One of our longest-standing hosts at Andros South is Captain Rick Grassett out of Sarasota, Florida. Our crew at the lodge looks forward to fishing with Rick and his gang each year, and we really appreciate Rick putting together great reports from his trips.
Here’s the lowdown on 2012. Thanks, Rick!
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Andros South Bonefish Lodge Report for May, 2012
I hosted a group of 8 anglers – Jon Yenari, from Sarasota, Mike Perez, from Sarasota and Richmond, IN, Les Fulcher, from Longboat Key, Kirk Grassett, from Middletown, DE, Doug Boardman and Tim Baskind, from Richmond, VA and Seth Koch and Lionel Rubin, from Philadelphia, PA – at Andros South Bonefish Lodge last month. I have been going to Andros South for 7 or 8 years and several group members have also been there multiple times with me.
We were surprised to see a tropical wave developing over the area the day before we left, which made tough conditions for a few days. However, as conditions improved throughout the week, so did the fishing. Conditions were poor when we arrived in a rain storm on Saturday afternoon, but our Watermaker’s Air pilot did a great job of getting us there safely. It rained all day Sunday, which was our first day of fishing and surprisingly about 6 fish were caught among the group. Mike Perez caught a couple of fish that day when he and I fished with guide Fredlon. Kirk, Jon and Les also each caught a fish or 2 that day.
It rained hard all night on Sunday and we awoke to driving rain, high winds and lightning. It rained so much that roads were flooded between the lodge and Little Creek where the guide boats are kept. We did get out for a few hours that afternoon, but nobody did anything that day. Although we still had rain and wind on Tuesday, conditions were better and a few more fish were caught among the group. Les and I fished with guide Norman on Tuesday and caught 3 fish each. Tim and Doug fished with guide Fredlon on Tuesday and had a similar day.
Conditions continued to improve the last ½ of the week, although we still had lots of wind to deal with. Singles up to 4 or 5-pounds were more plentiful early in the week and schools of bonefish returned by the end of the week. Les and I had a good day with guide Josie on Wednesday. I caught an 8-pounder that day, probably the largest fish that I’ve caught out of Andros South. Les did well on ‘cuda with a Knucklehead plug on spinning tackle, landing several up to 20-pounds. Jon caught a 17-pound ‘cuda one day on the same rig when he and Les fished together.
Doug and Tim had a good day wading with guide Torrie on Thursday and Doug caught a 7 or 8-pound fish with guide Fredlon on the last day. I fished with my brother, Kirk, the last couple of days and we had good action both days with guides Josie and Charlie. Top producing flies were Mantis Shrimp, Peterson Spawning Shrimp and Gotcha’s. We ran into a couple of friends of Eric Peterson’s, creator of the Peterson Spawning Shrimp, one day and we swapped flies and stories. The fly fishing world is a small world!
The monsoon that we had early in the week created perfect conditions for land crabbing. The land crab, which resembles a giant hermit crab, lives in underground holes and in rock crevices and migrates to saltwater to spawn when the rainy season begins. As they crawl across land towards the water they expose themselves to being caught. Crab hunters come out in droves with headlamps and protective garb to protect themselves against mosquitoes. Several group members went crab hunting a couple of nights and filled several burlap sacks with the critters. They are regarded as a local delicacy and fetch as much as $50- $60 per dozen in Nassau.
Due to rough conditions in the ocean on the east side of Andros, most or our days were spent fishing Little Creek, Deep Creek, Grassy Creek and the west side of the island. One of the best things about Andros South is the variety of options that are available. This an annual trip for me, so if you have an interest in the trip feel free to contact me. Images from the trip are available for viewing on the photo gallery of my web site at http://www.snookfin-addict.com/photos.htm.
Leave a Reply