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I'm really bad about sending in trip reports, but
since the volume is so low these days, I thought I'd post this:
I spent the weekend before Thanksgiving down at
Bairs Lodge on South Andros Island in the Bahamas. The other people on the trip
were from N. Carolina and I didn't know them when I went, but they turned out to
be wonderful and made me feel right at home. Bairs Lodge is superbly run by
Laura and Hal (Americans) with great rooms, some of the best food I've had in
the Bahamas and real pleasant common, dining and tying areas. The boats are
brand-new and sport 55 hp engines. The beach is right out front and there
is even a bonefish flat to the left that you can walk to and fish at the end of
the day.
Weather can be iffy in Nov, but I got lucky with
manageable winds and little rain. A couple of days were complete bluebird days.
We were able to run to the south end of the island on 3 days. This area hadn't
been accessed for a while due to weather and the fish were very willing and
aggresive. The other days, we went around the corner and up Deep Creek to almost
the west side of the island. I really liked this area. As I don't need a guide
to spot fish, the guides generally just fished also and so we did a lot of
wading. There are a lot of firm flats to be found at almost any tide level and I
had a ball as I hate fishing from the boat.
I took a couple of "experimental" flies down with
me and the biggest thrill of the trip for me was that one of them really kicked
butt. I was busy each night tying up more and handing them out. One day, one
other guest (Haden), the guide, and I caught all our fish that day on it -- more
than 20 fish. I left some with Hal (runs the place) and got email after I got
back that he had caught his biggest Andros bonefish on it!
I did well, although I never caught any really big
ones (over 7 lbs) and had one day where I couldn't do anything right (only 3
fish that day), but generally got 10-20+ fish per day. I got to fish with some
of the other guests and even went out one day with Hal. As to the guides there,
I had the most fun with Capt "T" but all were competent in every aspect of
guiding. "T" was fun because he would fish along with me, truly loves
flyfishing and would whoop and holler when he would hook up. He also
outfished me :-).
All in all, a great trip at a great lodge with
wonderful people. I can't wait to get back there.
Jay |
