North Andros, Bahamas - Bonefishing 5/3/14 - 5/10/14 (long with lots of photos)

elonDO

elonDO

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I just got back from my first bonefish experience in the Caribbean. I had the opportunity to travel with a group of 6 guys from North Carolina to North Andros, Bahamas, for bonefishing 5/3/14 - 5/10/14. It was a great experience and will be going back at some point. I was the only rookie of the group. Of the other 6, one has been over 15 times, another had guided there in the past, and the other 4 had been an average of 4-5 times.

5/3/14: I flew from Harrisburg to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Nassau via Delta. I met up with the group in Atlanta for the rest of the trip. From Nassau we flew Western Air to North Andros. Here is the view from the plane coming into Nassau.

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View from plane coming into Nassau

After landing on North Andros we were met by our taxi driver (Alan) who took us to our house - the Sportsman's Club in Nicholls Town (Sportsman's Club - North Andros). It was a great house & could easily fit all 7 of us. A great value for the week as well.

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Sportsman's Club - North Andros

5/4/14: Our first day of fishing. We started the day with (2) boats with 3-guys a piece plus the guide. We had (3) boats starting Tuesday 5/6. The guides met us at the house at 8am to load up and take us to Lowes Sound. Our main guide was Prince Myers (goes by nickname Mya), Bonefish Bones (aka: Drexel Rahming). Another guy names Seymour (aka: Schemer) was the 3rd boat/guide on 5/6. Weather started out nice in the AM, but by lunch we had some heavy rain that rolled in from the ocean. We were able to fish thru the heavy rain & things had actually picked up. Despite casting blindly into the ocean, we had many hook-ups. At the end of Day 1 I had one fish in the boat & was on the board with my first bonefish. It was caught out of a small pod of fish. Those things can run! Here are some pics for Day 1 of fishing.

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North Andros - Sun 5/4/14

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On the boat waiting out the worst of the storm - our guide Mya is wearing the Yamaha jacket.

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Jim Sellers (in yellow) with fish on in the middle of the storm

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Me in the storm

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My 1st bonefish!

At the end of the day we were polling deeper water for schooling bones. One of the guys I was fishing with, Theo Copeland from Appalachian Anglers in Boone, NC, was able to hook a 6-ft Lemon Shark on a spinning rod for a brief period before it broke him off.

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Theo with shark on.

At the end of Day 1 - I landed 1 bonefish & broke of 2 others. It was a struggle learning to see the fish & cast with the wind. Also a struggle learning to strip-set, instead of a trout fishing hook set, that's how I broke off the first two fish. A steep learning curve on Day 1, but I was on the board! I fished with Guide Mya all day and my friends Jim Kramer & Theo Copeland.

5/5/14: Again started the day with the guides meeting us a the house at 8am. Still with Mya & Bones as our guides. I was again with Guide Mya for Day 2. Weather was beautiful, I was starting to get the hang of seeing large pods of moving fish & starting to pick-up a few doubles & triples and bigger groups. The wind still caused me troubles with casting, but I was figuring it out. I was able to land a total of 4 fish on Day 2. I still broke off a few getting the strip-set in my head, but I was learning! No rain this day and weather was beautiful. In addition to fishing with Mya, I had Jim Kramer & Brad Pete in the boat with me. Pictures from Day 2.

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Walking to the fish in the AM on the flats

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5/6/14: Met the guides at the house at 8am and off to Lowes Sound. We had 3 boats today, as we were joined by another guy, bringing our group total to 7. I was again with Guide Mya. He took us to a place beyond the Joulters, known as 'The Stage.' This flat was absolutely huge, but had tons of tailing bonefish. I was finally able to start picking up singles, doubles, triples, and larger groups of fish. I broke off 2 nice fish early with Mya, then he left my side & let me try the rest of the day on my own. This was my best day of the trip to this point. I landed 7 fish - all on my own, without the guide on my side spotting fish & telling me where to cast. I was able to catch my first tailing single as well, which was quite exhilarating! Site fishing for these fish is absolutely AMAZING! My friend, Jim Kramer, had an epic day on 'The Stages' landing over 30 fish. He said it was the best day of bonefishing he has ever had in 5-6 trips. It was an awesome day!

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Me with bonefish from 'The Stages'

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'The Stages'

5/7/14: Fished with Bonefish Bones today, along with Jim Kramer and Theo Copeland. We headed back to 'The Stages,' but a different area. Was not quite as epic a day as the previous day, but still good. I was able to land 6 fish. Had some others hooked that came unbuttoned.

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North Andros 5/7/14

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Me with another bonefish.

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Picture of Jim Kramer and our guide Bones

5/8/14: Fished with Schemer and Jim Kramer. We went to a new area beyound the Joulters. This was a flat Jim had never previously fished in the past 5-6 years. We were able to find tailing fish, but fishing was a lot harder today. Struggled with the wind again, but still able to bring 5 bones to hand.

