Abaco Exploratory - Part Two

After Abaco Lodge, Illtyd and I moved on to the new operation that has been attracting a lot of attention - Black Fly Lodge.

Situated further south at the point where Abaco Island is extremely narrow,  Black Fly offers unrivalled access to the Atlantic Ocean side of the island as well as the protected western side with its wealth of shallow flats. It's the perfect location for a lodge - which is exactly why Clint Kemp has moved from Nassau to build Black Fly as a unique Bahamian fishing destination. Within a drive of just minutes, the Black Fly team can launch skiffs on the western side to access the nearby shallow flats. From there the skiffs can also easily access the southern part of the Marls. But another short drive allows the skiffs to access more huge flats right down to the southern part of the Island or a half-hour ride in the skiffs will take anglers across to Moore's Island, where big bonefish, tarpon and, the ultimate prize, permit abound.

 Illtyd lands a nice bonefish on the flats just minutes away from the lodge

Black Fly is right on the Atlantic coast, giving instant access to the ocean-side flats where the bigger bonefish live and, of course, to unbelievable bluewater fishing. There are very few places where you can head off for bonefish one day, maybe tarpon and permit the next and then sight fish poppers to tuna and mahi mahi the next. It's no wonder Clint is brimming over with excitement about his new lodge. For now, Black Fly is based in an ocean-side holiday home with huge windows overlooking the sea and just four bedrooms.

The temporary beachfront Black Fly lodge. Hardly slumming it

But from March 2013, there will be a purpose designed, eight-bedroom lodge on the water at Schooner Bay, a new eco-development on Abaco that will create a vibrant new community complete with harbour, shops, bars, a pool, an amazing beach and recreational areas. Clint gave us a tour of the new lodge under construction - it will be pretty special. He was also really excited about the arrival of his bluewater boat, which was delivered while we were there. That explained the boxes of new tackle all over the house. 

Clint Kemp, fishing guide, lodge creator, gourmet cook and mixer of the finest mojitos

Permit is one of the special attractions of Black Fly, and the diversity of the fishing is phenomenal, offering anglers all sorts of saltwater fly fishing experiences in one place. But the weather was still iffy as the east wind refused to let up. That kept the permit away, but, though the bonefish were still spooky, we had better sunlight which enabled us to see fish at range much more clearly. We blew plenty of shots. I can still see a nice 5lb bonefish cruising down a shoreline in ultra skinny water that took off as soon as Illtyd dropped a fly at least six feet in front of it. I can still hear his reaction, too!

Excellent skiffs give access to a wide range of flats right down to the southern tip of the island

On the second day, brilliant head guide Paul Pinder took us down to the firm-bottomed southern flats, where wade fishing is the prime method. It was great to get out of the skiff and creep about in the shallow water trying to spot shadows. There's something about wading the flats that just seems to heighten the excitement. I found a fast moving group on the first flat and managed to fire off a quick cast and was into a very fast-moving fish that inexplicably came off. 

Illtyd employs his ultra-quiet wading technique. Gotta love the skiff's name!

The next flat was a different story, though, as we found a huge school of bonefish gradually moving into shallower water on the rising tide. We were both able to work the water as the fish moved around, breaking into smaller groups at times, and cruising up into the shoreline. This is skinny water sight-fishing at its best and we seemed to take it in turns to hook fish, catching about 18 fish (we soon stopped counting). The action was fast and furious, though even that didn't prevent Illtyd moaning at me for tying flies on poor hooks when he had a fish straighten one! And it didn't stop him pinching more from my box either!

Finally deciding to leave the fish alone and see another flat, we came across an even bigger school of hundreds of fish. Clearly the conditions seemed to have concentrated the fish into groups here. We each hooked leading fish from the group on our first casts  - and both managed to lose them! It was our only shot as this group didn't hang around.

Illtyd with a fish while wading. Nothing wrong with the hook, then?

On our last morning, we spotted Clint tying a few of his own secret bonefish flies, which I quickly copied (under orders from Illtyd). This sparse little fly worked really well on our last day. Back in the skiff, this time we were able to find pods of cruising fish, singles and doubles, which made for exciting casting.  It was a day of memorable moments. We saw fish of eight and nine pounds that we couldn't quite get casts at. We had big cruising fish along shorelines spook off our flies as soon as they landed. Illtyd caught two beautiful fish with inch-perfect casts and visual takes. I had a fish taken by a barracuda as I played it, which came from nowhere (and spat the fish out which was returned unharmed!) while Illtyd played a 4lb-plus bonefish that became so supercharged when it was being hunted by a lemon shark that Illtyd thought he was playing the shark too!

