Thanks to all of you for your input on the 2010 Buff® designs. Please vote for your top choices on these new 2011 designs in the comment area below.

I also have two new Polartec Buff® designs that are the ideal protection during the winter months. Polar Buff® is the Original Buff® headwear sewn to a cylindrical piece made of Polartec® Classic 100. In cold weather, Polar Buff® maintains body temperature and prevents heat loss, thanks to the combination of microfiber and Polartec®.

It’s not everyday you get a chance to fish with a “fishing legend” of any kind, much less someone like Stu Apte. I say that because Stu is a really nice guy and a gentleman.
Also along on this trip was Stu’s wife Jeanine who, according to Stu, is the light of his life. These two people belong together, that’s for sure.
Stu and I had been working on fishing together for quite some time but our schedules, mostly his, were always pretty tight and we just couldn’t make it happen. Finally, the seas parted and we had dates that worked.

Fortunately, another scheduling snafu became a blessing when my good friend Mike Conner was able to get away from his hectic freelance writing schedule to join the group. Mike was the former editor of Shallow Water Angler and writer for just about anybody that had anything important to say about fishing. If you look back in any magazine that you still have a copy of, you will probably find Mike’s name. So here’s our group…Stu and Jeanine, Mike Conner, my wife Jean and myself. A pretty good group of fisherman in my opinion.

Jean and I took a flight with our friends at Airgate Aviation out of Daytona Beach. They are a fairly new airline to the Bahamas, replacing (thank God) the old Vintage airline that was never pleasant to fly not to mention wondering if they were organized enough to stay in business…which they weren’t. Anyway, Airgate is very well run, they keep their daily schedule and are even thinking of increasing the number of daily flights. The planes are beautiful and perfectly maintained and they service Marsh Harbor and Treasure Cay. So now we have two airlines servicing the N.E. Florida area to Abaco, Airgate out of Daytona and Craig Air out of Jacksonville.

We arrived on the early flight to Marsh Harbor and we were greeted by friend and General Manager Clint Kemp. Clint has been promising to take me to his secret flat since we’ve met but for some reason, we never had time to go there. I can tell you this about his secret flat…I know why it’s a secret! You would never find this spot in a million years if you had to do it on your own, but it would be worth it believe me. OK, we have 3 hours to fish before we have to be back at the airport and we have to go to Jamie’s Place (my favorite Marsh Harbor restaurant) for lunch. We’re done with lunch and Clint has to blindfold us to take us to the flat (just kidding).
We rig up, get our boots on, pick our fly and hit the water. We walk about 50 feet and here comes the first fish, then another, and another…the fish are leaving the flat on the outgoing tide and they’re feeding along the way. Clint nails one, then Jean gets one and looses it. I do the same. Damn, I wanted to break my record for catching a bonefish within 3 hours of landing…not going to happen it looks like.

We pick up Stu and Jeanine from the 4pm American Airlines flight and head down to the lodge, thinking of how good Clint’s famous Mojitos are going to taste. After an incredible dinner of conch chowder and conch fritters we pack it in after the usual long traveling day.

Saturday morning gives us a taste of what we’re going to have to fish in the remainder of the trip….wind of at least 15 knots and mostly cloudy. Well, that never stopped us professionals from giving it all we had. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough! I think the master (Stu) got a couple of fish that first day plus a quick nap in between fish…how does he do that? Jean and I got skunked but we got lots of practice casting in the wind. Mike arrived mid-day, so he was at the lodge to greet us when we got back. We settled in for dinner and spent the evening sitting around comparing flies and strategy for tomorrow.