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Lowes Sound - loading the boats to start the day

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Me with bonefish 5/7/14

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Me with another bonefish from 5/7/14

5/9/14: Last day of fishing for the trip. Back on the boat with Bones, along with Jim Kramer and Jim Sellers. We went back to 'The Stages' for one last hora & we were not disappointed. This was my best day of the trip, landed a total of 9. I should have had 13 or 14 fish, but several came unbuttoned. It was a great way to end the trip. Combination of tailing fish and pods. Awesome trip!

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Jim Sellers fishing for bonefish

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Underwater shot of my last bonefish of the trip swimming away.

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Last flat of the trip - 'The Stevie Wonder Flat'

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'The Stevie Wonder Flat'

5/10/14: Up at 5am to catch taxi back to the airport. After flying to Nassau and Atlanta, I parted ways with the rest of the group headed back to Greensboro, NC. I had a 5-hr layover in Atlanta before heading back to Harrisburg. Finally back at home at 11pm last night.

This was an awesome trip! I was able to catch fish everyday, which my fellow group members said was pretty good for a first time. By the end of the week I was able to see fish better & better handle the wind. I had a total of 32 fish brought to hand. These fish are amazing. They will at times come 10 feet or more to take the fly, while other times just look at it and spook away. The power of these fish are unmatched. I saw the backing with just about every fish I caught. My gear held up great. This will be an experience for me to repeat in the future! Here are some closing pictures of my fly boxes for the week and the magic fly for all of us. Glad I took the vise & some tying materials along!

Enjoy and thanks for taking a look!

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Deep water fly bod

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Main box I worked out of most of the trip.

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Magic fly for the trip - caught 75% of my fish on this fly.

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What a great report and beautiful pics.

Thanks for taking us on a tour of Andros and congrats on your bonefish success. No doubt - when a freshwater fly fisherman used to hooking trout or bass in PA latches into his first bonefish...it's a real eye opener.
 
Great pics and write up. Always enjoy the "out of the norm" outings.
 
very cool! thanks for sharing. i have the saltwater bug after landing two snook last year. this report gets me pumped for my cancun trip in June. hoping for a grand slam in isla blanca. very cool pics
 
Do you have info on guide service?
 
Fished South Andros in early March. It is a pretty amazing island, nooked away between all of the resorty islands, Andros is pretty dam desolate and offers some of the best fly fishing in north america. Anyone able to make it down there will not leave without requiring a return.

Stoked you made it down there!
 
Great report and pics. I have fished Andros a couple of times. Amazing place. Great job on the fish and pics.

GenCon
 
Joulters is a special place, been there many times. Had my best day ever there this past March----tailing fish every way you looked!

Your weather that one day looked horrible, especially for a first day bonefishing. Get a 'postcard' day on a falling tide when the fish are on and the channels and flats light up in all their colors......not another place I'd rather be.

 
sipe wrote:
Do you have info on guide service?

Sipe-

I don't have info on all the guides. The trip & logistics was completely booked by one of the other guys I went with. I tried doing a Google search from some of them & came up empty. Here is the info for one of the guides though. Good guy & had a great time with him. His boat can fit up to (3) people. I know he also has a private house that he helps rent out, different from ours that is available. His info from his business card he gave us:

Drexel Rahming (aka: Bonefish Bones)
Conch Sound North Andros Bahamas
Telephone: 1-242-329-2118
Cell: 471-2707

I'm assuming you would need to dial a country code or something with that. If truly interested, I'd give him a call. Great guide! Let me know if you have any questions & I will try to track down info on the other guys to post for those interested.


STONEMAN wrote:
Great report. What should I budget for something like that? Thanks.

Stoneman- until all is said & done, you're probably looking at roughly $4000-$5000, depending on where you stay & the guides you book.

For us, we made all the arrangements on our own - booked our own lodging, booked our own guides, booked our own airfare, etc. This helped us save a great deal of money. For us, the trip itself (lodging & guiding without tip included) was $2500. We had a group of 7, we all lived in the same house. The first two days we had 2 guides, the other 4 days of fishing we had 3 guides. We split the costs evenly between the 7 of us.

Airfare for me from Harrisburg to Nassau was about $400.
Airfare from Nassau to North Andros was $150 (roundtrip)
I allotted about $600 for food, tips, groceries, misc expenses.
The entire trip for me was about $3500 which is pretty good.

To get a quick idea of the cost, you can check out the website for Phillip Rolle, who is one of the better guides on the island. Our group has used him in the past & they say he is good. Here is his website. Let me know if you have any questions!

Phillip Rolle Bonefishing Guide Service



Spiral wrote:
Joulters is a special place, been there many times. Had my best day ever there this past March----tailing fish every way you looked!

