kelso
05-08-2009, 07:12 PM
I've been back for a couple of weeks now and really miss the place. I have to say, if you're into DIY or, even better, a mix of guided and DIY, this is the best place I've seen.
First off, the fishery: A large expanse of wadeable flats from directly in front of the lodge to a mile north to White Bight. You can either wade the entire way, over land to White Bight or take the kayaks (which open up a vast expanse of flats, but more on that later). We never had any problems finding fish. The fish on White Bight are notorious, it seems, even though they get very little pressure, for being tough to catch. We had drinks one night with Andy Smith and Charlie Neymour and both laughed at "I swear to God, dem crazy bonefish." They are very hard to catch since the water is thin, the sand extremely white, and they seem to be eating small conical shellfish. But we figured it out in the end (with advice from Andy and Charlie). The good thing is that they are easy to see even with wind and overcast skies which is nice when the weather turns. And after figuring out (being told) to go with small brown flies with long, long, leaders and not to cast at the fish, but rather to anticipate where they were heading and cast there, we caught them. Off of the White Bight, the bonefish acted and ate like normal. With the kayaks you could reach many islands and further flats. Our exploring was relatively limited since we had constant 25kn N and NE winds for the 4 days we had there. But still got further afield to some really cool places. On the wind, there were a few concerns about being no lee for N and NE winds. And that’s true, but it was easy to position yourself for downwind casts and it was never a problem, really. In fact, the afternoon we arrived, hours ahead of the cold front, we got killed by Dr flies because the wind was blowing off the land. We preferred the wind, frankly.
A great side benefit is that the lodge is only 15 minutes by car from Cargill Creek where all the guides live and have their boats. We fished one great day with Andy Smith and it was easy to organize. You could with any of the Central Andros guides which is always worth it. With Andy we had 5 fish over 5 lbs before lunch with 2 over 8lbs. But that’s par for the course with him.
The food at the lodge was local (which is what we asked for) and very good. They kept everything neat and tidy. And they packed a great lunch. They don’t serve alcohol because of their religious beliefs but will take you out or pick up for you any beer, rum, or such you want or need. Full refrigerators in the rooms fully stocked with water, sodas, and ice as well. The only thing I missed was the 4pm appetizers served at most fishing lodges. Then again, this is a DIY place and they can’t know when you’d show up. We typically did show up late although I would have come back for conch fritters or grouper fingers.
I completely recommend the place if you are of a DIY mind, have done some bonefishing before, and enjoy remote places.
I'll post some more pictures once I reduce the size of them.
First off, the fishery: A large expanse of wadeable flats from directly in front of the lodge to a mile north to White Bight. You can either wade the entire way, over land to White Bight or take the kayaks (which open up a vast expanse of flats, but more on that later). We never had any problems finding fish. The fish on White Bight are notorious, it seems, even though they get very little pressure, for being tough to catch. We had drinks one night with Andy Smith and Charlie Neymour and both laughed at "I swear to God, dem crazy bonefish." They are very hard to catch since the water is thin, the sand extremely white, and they seem to be eating small conical shellfish. But we figured it out in the end (with advice from Andy and Charlie). The good thing is that they are easy to see even with wind and overcast skies which is nice when the weather turns. And after figuring out (being told) to go with small brown flies with long, long, leaders and not to cast at the fish, but rather to anticipate where they were heading and cast there, we caught them. Off of the White Bight, the bonefish acted and ate like normal. With the kayaks you could reach many islands and further flats. Our exploring was relatively limited since we had constant 25kn N and NE winds for the 4 days we had there. But still got further afield to some really cool places. On the wind, there were a few concerns about being no lee for N and NE winds. And that’s true, but it was easy to position yourself for downwind casts and it was never a problem, really. In fact, the afternoon we arrived, hours ahead of the cold front, we got killed by Dr flies because the wind was blowing off the land. We preferred the wind, frankly.
A great side benefit is that the lodge is only 15 minutes by car from Cargill Creek where all the guides live and have their boats. We fished one great day with Andy Smith and it was easy to organize. You could with any of the Central Andros guides which is always worth it. With Andy we had 5 fish over 5 lbs before lunch with 2 over 8lbs. But that’s par for the course with him.
The food at the lodge was local (which is what we asked for) and very good. They kept everything neat and tidy. And they packed a great lunch. They don’t serve alcohol because of their religious beliefs but will take you out or pick up for you any beer, rum, or such you want or need. Full refrigerators in the rooms fully stocked with water, sodas, and ice as well. The only thing I missed was the 4pm appetizers served at most fishing lodges. Then again, this is a DIY place and they can’t know when you’d show up. We typically did show up late although I would have come back for conch fritters or grouper fingers.
I completely recommend the place if you are of a DIY mind, have done some bonefishing before, and enjoy remote places.
I'll post some more pictures once I reduce the size of them.