Thanks to everyone who joined for the 2007 trip to South Andros

According to Melissa Littlewood it was a " Great Trip! Despite hurricanne winds and tuff conditions everyone caught fish!

Andros, May 26 - 30, 2007, Report by Preston Jones
Lynx Airways Flight 721 maneuvered through the clouds and ‘bumpy' air to a landing in South Andros. The fact that the flight was 90 minutes late arriving did not seem to bother the ten Mangrove Coasters on-board anxiously awaiting the onset of the 2007 Andros bonefishing excursion. Everyone was too excited to care.

After a short transfer from the airport to our temp home for four days (Andros South Lodge) the group settled in and made preparations for the next three days of flats fishing for Bones. The fact that the wind was blowing 30 to 40 mph, the sky's overcast with occasional showers and according to our host had been such for two weeks did not appreciably diminish the excitement. All were hopeful the winds would lay and the clouds whisked away.

Hope springs eternal but the fact is Sunday dawned densely overcast, raining and very windy (30 mph). It was a difficult day. Fish were extremely hard to spot and very spooky (due to clouds passing over and noise from the wind). Nonetheless, Bill Lent managed three Bones. His fishing partner Melissa Littlewood hooked a few but as she puts it “they escaped. Given the conditions these were significant feats. For the most part blind optimism was replaced by hope for lower winds and more sun.

The second day dawned with some of the hope assuaged. Less rain, intermittent clouds and sunshine but still lots of wind (25 to 30 mph). However, as the saying goes, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” All Coasters (save one) caught a fish or two or three. There was much joy and spirit at the end of the day. John Freeman, our illustrious President took the prize for the largest fish of the day: nearly five pounds.

Tuesday was a dramatic improvement over the previous two days. White puffy cumulus clouds and abundant sunshine and thankfully MUCH LOWER WINDS (12-20 mph). Still not calm but in comparison to the previous days, heavenly. Like the weather catching improved exponentially. Everybody caught multiple numbers of fish on this last day. Top honors for the most fish went to Roger Williams and his fishing partner who each boated 25 fish ranging up to five and a quarter pounds. Honors for the largest fish; Melissa Littlewood with a Bone a little over six pounds. Fish in the range of four to five and a half pounds were common throughout the day.


I want to personally congratulate Tony Johnson, Tony Ryan, Dennis Kowal, John Freeman, Jr. (the good looking one), John Freeland and those mentioned previously for their perseverance and success under what were not the most ideal fishing conditions. Clearly the guides and lodge host and staff were impressed with your prowess and will remember the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers and welcome MCFF back. I personally can't wait to get more land crab, conch, and Bahamian potatoes.

Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers - Andros Trip 2007 - Article by Dennis Kowal
The trip, any fishing trip is an adventure; preparation, anticipation and often saving to cover expenses generate expectations and excitement days, weeks and months beforehand. So it was for me, trimmed down to 30 lbs. of stuff with a small group of friends, as we began a trek to S. Andros. Along the way thousands of love bugs, accidents, road construction, fires and leg cramps, all converging into conversation and banter. As often happens, weather conspired against our first two days with 45 mph wind gusts foiling casts, fly lines separated from backing with fish attached, spools flew off reel frames and evening liquid memories flowed. My last day found me separated from guide and partner on an endless expanse of delicious fluid color, only to be interrupted by hundreds of bonefish shooting everywhere, even out of the water pursued by 4 foot lemon and black tip sharks, taking turns swimming through my legs with the more benign nurse sharks and rays picking up the scraps – for who knows how long nature’s explosive moment unfolded all around as I stood outside myself, an alien observer. It began in the distance as approaching silver specks, finally erupting and abruptly ending as if nothing happened . . . . silence! On the return to Florida, flying through mystical clouds, remembering that brief event, a metaphor for the next adventure began.
Dennis Kowal
Sculptor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See the CLUB CALENDAR page for other club events.

To view the report and more pictures from the 2006 trip to Andros Island in the Bahamas, May 25-29, click here...