Sunday, was a little nicer with less cloud cover and what seemed like less wind. It might have been a case of wishful thinking! The fishing was much better for everyone on this day with Stu leading the pack again. Mike caught several nice ones, I caught a couple and Jean got her first bonefish right at the end of the day. On the way back to the lodge we decided to check out one of our favorite bonefish spots…”the road flat”. Paul on the previous day said that he had seen several fish on the road flat and I thought we should give it shot. We pulled off the side of the road and sure enough, there were the fish. We got the rods out quickly trying to keep an eye on the fish and not loose them in the setting sun. Stu got a shot off but the fish ignored it. Mike moved down the road a bit and found a big guy working along the mangroves. Mike waded out and finally put the feathers in front of the fish and had one on. This guy didn’t want to come in but Mike finally convinced him it was the right thing to do. What a way to end the day. BUT, the real highlight of the day was that it was Jeanine Apte’s birthday. Clint made one of his special dinners with an incredible chocolate dessert and of course a few adult beverages to top off the evening.

Monday was our last day to fish and it was our most productive day out of the trip. We worked the inside bays early in the tide where Stu pulled one out of the mangroves. As the tide came in we moved to the outside edges south of our boat ramp creek and found several singles and a school or two that were interested in eating. At lunch we switched boats so that I was fishing with Stu and Jean and Mike were fishing together. Immediately both boats found fish. In fact Stu and I got into a school of probably several hundred fish holding in a depression on the flat. They were easy to spot because of the flashing and discolored water. I threw first using a “King of Abaco” and got hooked up right away. Stu came up behind me and fired off a Puglisi spawning shrimp which they liked just as well. Are you kidding…a double header on bonefish…that’s us! The day continued with multiple hook-ups on both boats and we got some good photos for Mike’s article for Fly Rod & Reel Magazine. On our last pass heading back to the dock, we fished the shoreline south of Sandy Point looking for anything that swims, like maybe a permit or possibly a tarpon. There up on the sandy shoreline was a dark circle moving in our same direction. OK, this was going to be easy! Then from the beach we see two yellow labs bounding into the ocean heading in our direction. No way they’re going to come out to us, but yes here they come. So from behind the boat two furryheads are tracking behind us thinking who knows what but still coming our way. Thinking that we may be going too fast to catch (like a car) they head into the beach….right through the school of bonefish! As it turned out, the fish eventually settled down and we got our shots. We caught several once we changed flies and went to the standard pink charlie, the “go to fly” when over white sand in the Bahamas.

Our departure day was calm and bright….of course! Oh well, we had a great time celebrating Jeanine’s birthday, drinking Clint’s now famous mojitos and warming up for Stu’s 80th the following week. But before we all left, I had a project I have been thinking about for years. After finishing Lefty’s portrait a few years back, I had wanted to do a portrait of someone else that was a legendary figure in the fishing world….this was my opportunity. In preparation for this trip, I found a photo of Stu that I transfered on to a canvas in the form of a line drawing. My plan was to have everyone take a turn painting on the painting and then sign the piece. We would get as much done as we could and I would finish the rest in my studio. I would donate the finished painting to the charity of Stu’s choice and we would produce a poster of the painting so that Stu could have a piece to sign and donate to future charities and events. I was hoping that we would have begun the painting on the first night of the trip but those darned mojitos kept getting in the way. We spent the morning painting and signing the canvas, Mike recorded us painting and we left the lodge ready for our next adventure.

Coming home is coming home! It’s great to get home but I sure miss that blue-green crystal clear water, fresh conch and the national drink of Cuba. Fortunately, I’ll be going back soon. Mike’s article will be coming out soon (I’ll let you know via Twitter and Facebook) and we’ll start tying flies for our next trip.

The TV crew arrived in Abaco while I was out fishing with our guests who were already at the lodge, author, Captain and friend, Jeffery Cardenas and Alan Keough from out west. Alan caught his first bonefish on this trip…and several more. We had a fantastic day, lots of fish, shots at permit and conch ceviche on the boat for lunch. Doesn’t get much better than that! We had a great time that evening, incredible food, telling stories, sharing some rum and catching up on life in the Keys.

The first day of filming was a little slow due to wind and clouds, which we have been battling since January. We caught fish but it was tough. Also on this first day we were joined by my old friend who I hadn’t seen in years, Sue Cocking, outdoor writer for the Miami Herald. I read Sue’s stories online and you should too. She’s one of the best in the business and a VERY good flyrod angler. So this was our crew.