Your weather that one day looked horrible, especially for a first day bonefishing. Get a 'postcard' day on a falling tide when the fish are on and the channels and flats light up in all their colors......not another place I'd rather be.

Spiral- I agree, that first day weather was horrible for about 2-hrs. We had some great days on falling tide & had a blast. It was amazing.

Where did you stay & what guides did you use while you were there?
 
STONEMAN wrote:
Great report. What should I budget for something like that? Thanks.

Stoneman- until all is said & done, you're probably looking at roughly $4000-$5000, depending on where you stay & the guides you book.

For us, we made all the arrangements on our own - booked our own lodging, booked our own guides, booked our own airfare, etc. This helped us save a great deal of money. For us, the trip itself (lodging & guiding without tip included) was $2500. We had a group of 7, we all lived in the same house. The first two days we had 2 guides, the other 4 days of fishing we had 3 guides. We split the costs evenly between the 7 of us.

Airfare for me from Harrisburg to Nassau was about $400.
Airfare from Nassau to North Andros was $150 (roundtrip)
I allotted about $600 for food, tips, groceries, misc expenses.
The entire trip for me was about $3500 which is pretty good.

To get a quick idea of the cost, you can check out the website for Phillip Rolle, who is one of the better guides on the island. Our group has used him in the past & they say he is good. Here is his website. Let me know if you have any questions!

Phillip Rolle Bonefishing Guide Service
 
Spiral wrote:
Joulters is a special place, been there many times. Had my best day ever there this past March----tailing fish every way you looked!

Your weather that one day looked horrible, especially for a first day bonefishing. Get a 'postcard' day on a falling tide when the fish are on and the channels and flats light up in all their colors......not another place I'd rather be.

Spiral- I agree, that first day weather was horrible for about 2-hrs. We had some great days on falling tide & had a blast. It was amazing.

Where did you stay & what guides did you use while you were there?
 
Ahhhhhh I can't tell you all my secrets or else everyone else would be doing it :)



 
Elon:Unless things have changed,or you had a charter into Andros,you have to overnight in Nassau and go to Andros the next morning.Been that way since the early 1980s through 2013

For some reason,that part bugs me because it's total down time and expensice(hotel,taxis,and meals).Usually runs about $250-$300.
BTW:"Rahming' is the name of a flats boat built in the Bahamas.Probably his relative.

Nice report!!!
 
AFISHN wrote:
Elon:Unless things have changed,or you had a charter into Andros,you have to overnight in Nassau and go to Andros the next morning.Been that way since the early 1980s through 2013

For some reason,that part bugs me because it's total down time and expensice(hotel,taxis,and meals).Usually runs about $250-$300.
BTW:"Rahming' is the name of a flats boat built in the Bahamas.Probably his relative.

Nice report!!!

AFISHN: we did not need to stay overnight in Nassau, nor did we need to charter a flight. I believe Western Air flies one flight a day from Nassau to North Andros. Our flight was around 4pm I believe. I agree that a layover in Nassau would be both a waste timewise & money wise.

Interesting about the Rahming thing, did not know that!
 
Great report! Can't wait for my next trip. I'm hoping to go to Belize in January
 
Elon:Unless things have changed,or you had a charter into Andros,you have to overnight in Nassau and go to Andros the next morning.Been that way since the early 1980s through 2013

For some reason,that part bugs me because it's total down time and expensice(hotel,taxis,and meals).Usually runs about $250-$300.
BTW:"Rahming' is the name of a flats boat built in the Bahamas.Probably his relative.



Not true. You can catch flights from most east coast US airports that arrive in Nassau noon/1pmish and then either take a private charter over or take the LeAir (previously Western Air) 4:30 daily flight.

I can leave my house in Northwest PA at 6 am and be on Andros drinkin' a Kalik by 3 via private charter (same cost as LeAir if you have 4 guys).

One of the reasons I like Andros. You go to some of the other out-islands where flights are only a couple days a week or leave real early in the morning from Nasssau......you lose time and then have Nassau lodging costs the night before.
 
elonDO, what a great trip! Great pictures thanks for sharing.
 
Elon:Unless things have changed,or you had a charter into Andros,you have to overnight in Nassau and go to Andros the next morning.Been that way since the early 1980s through 2013
I went to Andros in April this year and did not have to stay over. We left BWI @ 8:00 a.m. and arrived Philly at 9:00 and Atlanta at around noon. We arrived in Nassau around 1:30 p.m.

We had tickets to Andros through LeAir and left at 4:00 and arrived about 4:20. It was a twenty minute van ride to the resort that cost us $20 each. Two of the guys in our group put their stuff together quickly and were on an ocean flat by 5:00.

My fare to Nassau was $435 and the fare to Andros was $110.00. We stayed at Two Boys Inn with six days guided bonefishing and had hot breakfast and dinner everyday. We made our own lunches after breakfast. My total expenses, including buying a #9 rod & reel, and tips were a bit under $3000.
 
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