The final fish - but we'll be back

Abaco had definitely spoken to us. Conditions weren't all they might have been, by the friendliness of the island, the great guides and lodges, and the diversity of the fishing surely mean this will be a regular haunt for us. Thanks, guys. We'll see you soon.

- Bob

Abaco Exploratory - Part One

The reports we'd been getting had certainly got us excited: big schools of bonefish, regular permit, even bluewater fly fishing, and some cracking new lodges.

Funnily enough, after all the stories we've been hearing about Abaco Island in the Bahamas, I was quite keen to get out there and see what all the fuss was about. Even stranger, Welsh sea trout wizard and AAPGAI chairman Illtyd Griffiths took very little persuading to join me on a little scouting adventure.

Now, Jim and I both love Andros, the better-known Bahamian island which boasts legendary bonefishing. But Abaco is very different, with a quite distinct culture and people. And it has a great diversity of flats that make this one of the prime bonefish destinations on the planet.

The first lodge we visited is a stunner. As soon as you walk into Abaco Lodge, you feel relaxed. This is a great Caribbean retreat - and somewhere you may well have to bring your wife or partner once they see the photographs.

The view from Abaco lodge onto endless bonefish flats

Abaco Lodge is situated on the island's west side, with direct access to a vast network of shallow flats called The Marls. Here the water doesn't get much deeper than 4ft and there are bonefish flats everywhere, with one of the highest concentrations of fish numbers in the Bahamas. 

We were itching to get started as David Tate, Abaco Lodge's head guide, gave us an introduction to the area and after a run of just a few minutes, we were fishing our first flat - none of those really long, bone-jarring skiff runs here. On with the standard Bahamian flies - anything tan with rubberlegs and bead-chain eyes! - and I was soon into our first fish. Nothing big, but the fight that even small bonefish put up never fails to surprise me. 

Hard at work on Abaco

The bonefish in the Marls tend to run between 2lb and 5lb, with occasional bigger fish, but the attraction is the abundance of shallow water flats and the high numbers. Abaco Lodge is the brainchild of Oliver White, a rising star of the US fly fishing world, who spotted the potential of the Marls and realised there was no lodge situated directly on it. Along with Nervous Waters, they have built a near-perfect lodge, with every detail thought out. Private, spacious bedrooms (no sharing here) opening onto a deck right on the water, a covered patio area for sipping cocktails (thoroughly tested by the H&B representatives), great lounge and fully stocked fly shop, and even a plunge pool.

Illtyd loads up the skiff.  Do we really need five rods?

Best of all, Oliver has equipped the lodge with brand new, purpose-built Hell's Bay skiffs that are supremely comfortable, with a spacious casting desk complete with lean bar for safety, and a draught of  literally just a few inches. These are undoubtedly the best shallow water skiffs I've fished from. Illtyd soon got in on the action too, but the fish were becoming unusually skittish and a particularly strong north-east wind pushed in the clouds and made spotting fish tricky far out from the boat. It made the fishing harder, forcing us to cast at short range and naturally running the risk of spooking fish close to the skiff. We had plenty of refusals, but it felt great when one did hang on.

Illtyd makes full use of the skiff's lean bar as he wrestles with another bone

It wasn't just about the bonefish, though. We saw good numbers of large barracuda (a big favourite of mine, I confess) and I had a surging chase from a near-20lb 'cuda and a vicious take on the surface to a popper, but unfortunately it came adrift. I also had a lemon shark try repeatedly to take the popper off the top and just miss each time - I didn't mind that so much!

Unfortunately, with just a couple of days here, the strong wind hit the fishing, pushing the bones into deeper water and holding the tide out of the ultra shallow bays. That's always the risk with such a short trip, but the conditions were rare for April, which is the start of the prime season. Just our luck! Nevertheless we had had a taste of what the Marls had to offer and even under these conditions it proved what a special fishery it is.

