

OK… there was a lot of travel to get here, but today was go time… bizness time… bonefishing time.

I was paired up with the Outdooress today and with Andros South guide Ellie.

Fish were caught.  The guide was hooked.  A lemon shark was alllllmost caught.  A good time was had.  I kind of love this place.

The crew, waiting to get on the water.

Ellie, our guide for the day.

waiting... looking...

The skunk is off... first fish of the trip.

The Outdooress and her first bonefish

More will come, but now… Kalik is calling.

Go to the Michale Gracie blog to see the best bonefish pic you will see this week, or month, or year.


27
Mar 11

Andros, Day 1.5… travel and getting here

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.


25
Mar 11

A story about Andros South and I begin my own journey.

Today I get on a plane to start my journey to Andros Island.  SFO to LAX then to Miami then to Nassau and then to Congo Town, South Andros.  The trip will span two days, but will be close to 16 or 18 hours from the time I leave SFO to the time I touch Androsian soil.

A lot of time has been spent thinking about this trip, tying for this trip, writing about this trip… and here it is… finally. Departure Day.

Recently, I saw this story about a trip the Troutfitter made to… ya, you guessed it…  Andros South (that’s where I’m going, if you haven’t been following long).

From the story…

“You’re down there fishing in sunny weather, wading in knee-deep water that’s 72 degrees. Meanwhile, there’s 2 to 3 feet of snow back home. You can’t do better than that,” he said.

via Central New York anglers enjoy their Bahamian bonefishing adventure | syracuse.com.

 

 

I’ll be trying to give updates daily.  They have the internets down there, I’m told.   I can’t wait to meet the other FIBFest folks, throw a Kalik or two back and then throw a fair bit of line.

Is there anything better?

 

— paid ad below —

 

Learn everything about boating safety at BoaterExam.com


24
Mar 11

FIBFest Nears

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!


20
Mar 11

Andros… pics… goodness

A little goodness from Deneki and Andros South.

Dick Pitini is a great guy who loves fly fishing and loves taking pictures. He fishes with us at Andros South, and he’s kind enough to send us some images afterwards!

via Flats Skiff | Fishing on Andros Island.

Photos from Dick Pitini.

I’ll be there this time next week.

 

 

To draw a really clear distinction between where I’m at now, and where I’ll be in a week, I went to the San Jose Earthquakes home opener last night.  It was raining… hard.  It was cold.  It was kind of miserable.  To make it worse, they lost.

I did think (often) about how nice it is going to be in Andros.  Yeah… I’m looking forward to it.

— paid ad below —

 

Learn everything about boating safety at BoaterExam.com


18
Mar 11

Journey Proud

Prior to my Belize trip in November, someone (that’s you Marlow) mentioned the term “journey proud” to me and it has resonated in my head a bit ever since.

With Andros fast approaching I am indeed, again, Journey Proud.

I had trouble getting to sleep last night thinking about flies and rods and leaders and reels.

I spaced on a commitment for my kid’s pre-school… something I just don’t do.

I have a general buzz in my head that certainly won’t cease until my first bonefish is released and swimming away.  There is certainly a lot to do between now and then… I’m still watching for the UPS guy to show up with a couple of packages (one from Redington and one from Skinny Water Culture). I just made sure my Patagonia pants and my Skinny Water Culture shirt were washed.  I want to make sure I have a little ziplock in my flats pack that has some TP in it… to clean my Costa’s (I’ll be taking a new pair of Fantails – not on their site yet – on their first saltwater trip) when they get a little salt spray on them). There are still a few odds and ends to pick up from the store… but I’m getting there.

The rods for the trip are my new Rise 8 wt. (thanks Amanda) and two loaners from Redington, a 7 and 10 (thanks Kara).  The reels and lines are a little more up in the air, but I expect it all to get sorted by the time next Friday rolls around.

The good news is my two Cliff boxes are pretty much full.  I’m still tying, for some reason.  We have a full house all next week involving two adults and three kids as guests, some of whom will be sleeping in the room I use for tying, so… good thing I’m ahead of the curve on filling up those boxes.

No room at the inn (if the inn were my fly boxes)

 

Get some Rise


04
Mar 11

Thinking about casting…

Andros South is in… 21 days (until I leave, 22 until I get there) and I’m starting to think about getting that new Rise 8 wt. out on the grass field at the local school.  It is occurring to me that I need a little bit of stick time before I am presented with my first cruising bonefish or 2011.

Hey buddy, I'm not going to go cast myself, ya know!

I found this bit on the Deneki site from Bruce Chard about casting in the wind.  Thought it was worth reading again (as I’m pretty sure I posted this when it first went up back in 2009.

Here is a little except from a piece I wrote about my Grand Slam down at El Pescador.  It highlights a couple of really, really bad casts I put out after some bonefish…

As I stood on the deck, thinking back just a few minutes to me botching a good permit shot, the guide spotted two bonefish cruising the mangroves. I was very conscience that I had a 10 weight in my hand and I was thinking that the presentation would be too heavy. It is a dangerous thing, thinking. I made the first cast to the bones and tried to ease up on the power so the line wouldn’t smack on the water. Totally underpowered, the cast landed in a heap. I cast again, but my head was too much in the game and the result was the same.

My friend Shane, who is a certified casting instructor, couldn’t hold his tongue. “Those are the two worst casts I’ve ever seen you make.” he said. It was pure truth. Those casts were just horrible. I couldn’t help but give a little laugh at the ridiculousness of the casting and the degree to which I could rain on my own parade. It was also glad that Shane had just shown that he wouldn’t hold back the truth and when you are out there to learn, you need the truth.

Yeah… maybe I should get out sooner rather than later to chip off the rust.


02
Mar 11

Deneki – Bonefishing 101 – Andros South

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.

 


23
Feb 11

Sparkles – Andros South

The truth is that when I look at the picture, I see the person that made the catch possible and the stories he shared with me…

via Deneki Outdoors.

I’m looking forward to meeting Sparkles myself and hearing some stories.

Andros… I’m coming for ya.


18
Feb 11

Deneki Outdoors – the Moon and Bonefish

So… maybe I shouldn’t worry about the moon phase on my trip to Andros South.

There are many variables in bonefishing much more important than the phase of the moon – weather being the biggest. We think planning your bonefishing trip to avoid a full moon is a little bit silly.

via Deneki – Andros South.

Good… cuz… We Like The Moon… just say’n.