Island Time With The Big Guy

All winter long, I work hard and bide my time till April, when I go on vacation to some tropical fly fishing destination. This year my good friend “Big Andy” ( who you’ve probably read about in the past) said let’s go to The Bahamas. I, in my less than thoughtful way, responded with, “Sure, whatever.”  I really was shining him on as I didn’t think he was serious. A few days later, he calls me and tells me the trip is booked. I’m sure my jaw hit the ground, and I stammered oh, ok, cool. When are we going? 

I’ve been on quite a few trips with Andy, and we always have a good time. Andy is very outgoing, and I’m a little more grounded, so we make a pretty good team. 

We were booked to go to Andros South, a well-known lodge in the Bahamas that’s part of a group of fishing lodges from Deneki Outdoors. I had no idea what to expect except that this was basically a pure bonefish operation. I haven’t been bonefishing in a while, as most of my trips lately have taken me for Redfish, Snook, and Tarpon. I was excited about a change. 

One of the things that I like about fly fishing trips is how we, as anglers get to lengthen them out. We might only fish for a week, but we have a month or two of preparation, a week of fishing, and then a month of unpacking, telling stories, and editing photos and videos. 

My adventure begins with finding out everything I can about the flies and tackle. I guarantee I will tie enough flies for myself, and Andy will do the same. 

I put together a pack list and start to slowly check the boxes. Rods, reels, lines, leaders, flies, and so on. I start to build a pile on my bedroom floor, tossing things on it as I acquire or find them. 

It’s Thursday night, and I do a final pack and repack, cutting out as much excess stuff as I think I can. I know that whatever I pack, I’ve packed too much, even though I’m sure I have it down to the bare minimum. 

I board my plane Friday, and I’m off to The Bahamas. I’ve never been to the Bahamas, but I’ve flats fished quite a bit in the surrounding oceans. I’m nervous and excited about this new adventure. Andy has been fishing at this lodge for almost 30 years, and this will be a homecoming of sorts. 

We touch down in Congo Town and make it through customs. We are heading through the parking lot for our shuttle to the lodge, and a Bahamian walks up to Big Andy and say hey, I know you. Do you remember me? And throws open his arms and is like Leslie, of course, I remember you. From this point on, the whole island o owns Andy is here, and this is basically how the rest of the trip goes one friendship after another rekindled. 

We hop on the shuttle, and the driver hands us each an ice-cold Kalik, the beer of The Bahamas. We are definitely living right, and this is a great way to kick off our adventure. 

We get to the lodge and are greeted by our hosts and two of my best and longest friends, Mia and Marty Sheppard. I’ve known them both for at least 30 years, and this was going to be a great time to spend some quality time with them. They give us the lay of the land, and we settle into our rooms. We unpack and rig rods for the next day's adventure. 

Andy and I are up early drinking coffee and very excited about what the day has in store for us. On this first day, we are going to fish with Charlie, who Andy has fished with for about 27 or 28 years. 

We get to the dock around 7:30. Andy walks down to the boats and has a reunion with three of his long-lost brothers. Charlie, Norman, and Ellie. These guides have all guided here for 25 or more years, and this will be Norman's 40th. You’re not going to find better guides than these anywhere in The Bahamas. 

As we walk down the dock to our boat, Marty points out one of the younger guides, Philip, that is wearing a Royal Treatment hat. He said that a client was here a few weeks ago wearing the hat, and he begged him for it. He promised if you were in his boat, you were going to get “The Royal Treatment.” I looked at him in astonishment and was like, "Man, that’s where I work." He was so proud and happy about that hat. We fished with Philip later in the week, and he wasn’t lying; we definitely got “The Royal Treatment.”

We all load board our respective boats and make the run to our fishing grounds. All the boats run through Little Creek to the island's West side. When we get out there, the tide is dropping. Charlie knows exactly where he wants to go. 

Each experienced guide has a program. They all have a unique way of fishing and a type of water they want to fish. Some guys like fishing the big flats, or the lagoons, some like wading, and some like fishing the creeks and the backcountry. Everyone's guide does it a little differently, and they are all good at what they do. 

Charlie takes us to some creeks where the tide is falling out, and the Bonefish will have to be leaving for deeper water. This is exactly one of the things we do for Redfish in the Everglades. I’m very familiar with this technique. 

We are slowly poling through the creek and are immediately on fish. I’m a little rusty at the bonefish game, but it’s coming back fast. I can immediately see the fish and make a good cast. My stripping is a little awkward, but the fish follows it and turns it off. We keep going, and we are quickly on our second fish. My cast is good, my strips are long, slow, and smooth. The fish follows and eats the fly, I mess up on the strip set. I don’t trout set, but it wasn’t a good set. It’s all starting to come back to me. Soon we are onto the third fish of the morning, and it all comes together. I make a good cast, leading the fish, strip, strip, strip. The fish eats, I get a good strip set, and we are off to the races. 

There is something so exhilarating about sight fishing to the flats fish. Watching everything they do, seeing their body language, watching them chase the fly, and seeing them eat. This is one of the most exciting aspects of fly fishing, and it keeps me coming back for more. 

Our day with Charlie is a big success. Andy and he rekindle their long friendship, we catch quite a few fish and have a ton of laughs. This is going to be a good week. 

To be continued