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VISIT Eleuthera - Spanish Wells - Harbour Islands Mayaguana - Great Inagua - Ragged Islands San Salvador - Rum Cay - Conception Islands
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ANDROS ISLAND Island News: WE'RE BACK! 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 beginning of your ideal vacation is just a click away. 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. And that goes for DYI anglers too. We can save you time and money. Bair's Lodge , in South Andros, has added two new deluxe rooms to their already wonderful lodge, and can now take up to 12 guests at a time. This is our top recommendation for wade fishing, and relaxed luxury. Now is the time to start planning your Fall 2009 trip. There are still prime weeks available. Please contact Kim to reserve your space. She can also arrange your travel to South Andros in the most convenient and economical way.Two Boys Inn - Great Value and DIY Options -- Frankie Neymour, Charlie's brother, and Barry Neymour, Frankie and Charlie's cousin, have started a small guest house on Cargill Creek....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. Email Kim for the details, and she can begin booking your trip.
Hank's Place - Hank's Place restaurant, on Fresh Creek, is "the place" to hang, eat and drink in Fresh Creek/Andros Town. The food is good, relatively inexpensive, and the drinks are dynamite. Hank also has two rooms to rent, and three 16' Carolina Skiff with 30 hp to rent. Hank's Place is now FOR SALE. If you're interested, click on the link above for more information. Small Hope Bay Lodge - is an excellent 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, Barry Neymour, Frankie Neymour, Deon Neymour, Raymond Mackey, Ricardo Mackey and other experienced independents. Tranquility is now taking bookings for the 2009 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.
Flats Fishing Patterns: Fairly normal summer weather patterns are in effect, with winds prevailing from the northeast, but shifting more to the south at times. 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. May 26 , 2009 Fishing Reports Central Andros/The Bights and West Side - Fishing has been excellent this past week on the oceanside flats, and throughout the North and Middle Bights. Now is the time to catch a lot of fish, especially in the morning. This is also the taron season on the West Side. For anglers looking to fish one of the most beautiful areas in the world, the South Bight is a good option, and easily reached by guides from Charlie Neymour's Logde, Tranquility Hill, and New Boys Inn. UPDATE May 26, 2009 - 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, a lush eco-resort has recently changed hands and is currently closed. The new owners are doing some amazing renovations to turn this already wonderful natural setting into 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. Tiamo will reopen in October 2009 when the renovations are complete. If you'd like to be among the first to visit and enjoy, email Stephen 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.
South Andros - For numbers of fish, this is a top location. The past week was excellent with large schools of fish along the oceanside shorelines south of Mars Bay, and relatively light winds. The southern tip of the island has been 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. 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 have expanded the lodge, and now can take 12 anglers, but they are still 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 has been excellent the past week, especially in places 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.
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. |
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©
2005 Stephen and Kim Vletas
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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 
North
Andros - Excellent fishing this past week, with nice temperatures and partly cloudy conditions. A good choice in the
area for serious anglers is 
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, Benry Smith, and Dwain Neymour specialize in fishing on the West Side, as
do guides from the Andros Island Bonefish Club and Mangrove Cay Club. Running
times to the tarpon flats range from 45 to 75 minutes.