I had the honor of accompanying some great anglers to the Bahamas last week for some offshore fishing as well as some fly fishing for bones. We left Charleston at 3:00 AM with the boat in tow as we headed down to Fort Lauderdale to make the crossing. On the way we ran out of gas and literally coasted into a gas station with no less than 10 feet of movement to spare (a feat that was also repeated on the return trip). We arrived in Fort Lauderdale with just enough time to make the crossing to the Bahamas before customs closed if we hauled arse. The only problem was that the seas were 3-5. Needless to say, it was a interesting ride over with some electronics making the ultimate sacrifice. We made it to Bimini with just enough time to check into customs thanks to speed of the crossing (prop checks were in abundance). After we unloaded the boat at our home for the week we were off to the Thirsty Turtle to sample some of the island’s culinary delights. The next few days were consumed with primarily offshore fishing with small trips to the flats interspersed. However the final two afternoons were reserved for the four fly fisherman of the group to chase bones.
The first afternoon was epic as everyone hooked up with fish. I was the weak link in that the fish I hooked came unglued from my 7wt after 3 trips into my backing and was close to being played out. Mad Mike got at good look at the fish and guessed somewhere in the 6-7lb range. Mike himself hooked up and landed about a 6lb bone. Tucker landed a 3lb bone and Rob landed a fat 9lb bone.
The next afternoon found us returning to the same flat waiting for the water come up. As the water approached the mangroves I noticed a wake coming down the channel. I knew it was not a bone, but I was curious to see if I could get what ever it was to eat a fly. I placed the fly 2 feet in front of where I determined the fish would be and then it was stripe-stripe BLAM fish on. I had no idea what it was, but it had shoulders and I figured a small shark. As th
Yeah… well the truck was getting 4 miles to the gallon, so when it got to 1/8 of a tank it went really quick, and there are a few stretches in FL where the gas stations are far and few between…
Scotty, actually we ran out of gas 3 times. Twice on the interstate and once 13 miles from our port in Bimini, but that story ends with mike doing some back flips and shall remain untold without some alcohol to pry it from me. Any way here is a shot of what the truck’s gas gauge looked like when we finally coasted into the pumps.
“Fishing is alot like sex…when its good,it’s really good, and when its bad, its still pretty good.”
Nice fish, and glad to hear you guys had a good trip. Pretty impressive spread of gear there when you get the 4 of you together. I also see that you put Mike in charge of estimating fish weights (sorry, couldn’t resist).
