The first full week of May welcomed home a longtime friend of Andros South, Capt. Rick Grassett.
Rick brought a great group of guys to join us this season with some of them new to Andros South and a few having been here before. Adam Tavender and John Andrew joined us all the way from Canada while John Bulkeley came from California and Jack Mikaloff from Europe.
The week treated us well with weather which was nice because the week prior was pretty windy. The guests had mostly sunny weather with light winds the whole week so the bugs were kept at bay and the fish were not too spooky. We had good enough days that the bluewater fishing was a great option as well.
Bonefishing this week was very consistent with some great numbers being put up daily. The guys did have to work for them now and then, but overall the fishing on the flats was just like it should have been – lots of shots and no shortage of schools or singles and doubles. No huge fish were landed this week, but we did have some sightings that kept everyone on alert for that double-digit bone.
The Blue water fishing turned on quite nice this week since they finally got a lull in the weather. A few of Rick’s guys went out and they really put the hurt on them. Frank Rhodes perfected the nymph technique for Dorado by dead drifting small fleshy bonefish flies that looked like bait. We think he landed 16 or 17 on the fly!! The rest of the boat combined for 5 or 6 more. I think next time we’ll recommend Alaskan flesh flies to do the job on the Dorado. It’s a lot easier than stripping the whole time too.
As our guests exited the taxi for the second week of May, we knew we were in for an interesting week. Jerry Taylor brought along Jeremey Anderson and Dave Hanson to celebrate his 40th birthday in a way that could only be done at a place like Andros South. We also welcomed Mark Godvin and crew who were brought to us by David Leake of TailWaters Fly Fishing Company. We also had the pleasure of hosting father and son pair Court and Pete Schmidt.
This week turned out to be quite a bit of fun with the different groups in the week. We had the partiers, we had the family type and we had the business type all mixed into one by the end of the week. Even though they had there differences every one of the guests made an effort to get to know the others and it really worked out well.
The weather turned out stellar until the last day of the week and many a night you would find Jerry Taylor and friends lounging in the water with drinks in hand. They did not manage, however, to find something to float the drinks while sitting in lounge chairs up to their chests in water. It did look comfortable though, no matter if they had to hold the drinks or not.
The fishing this week stayed consistent due to the kindness of Mother Nature and the guests took full advantage of it. A lot of bonefish were brought to hand this week, but once again the giants got away. Maybe next time guys! The bluewater fishing was happening again this week as Jerry, Dave and Jeremy took advantage of it on a couple days. The first day they went out was a bit tough (probably due to the prior tough night on the town) so they went for a second round and knocked them dead.
The third week of May we welcomed back Andrew Bennett, our courageous leader and owner of Deneki Outdoors. Ned Hobson from Sage/Farbank also joined us for some laid back times on the flats of South Andros. Between these two guys we could have outfitted an army with the amount of fishing gear they brought, but at least they knew what to do with all of it. The camp was quiet for a few days with just Andrew and Ned, but the fishing was still the same when the weather permitted. We had bones all over the place with schools and single/double traffic to be found as long as you stayed in the sun.
Andrew came up with a good idea for a half day trip prior to his departure by hitting the bluewater with Roggie. Ned, Vilma, Rick and Vado also joined to fill the boat and the coolers. We did not have super hot action, but both Ned and Andrew landed Dorado around the 20lb mark on the fly. We put a total of about 8 fish in the cooler, which made for some great steaks on the grill. The weather was a bit choppy, but Roggie’s larger boat made the day by letting us stay on the fish with more comfort.
This last week of the 2009 season found us once again full, which is a great way to end the season. We enjoyed the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers group hosted by Tony Johnson, but unfortunately they only stayed for half the week. His group consisted of John Lammana, Joe Bursel, Les Fulcher and Cynthia Dunayer. Corey Rich and Tira Overstreet also joined us from Texas for a little bonefishing action. Mike Pawlawski and the crew of Familiar Waters also joined us this week for another film shoot in hopes of putting a couple more killer bonefishing shows out this fall (and maybe one on Land Crabbing?).
This week Mother Nature did her best to break our spirits. We had more lightning and thunder (and rain) than any one person should bear. Lucky for us our guides were able to run from the rough weather to find the sun and bonefish when necessary. No we did not have huge numbers and the fishing was not as good as we would like, but all the guests caught fish during the trip and a few have become hooked for life on the sport of bonefishing.
Speaking of new sports ask Cynthia Dunayer about her experience with the land crabs of South Andros. The ladies in the kitchen invited Cynthia for a night out chasing down the wily crabs that really only come out in big numbers at night right now. Being the trooper she is Cynthia jumped at the chance. The first night out was quite a success with a few dozen crabs in the bag. Once the guys from Familiar Waters heard about her trip they soon found themselves volunteering to grapple with the crabs. Talk about funny stuff. You would never think that three guys trying to round up one little crab would be so entertaining. Plus Cynthia had a little bet on who would catch the most and it quickly became clear that she had the upper hand.
Thanks to all our guests and other friends for another great season!
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