elonDO
Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2009
- Messages
- 190
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.
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.
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.
North Andros - Sun 5/4/14
On the boat waiting out the worst of the storm - our guide Mya is wearing the Yamaha jacket.
Jim Sellers (in yellow) with fish on in the middle of the storm
Me in the storm
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.
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.
Walking to the fish in the AM on the flats
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!
Me with bonefish from 'The Stages'
'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.
North Andros 5/7/14
Me with another bonefish.
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.
Lowes Sound - loading the boats to start the day
Me with bonefish 5/7/14
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!
Jim Sellers fishing for bonefish
Underwater shot of my last bonefish of the trip swimming away.
Last flat of the trip - 'The Stevie Wonder Flat'
'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!
Deep water fly bod
Main box I worked out of most of the trip.
Magic fly for the trip - caught 75% of my fish on this fly.
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.
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.
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.
North Andros - Sun 5/4/14
On the boat waiting out the worst of the storm - our guide Mya is wearing the Yamaha jacket.
Jim Sellers (in yellow) with fish on in the middle of the storm
Me in the storm
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.
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.
Walking to the fish in the AM on the flats
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!
Me with bonefish from 'The Stages'
'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.
North Andros 5/7/14
Me with another bonefish.
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.
Lowes Sound - loading the boats to start the day
Me with bonefish 5/7/14
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!
Jim Sellers fishing for bonefish
Underwater shot of my last bonefish of the trip swimming away.
Last flat of the trip - 'The Stevie Wonder Flat'
'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!
Deep water fly bod
Main box I worked out of most of the trip.
Magic fly for the trip - caught 75% of my fish on this fly.