Day two…. windy again but tolerable. Sue caught 2 fish for the day and us guys didn’t do as well. We in our wisdom decided to make a run up to the southern marls to go for numbers. It was the other way around…they had ours! The good thing about our lodge is that even if the fishing is slow, we eat very, very well. Clint Kemp, our general manager is also our chef until the main lodge opens next year. Clint always has a surprise for us at the end of the day. In fact, one of our recent guest said that never in all of his life while on a bonefishing trip did he quit worrying about catching bonefish around 3 o’ clock  and start thinking about what Clint was serving for dinner.
Day three was epic or “Eptic” as they say in the  Bahamas and we caught more fish than the previous days put together.  One unforgettable event happened in the afternoon as Chris was on the bow and our guide, Paul Pinder (Director of Fishing Operations) spotted a huge permit feeding on a ray. This was the opportunity of a lifetime for anyone who has ever fished for permit and Chris had a bonefish fly on. Chris was throwing at a big brown spot that he thought was the ray and didn’t see the prize not too far away. Finally Chris spotted the big guy and all along I was trying to hand him a permit rod that I had rigged for just such a moment. Chris didn’t want to take the rod thinking there wasn’t enough time to switch….anyway, the permit took off and Chris missed his fish. It was one of the biggest permit I’ve seen in a while.

We managed to get in some of the interviews that were necessary to pull the conservation concepts and the role of Schooner Bay together. Both Clint, Sue and I all talked about our ideas and our relationship to Black Fly, Schooner Bay and the concepts of sustainability in the world of fishing. Good stuff I think and timely for all of us.

Day four was critical as we had at least one show in the bag and we were working on maybe getting two out of the deal. Sue had a deadline to meet so unfortunately she had to return to Miami…her cat was sick too. I was fishing by myself with Paul and Chris was fishing with Tony Bain. Paul was working along his usual edges and we, or I should say I, had already spooked a few fish that should have eaten. this was not looking good. Then….. here comes my fish!  I got the fly off quickly and it landed right in front of the fish…he took off to the right just like the others and we both were thinking the same thing…oh no, not again. Then, he just turned around and ate the fly, the “King of Abaco”…I couldn’t believe it. As the line was burning my finger I was thinking this was the biggest bonefish I had ever hooked into, Was this possible that I was going to catch this incredible fish…and on film! We got the fish in after about 20 minutes (I think) and I jumped into the water along with camera man Jeff to get the underwater shots done. None us had any sort of measuring tape or a boga grip but I could say for sure it was over 10 lbs and maybe it was more than 12, it doesn’t really matter.

Day 5 was not good for me because I was on a plane home and Chris was knee deep in bonefish the whole day. We definitely got our two shows for the 2011 season and Chris made up for the permit by catching an 8 pounder on his last day. It was a great trip and I can’t wait to do it again.

The bad news about pristine and deserted beaches all over the world is that they are deserted and people up to no good can do lots of “no good”.   LIKE…… steal turtle eggs to sell or to use in cooking. It’s hard to believe in this day, natives on some of these islands are still not aware the damage they are doing. Thanks to the efforts of Schooner Bay, an attempt is being made to put a stop to this kind of ecological thievery that affects us all. Read the story. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 APRIL 2010

Telltale Turtle Tracks

DATE: 16 APRIL, 2010
LOCATION: SCHOONER BAY BEACH, SOUTH ABACO
TOPIC: TURTLE NESTINGS AND THEIR HUMAN DESTRUCTION IN SOUTH ABACO
CONTACT: JAMES MALCOLM ‐ Director Marketing & Public Relations/Schooner Bay Ventures
242‐366‐2044 james@lindroth.cc

“Nesting Giant Sea Turtles in South Abaco Face a Real Threat From Human Interference & Pilfering of
Nest Eggs – Cash Reward Now Offered to Help Find Culprits”

We are in that time of year where giant sea turtles (Loggerheads, Hawksbills and Leatherbacks), make their annual migration to the pristine and undeveloped Atlantic shores of South Abaco to feed heavily on the abundance of sea life (such a Portuguese Man‐O‐Wars), then come ashore in order to lay their eggs on the empty beaches. The turtles come ashore mostly at night, lay eggs by the edge of the dune, cover their nests in a near immaculate fashion and then return to the sea via a different path. Their telltale tracks give away the nest locations and thus allowing for certain senseless humans, who display a total lack of respect for nature, to find and pilfer eggs from the nests. One such occurrence took place last week on Schooner Bay beach, as evidenced by the picture below.

