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ANDROS ISLAND

Island News: BOOK YOUR BAHAMAS TRAVEL DIRECTLY WITH US - BFFG TRAVEL PLANNING AND BOOKING SERVICES -- We use our extensive experience to personalize all trips to your specific needs. You can fish with our favorite guides in our favorite locations. The top guides have been working with us for years, and they give priority to our clients. Kim is a specialist in Bahamas travel and can book your air travel and Nassau hotels as well. Email Kim directly to begin planning your ideal trip. As always our travel bookings services are free. You pay nothing extra, so why not leave it to us to plan and book your trip. We can save you time and money.

February 8, 2012 - Our top recommendations for fishing Andros include: staying with Charlie and Fatiah at their lodge on Cargill Creek, or stay across the street with Frankie and Barry if you have a larger group. Between them, Charlie and Frankie will make sure you have a great fishing experience. And if you want something unique and exclusive, you need to stay and fish with Andy Smith, and Andy's Broad Shad Cay Lodge, on Andy's private cay by the same name. The cay is about a 15 minute run into the North Bight from Behring Point and Cargill Creek. Andy's lodge only takes 4 anglers at a time, and in style, but don't be fooled. This is a serious fishing operation, focusing on the tides and fishing early to late. We are now booking Charlie, Frankie, Barry, and Andy, including their lodges....just like the old days! We invite you to contact us and join in the fun. Now is the time to book your Spring/Summer 2012 trip as space is already booking up for many dates. See more details below about the lodges.

Two Boys Inn - Great Value and DIY Options -- Frankie Neymour, Charlie's brother, and Barry Neymour, Frankie and Charlie's cousin, have started a comfortable guest house on Cargill Creek that takes up to 8 anglers....this is an ideal spot and a great price for anglers who want to fish with a top guide and/or DIY....excellent wade fishing options in the area. Rooms are large and comfortable, with good meals cooked up by Frankie's wife in the casual dining room. Satellite TV is available in the bar. Email Kim for the details, and she can begin booking your trip.

BIG CHARLIE'S LODGE on Cargill Creek - One of our favorite guides of all time--Charlie Neymour makes every day on the water fun. Charlie, and his wife, Fatiah, have moved from Nottages Cottages, and now have their own new lodge on Cargill Creek. The four comfortable air-conditioned guest rooms can take up to four anglers. This is a classic bonefish lodge, with a large dining room and bar overlooking Cargill Creek, or you can sit out on the deck and enjoy a cold Kalik and conch fritters while watching the sunset. And you won't go hungry, as Fatiah is an amazing chef, and she serves a number of dishes spiced with her Morrocan style of cooking. Aside from great bonefishing, tarpon fishing, and reef fishing, Charlie also offers hunting trips to the West Side for wild boar hunting and wing shooting. You can book Charlie and some of the other best independent guides on Andros by emaling Kim directly. Please note: If you are looking for the best possible "serious fishing" trip, staying here and fishing with Charlie and our other top independent guides is our Number One recommendation in The Bahamas. We guarantee you will love this fishing experience.

Broad Shad Cay Lodge - Andy and Sharon Smith have created a unique lodge on this special cay in the North Bight. The lodge 50 feet or so above the water, nestled in the mangroves, and offers sensational views of the bight and Big Wood Cay. Wrap-around wooden decks, native stone work, and super-detailed interior finishes make this a casually elegant place to hang your hat, and to enjoy yourself after a hard day of fishing. Andy and Sharon can only take four anglers at a time, so this is an exclusive place that focuses on hard core fishing. Andy runs the program himself, and bases each fishing day on the tides, and he has no problem running to the West Side, then back east to meet the right tide at the right time of day. If you want to focus on fishing for Big Bonefish, and for tarpon, then Andy will do everything possible to put you on those dream fish. The best way to Andy is by emaling Kim directly. Due to high demand and exclusivity you need to book as far in advance as possible, but that said, sometimes there are last minute cancellations, so if you have to book late, you might get lucky. We hope that applies to your fishing also!

Small Hope Bay Lodge - is a good option for fishermen bringing non-fishing companions to Andros. And this isn't a compromise to the anglers. The fishing (especially bonefishing) is excellent in Fresh Creek, and Small Hope guides also take their clients into the Bights. Non-anglers can experience sensational scuba diving and snorkeling, relax on the beach, go sea kayaking, bike, windsurf, or go sailing. The lodge has 20 cottages right on the beach. All-inclusive packages are available, and the include an open bar.

