Our first guests in December joined us on the 5th for a week of fishing, but ended up having a strong run of fishing and weather that convinced them to stay on a few more days.
Photo: Bill Gibbs
Both Bill Gibbs and Fred Shvetz have fished with us before so we were looking forward to hanging out with them. They were joined during the week by a very last-minute addition. Tom Kalishman was on his way for a short tour of the Bahamas and found us online while searching out info on where to go for the wily bonefish.
The weather during the first half of December was quite nice and many days ended up in the low 80’s for temps with clean blue skies above and not much wind to speak of. When the weather is that nice the fishing is typically pretty good as well. During Bill and Fred’s trip the weather held strong and even on the last couple days when it was a bit grey and windy the fishing was alright.
The fishing was quite consistent. Both Bill and Fred have done enough bonefishing to know that a good day does not always have to include big numbers brought to hand. Quality over quantity has been the motto for these two guys so no “messin’ with schoolies” for them! They were both happy to search out singles and doubles to keep things interesting. Neither Bill nor Fred landed any huge fish to speak of but they did put a lot of fish in hand by the end of the trip, including a few ‘cudas.
Even though Tom only fished with us two days he packed a lot into them. The first day he had a busy day with no huge numbers or huge size but just good fishing and lots of chances. He ended the day with a hook up on a giant barracuda that jumped all over the place and finally threw the hook, which might have been the best outcome anyways. His final day he brought a couple of 5 lb+ fish to hand and ended the day with chances at a double digit fish that may haunt him for some time. Tom swore he would return to get a chance at the big toad that he left on the flats of South Andros Island.
After Bill, Fred and Tom left us in mid December we had a little Christmas break until the day after Christmas when we welcomed the Krauter group. The group consisted of dad Neil Krauter Sr and sons Neil Jr and Christian. This was a real father and son trip with all three being avid fishermen with a mix of fly and spin knowledge. They were very interested in anything they could catch and did not worry about how to do so. The boys fished each night around the dock and even in the morning before heading to the boats.
The weather was really nice the whole time they were here, very calm and sunny with very little cloud cover. It was so nice that one of the days they took advantage of fishing a half day with Roggie and then diving and snorkeling with him in the afternoon. It’s a perfect way to mix up the fishing trip if you enjoy getting wet.
The few hours they fished with Roggie on the blue water trip they did quite well, with a couple dorado and a 30lb wahoo and at one point had a triple on barracuda. The action and changes to technique kept them pretty busy. As far as bonefishing goes they each brought fish to hand which made for a success on new species for each of them and each caught one on a fly as well.
It was really nice to have a father and son group join us over the holidays – especially with these guys. They really had a nice time and were fun to be around even when they got a little rowdy. Hopefully we see them again!
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