A DISTURBED AND PILFERED SEA TURTLE NEST

PORTUGUESE MAN‐O‐WAR ‐ TOP TURTLE FOOD

In response to this sea turtle nest invasion and destruction, this incident has been reported to a number of local authorities and environmental activist groups, as well as the BNT Executive Committee ‐ who have committed to deal with the matter immediately and seriously. A source at BNT was quoted as commenting something to the effect of; it’s time someone went to jail for this ‐ to send the clear message that this type of thing must and will be ended by our generation. The Schooner Bay developer and its on‐site team of conservationists have decided to put up a $5000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those who committed or commit these unlawful acts and senseless crimes on our precious natural resources.
Additionally, the Schooner Bay team has installed a number of high‐tech monitoring instruments and patrols to help ward off such attacks on our sea life and protect it going forward. Things such as night vision motion detectors, geodetic sensors on alarms and infrared cameras that will allow for potential advance warning and photographic evidence of the culprits. This is a very serious matter to all concerned and must not be allowed to continue for all the obvious reasons. Should any person have any information on the recent turtle nest pilfering in South Abaco, please contact:

Mr. Keith Bishop – Park Warden
Schooner Bay Harbour Village
242-577-0041 keith@islandsbydesign.com

Mr. David Knowles
Chief Park Warden – Abaco
Bahamas National Trust
242-367-6310dknowles@bnt.bs

Click here to view the embedded video.

Last week before the film crew arrived on Saturday, noted Key West flats guide, author and good friend Capt. Jeffrey Cardenas spent a few days at the lodge and had a great time. On Wednesday of last week he had one of those days we all envision when we think of the Bahamas, a day of flat calm seas and clear blue sky and he and Clint took full advantage of it.
That day, as Clint pulled away from the dock he pointed the bow of the skiff not in the usual direction leading to the nearby flats, but toward the deep blue water instead. Not long underway, they came upon a rare sighting of a whale enjoying the day by lolling at the surface. After a brief time of whale watching they moved on to find a promising weed line and in short order had two nice mahi mahi in the fish box tagged for the evening meal. Making the run back to the flats they were rewarded with a hour of tailing bonefish before calling it a day.
These are the kind of days that make the fishing at the Black Fly Bonefish Club in Abaco so memorable.

I wish I had some photos of all this activity but these guys are too busy catching fish and enjoying the wonderful spring weather to send me any. As soon as I get some, I’ll add them to this post.

The weather here in Florida has been a bit tough on the fishing with colder than average temperatures and high wind conditions accompanying most of the fronts that have been moving through the state. Capt. Jim gives us the following report of a trip he ran on Thursday 2/25.

We finally got a day without 20 plus knot winds and had a chance to use the buggy whip on a few black drum here in the Indian River Lagoon near Kennedy Space Center.  The black drum were schooled up pretty good.  We had multiple shots at three different groups of fish that held between 250 and 300 fish in each group.  Most of them are in the 7 to 10 pound range, but we did manage one that topped the scale at 14 pounds. The best fly was a black colored 1/0 Redfish Candy tied by Dan Johnson.  This fly is larger than I normally use for drum, but they wouldn’t hit the usual offerings.  Between fly and spin gear we ended up with a “Drum Slam” consisting of redfish, black drum, and speckled trout (which is actually a member of the drum family).  Total catch for the trip was 4 redfish, 3 black drum, and 5 trout.

A nice mid winter day on the space coast.