Tranquility Hill Fishing Lodge - Located at Behring Point on the North Bight, the lodge offers exceptional hospitality, delicious food, comfortable air-conditioned rooms, and top guides including Dwain Neymour, Raymond Mackey, Ricardo Mackey and other experienced independents. Tranquility is now taking bookings for the 2010 season. You can contact them directly at 242-368-4132, or email Kim to assist with your booking.

Flamingo Cay, Wide Open, West Side - Established in the 1920s as a duck hunting club by the Bethel family, the club has been an exclusive hunting and fishing lodge every since for family friends, including British royalty. A couple of years ago, Charles Bethel III decided it was time to open the fun to the public, although the lodge rarely advertises, and most guest make their bookings from word-of-mouth recommendations from previous guests.

Charlie Bethel is an outgoing host who always makes you feel at home, and he creates an overall relaxed atmosphere by taking no more than six guests at a time. The club sits on a remote creek on Andros's uninhabited West Side, in a sprawling bay known as Wide Open. Large schools of bonefish roam the white sand flats from Pretty Creek to Williams Island, though you don't have to go far to catch fish. We've had days of 40 plus bones just fishing the shoreline right outside the home creek. And if you're looking for big bones, those double digit monsters roam the outer sand bank not more than fifteen minutes from the lodge. Tarpon fishing is also excellent, and its not uncommon to get shots at permit. For wing-shooters, the dove and duck hunting is a fun option. Fishing season in October 1 to June 31, and shooting season is October 15 to March 31. Email Stephen for more details and booking information.

Flats Fishing Patterns: Fairly normal winter/spring weather patterns are in effect, with winds prevailing from the northeast.

You should always carry a good breathable rain jacket and pants in the boat for possible rain, and use the jacket as a windbreaker on early morning runs. We recommend wearing long pants to guard against "doctor" flies, especially while wading. There is nothing a "doctor" fly likes better than saltwater on bare skin. These flies also like to bite bare feet, so we wear socks and insect repellent in the boat. Patagonia baggie pants and Ex Officio Amphi pants are cool, dry-fast, and don't allow the flies to bite through the material like they can bite through other thinner material.

February 8, 2012 Fishing Reports

Central Andros/The Bights and West Side - Things are shaping up for a great spring season. Good fishing on the oceanside flats, and in the North and Middle Bights. Tarpon fishing on the West Side needs some warmer weather but that could happen any time.

For anglers looking to fish one of the most beautiful areas in the world, the South Bight is a good option also, and easily reached by guides from Charlie Neymour's Logde, Tranquility Hill, Broad Shad Cay Lodge, and Two Boys Inn.

NEW OPTION on Mangrove Cay - Swain's Cay Lodge. You can choose from beachfront and oceanview suites or gardenview rooms. You can fish the beachfront on your own, hire an independent guide, go snorkeling, diving, kayaking, or just hang out and catch some rays. A nice option for those who don't want a bonefishing lodge program.

New independent guide option on Mangrove Cay: Alvin Greene has years of experience guiding the Middle and South Bights and the West Side. Click here to visist Alvin's web site.

UPDATE February 8, 2012 - One of our favorite spots is the shoreline just east of Tiamo Resort. You can wade this shoreline and fish to monster tailing bones on the incoming tide. Tiamo is ab eco-resort in a pristine natural setting; a luxurious 5-star resort for fly fishing and other beachside adventure activities. Snorkeling is available right off the beach, or you can wade toward Driggs Hill on the incoming tide and look for big tails. Email Kim for more details and booking information.

