He’s back already, but Jim Klug of Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures just went to St. Brandon’s Atoll in the Indian Ocean and it looks AWESOME.
That is beautiful. (photo by Jim Klug)
Nice, nice bone from the Indian Ocean.
Yeah… the obligatory GT. I need to catch one of these.
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Yup… Pat Ford’s photo album from the Seychelles over at Sport Fishing confirms something I’ve believed for some time now.
The Seychelles are awesome.
The bonefish alone would be enough, but when you start to think about GT’s… well… GT’s. I want to catch one. Someday, assuming I live long enough to afford it, I just might. Add to that all the other wacky kinds of fish out there and it seems kind of awesome.
At $6,250 (although can be as much as $7,500), it doesn’t actually seem that much more expensive than a lot of destinations. I’d bet the travel is a bit more difficult, but even that doesn’t sound too daunting (minus air, which is not cheap at $1,500-$2,500). You also need time… you add another couple days of travel on the bookends and you end up with a trip that requires the majority of our 2 weeks of vacation time.
Jim Klug also has a photo album from the Seychelles.
Yes please.
Booked by:
That’s right… I’m upset with Confluence Films. I’m upset for several reasons, but primarily because I’m selfish and prone to jealous. See, they are off to begin filming for their follow-up to Connect. I kind of love Connect because it is beautifully filmed, expertly crafted and also features the same waters in Cuba that I fished with one of the Confluence Film founders, Jim Klug. Where do they go to start filming for this next film?
St. Brandon’s Atoll (also known as Cargados Carajos Shoals).
That is why I’m upset.
Why would that make me upset? Primarily it is jealousy and my penchant for selfishness. See, I want to be fishing St. Brandon’s Atoll. Me! I want to go there! Now!
St. Brandon’s is in the middle of no where. The operation is a live-aboard as I don’t think there’s actually much land there. What you do have are just silly numbers of unmolested bonefish and Indo-Pacific Permit, GT’s and who knows what else.
The place is located to the east of Madagascar, way south of the Seychelles. I have no idea how long it takes to get there, but I’m guessing it is really, really quick, easy and comfortable to get to some tiny islands off the east coast of Africa. I mean, how hard could it be, right? And if you forget something, I’m pretty sure you can pop into the local Walmart or fly shop, right?
Packing light.
St. Brandon’s. Man. That is going to be kind of amazing footage.
I know it is going to be too long for me to wait to see the footage from St. Brandon’s, but I can’t wait to see it.
When you talk bucket lists, this place is tops.
Jim Klug got there first… but I’m trying hard to catch up.
This is what a good dad looks like in my mind.
Jim was just down in the Yucatan with his family and he has some nice pictures from that trip at his site.
I’m just trying to nail down plans for Spring Break 2013, which will be the first chance I have to bring my daughter somewhere to show her the environment I love so much. She’s going to get resorts with big pool complexes from her mom. From me I want her to get starfish and rays and sharks and crabs and bonefish and mangroves and jacks and herons and turtles. That’s what I want to give her.
So, cheers to the dads out there who share these wonders with their children, especially their girls.
Well… who knew? I was just at Barnes and Noble and saw an issue of The Drake.
I don’t have a subscription and while I have heard really good things about the magazine, I had not ever purchased one. I had decided that this was the time to do so and as I thumbed through the magazine on the way up to the cashier I saw there was a poster insert. I took a peak and recognized, instantly, my own hand. Well… that’s kind of awesome. My tarpon is in The Drake. Jim Klug took the photo, and a damn fine photo it is.
My poon, photo by Jim Klug
I had to go home. I didn’t have that much vacation time or idle money and I needed to get back to my girls. However, the trip wasn’t over and the gang that I left added some members and kept going strong.
Luckily, Jim Klug was still there with a camera and he kept on putting it all in pixels (here’s the gallery of that second week).
Here’s one of the folks that joined just as I left. Miles Nolte is a name you might recognize. He’s an author and the new voice of angling at Gray’s Journal.
Nice fish Miles.
I got to talk to Miles a little in the lobby of the hotel before I headed back. He was excited about the week ahead. I can understand why. Wish I had been able to stay and head to the Island of Youth with Avalon, but, life was calling. I feel pretty fortunate to have been there for the week I was. It was a very special trip and one I’ll hold close for a long, long time.
Photo by Jim Klug
Here is a place probably worth seeing. This is Jardines De La Reina in Cuba and a little collection of photos by Jim Klug.
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.
Ya know what… the Turneffe Atoll Trust has some real fly fishing cred on their board. Like… A lot (that was two ellipses, if anyone is counting).
One of those guys is Jim Klug of Yellow Dog. Another is Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone. That a group.
They are working hard to keep Turneffe as beautiful a place as it seems to be. A place with bones and permit and tarpon and lots and lots of space for those fish to roam and feed and breed.
This is a bit of what they are up to:
TAT continues to lead the way in instituting a Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve. The process is moving ahead at a rapid pace with half of the required stakeholder meetings completed and a first draft of the Turneffe Atoll Management Plan forthcoming. This past week, the Belize Minister of Fisheries was presented with a proposal to establish the reserve. It was warmly received and it is expected to move on to the Belize Cabinet. (read on)
Check them out.
Cuba looks nice. It looks really nice. I’d like to go there, and some day, maybe I will.
One guy who just got back is Jim Klug (Yellow Dog Fly Fishing and Confluence Films) and he posted up some photos at his photography site. You should spend some time there, really.
That looks nice... really nice.
Cigar anyone?