A very nice Black Drum taken on fly

Thanks for the report Jim, we know that a lot of anglers suffering with the record snow falls in many parts of the country are making plans to escape the frigid north for a few days of milder weather here in Florida, are glad to see that we can have great days of fishing in spite of the challenging conditions. Visit Capt. Jim’s website at www.captainjimross.com.

Cold Savannah Morning

Vaughn and Stu Apte

Nice Red Vaughn

Strip...Strip...Strip

Diana Rudolph & Kim Bain-Moore

The week started with overcast skies and winds roaring around 25 to 30 miles per hour, a true test of your casting skills. Oh well, you have to make the best of what you have! I’ve done a ton of TV shows over the years including “Fly fishing The World”, “Spanish Fly”, “Fly Fishing America” and sometimes you just have to “go fishin”. I did one show with Jose Wejebe in Belize and I know that the wind was blowing over thirty. We were laughing when we left the dock thinking this was going to be a first in TV fly fishing. You literally couldn’t stand up without spreading you feet out to compensate for the wind…it would blow you over. Well, we actually caught fish! Jose caught 3 I think and I caught one. I remembered the advice, keep the wind blowing over your left shoulder. The weather for this show wasn’t that bad but it was tough for the ladies and the guides too. Kim had the advantage as she was using spin gear. Kim is an excellent angler and is the only woman on the Bassmaster Tour at this time. She did very well over the course of the four days using only artificials. To be honest, in the Bahamas, I think that the fly angler has the advantage. Diana, world record holder and fly fishing celebrity, fought off the temptation to go to spin gear and stuck with the fly rod the entire time. The first day was a struggle but she landed several bonefish that not many anglers would even have tried for.

Leaving the dock for a great day on the water

Kim and one of many bonefish she released.

Capt. Clint and a couple of nice bonefish

The second fish in the SLAM. Photo by Kim Bain-Moore.

Catch and release of a beautiful permit! Photo by Kim Bain-Moore

A nice bass taken from the flooded Amazon

The trip was almost a disaster; the water was too high due to the annual flooding conditions. The river was at a 50 year high, cresting at 19.8 meters over the normal level. The people who live along the river live in floating houses or on the few high ground river banks that can be found in some areas. Nature is on a pristine stage in the Amazon with an awesome array of animal life that is encountered around each bend of the river. Marcel and his group travel for 18 to 20 hours upriver, really very far away from any other humans or their civilization.

A black barred on the left and a tiger on the right

On their trip last year they encountered a black Jaguar swimming across the river. In the surprise of seeing such a beautiful animal so close, they couldn’t manage to find the camera they had stowed out of the weather until it was almost too late. Unfortunately it was late in the day with poor light and a blurry image was the result.
When the rivers reach such a flood level, the fish move up into the “woods” and feed voraciously on the fingerling’s and other small bait fish. They could hear them up in the jungle cover crashing baits all day long. In 5 days of fishing, 10 hours a day, only 11 fish were landed all under 4 lbs. That action was a result of a school of fish hanging near a rock in the river and then it was over! The next 4 1/2 days without a bite. It was devastating, but that’s the Amazon!

A tackle busting black barred peacock

Three weeks later he was there again this time on the Sucunduri River, this trip much better! No trophies but the fish were cooperative and they released 147 fish over 5 days of fishing with biggest fish weighing in at around 14 lbs. As they brought their hooked fish to the boat they could see a lot of some very big fish swimming just beneath the hooked ones looking for an opportunistic meal.  He saw some very, very big fish especially on the spawning beds. These encounters helped take the sting out of the first trip.

Two more nice fish

Marcel uses a variety of toad flies that John Baker ties for us. He finds that the bass prefer them to any other fly he has tried. He has used both the foam and the standard fiber head toads in a variety of standard colors, a thickly tied marabou tail, tied on both 1/0 and 2/0 hooks.  Marcel likes a clear or ghost tip line and 12 to 14 foot leaders that he hand ties using “heavy mono” to help get the fish out of the heavy cover that he sometimes finds himself in.
If you’re planning a trip to the Amazon to go Peacock Bass fishing you can’t go wrong with the selection below.