Independent guides Charlie Neymour, Andy Smith, Barry Neymour, Frankie Neymour, Ricardo Mackey, Deon Neymour, Benry Smith and others are the most experienced and professional group of independent guides in the Bahamas. They work out of Dolphin, Action Craft, and Maverick flats boats with 70 to 150 HP outboards (mostly Yamahas). Tranquility Hill Fishing Lodge and Andros Island Bonefish Club also have excellent house guides including Dwain Neymour at Tranquility. Our favorite flies include #2-4 Gold Shiner and Gotcha Clouser's Minnows, #2-4 Gotchas, #2-4 Veverka's Mantis Shrimp, #2-6 Pink and Tan Hoovers, #2-4 Spawning Shrimp, #4-6 Beck's Sililegs, and #4-6 Tan Yarn Crabs. When in doubt, go with a Clouser and you'll catch plenty of fish. Our favorite tarpon flies include #4/0 Shallow Water Cockroach, #3/0 Abel Tarpon Anchovy, and #4/0 Red/White Sea Bunny and Dahlberg's Nothing Fancy. If we could only fish with one fly? Easy, a #4 Gotcha Clouser. Go with a #2 in deeper water, and a #6 in skinny water.

North Andros - Good fishing along the shorelines around Lowe's Sound and the around the nearby cays. Also a great time to fish the Joulter's before the pressure picks up as the season progresses. A good choice in the area for serious anglers is Stafford Creek Lodge. This popular lodge only accommodates 6 anglers at a time and features comfortable accommodations and good food. You can contact Prescott Smith at 242-368-6050, or email him.

Phillip Rolle is one of the top guides on North Andros, and he specializes in fishing the Joulter's Cays. If you are looking to book a day guide in the area, Phillip and his team are a good option. Phillip's company, North Andros Fly Fishing, also has a nice two-beroom rental cottage available if you would like to book a package of lodging, meals, and guided fishing on North Andros. This is a good option for serious anglers looking to focus on fishing the Joulter's Cays. You can contact Phillip through is web site North Andros Fly Fishing.

South Andros - For numbers of fish, this is a top location. This week should be good fishing along the oceanside shorelines south of Mars Bay, and as usual, in the Grassy Cays area at the southern tip of the island. The southern tip of the island is amazing, with lots of fish cruising the seemingly endless flats. Fishing on the white sand bottoms at the southern tip of the island makes spotting bones easy, even on cloudy days, and there are numerous creeks, including Little and Deep Creeks, and Hawksbill Creek where anglers can find protection from the wind, and the wade fishing in these creeks can be excellent. Our favorite flies ere include #4-6 Gotchas, #4-8 Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp, and #6 Tan Yarn Crabs, #4-6 Greg's Flats Fly, #4-6 Spawning Shrimp, #4-6 Hoover's, and #4-6 Beck's Sililegs. For the best success go with longer leaders, 10 feet at least, and use Flourocarbon if you get refusals on other tippet material. Many of these fish are PhDs when it comes to being fooled, so keep that in mind.

Bair's Lodge is the best option for fishing South Andros. This is a deluxe lodge, with excellent food, and good guides...one of the most comfortable lodges we have ever stayed at. They can take 12 anglers, and they are booked months in advance so you need to make your plans as far ahead as possible. Lots of fish here if you're into numbers...some big fish too, especially in Deep Creek and Little Creek. Please email Kim directly to facilitate your booking. This is one of our TOP RECOMMENDATIONS in the islands for wade fishing and relaxed luxury.

West Side - The water out here is spectacular, and the fishing picking up now. A great time for tarpon fishing through November, then again starting in April, though when the weather cooperates it can be good year round. We love areas like like Little Miller's Creek toward the south, and Wide Open to the north. The resident tarpon are in the 60 to 100 pound class, which is ideal size for a 10-weight fly rod, although we are seeing fish up to 150 pounds at this time of year. The only fly you really need is a Shallow Water Cockroach.

Fishing on the West Side of Andros is an awe-inspiring experience. It is just so beautiful, and it often seams surreal, as the sky and the ocean blend in a way that erases the horizon. Fishing in the West Side creeks is also a fun alternative, going for snappers, sharks, barracuda and jacks. Guides Charlie Neymour, Andy Smith, Barry Neymour, Frankie Neymour, Eddie Rolle, and Dwain Neymour specialize in fishing on the West Side. Running times to the tarpon flats range from 45 to 90 minutes.

Reef/Offshore: On calm days you can enjoy excellent fishing for dorado and tuna around the naval buoys. The midnight blue water, 6,000 feet deep, is so clear you can see fish fifty feet below the boat. For fly fishing over the reefs we normally use a 10-weight fly rod, but an 11 or 12-weight would not be too much. A saltwater taper with a clear intermediate sink tip is our line of choice.