Quicksilver in water as clear as air

And even if the fishing was not quite on top form, there were compensations. It's always awe-inspiring to watch the sharks, stingrays, turtles and hovering turkey buzzards. And hospitality at the lodge was wonderful with Velma pressing cold Kaliks, that great Bahamian beer, into our hands at every opportunity. We also bumped into some very entertaining US anglers from the southern states - what is it about fishing lodges that are a magnet for such interesting people? The company was great fun (I particularly enjoyed the attempts of both the guides and our new-found US friends to pronounce Illtyd's name). And somehow every day seemed to end with cold drink and view of the setting sun over the flats. And then perhaps another drink around the fire, talking about fishing.

Bahamian sunset. Cocktail, anyone?

- Bob

Wye Springers

What a spectacular start to our salmon fishing season. I still can't quite believe it.

Kate and I were delighted to spend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday as the guest of our friend, AAPGAI master instructor and salmon fishing veteran Bryan James on his home water, the renowned Bigsweir beat of the river Wye on the English/Welsh borders. We knew we were in for a treat - just spending time with such an accomplished angler on his home water is always an incredible learning experience. But we had no idea what was in store.

My best UK salmon. I'm still shaking

The Wye has had a surprising start to the season with 40 fish taken in March, a number almost unheard of these days. But with a sudden end to the warm weather, snow the day before, low water conditions and air temperatures lower than the water temperature, fishing conditions promised to be tough. Bryan was so eager to for us to get hold of one of the spring fish of which he is so proud - but frankly we were happy just to to enjoy the water in the company of such a gentlemen, while mining him for as much local knowledge as possible, of course.

Kate's speycasting has improved greatly since last year's trip to Iceland and under Bryan's watchful eye she was soon throwing a lovely line. Funny how she doesn't argue when he's teaching her! We were also surprised to be joined by another Welsh AAPGAI veteran at lunch, Dave Thomas and his wife Claire - great Welsh hospitality and we were really touched they made the journey out to see us.

Kate throws a nice D-loop on Wyeseal beat

Towards the end of a pretty chilly day, I persuaded Kate and Bryan into a final cast on Rocks beat. "Where do you want to fish?" asked Bryan. "Where's the best bit?" I responded. He pointed to a very narrow strip between two rocks. You know where this is going. At just the point he indicated, I had a surging take and a great tussle ended with a stunning hen fish, complete with long-tailed sea lice, straight off the tide. Bryan was convinced it was 20lb, but even if it was a shade under it didn't matter. To experience such a pristine, powerful Wye springer is one of fly fishing's great moments. Now I know what the fuss is about.

Wye hen springer. No wonder I look stunned!

Really, the second day couldn't be better. Or so we thought. Again, it was really all down to Bryan. On the very first pool, he pointed out a particular lie. I worked my fly out towards it gradually and after a few casts covering the water, Bryan called to me: "You're just covering the rock now." Literally as soon as the words were out of his mouth, the rod was almost jerked from my hand. Standing on the high bank, Kate and Bryan saw the fish swirl - they knew how big it was. I was just hanging on.

I got lucky. The fish towed the line around a rock and thrashed at the surface twice. I tried to clear as much buried line as I could, fearing the worst, but amazingly I felt the line ping off the rock and then lift clear of the surface and I was tight to the fish again. Sometimes you need a bit of luck. Then it was off downstream: the shooting head was gone, all the running line was gone, and plenty of the fluorescent green backing was gone too. "If it goes another ten yards, you've lost it," said Bryan. But it turned. No way to follow, so under very gentle pressure (and with constant advice from the guru) I coaxed it back upstream and eventually Bryan was in the water to tail the most magnificent cock fish for me.

Expert handling: Bryan's pretty sprightly when there's a fish to be landed

These Wye fish are all hard muscle and heavy, so Bryan put it at 25lb. At 39 inches from nose to fork, it was surely over 23lb. But those are just numbers. Simply the most incredible UK salmon I've landed. The only person as happy as me was Bryan. He's proved what his river is capable of.

Back he goes

What also was obvious was Bryan's care for the fish. Only out of the water for the quickest photo and then nursed back in the current until ready to kick out of my hands and power back into the stream. These fish are precious and Bryan's absolute priority is to get them back quickly to fulfil their destiny and keep the genes of these big fish in the river.

Thanks Bryan. But, er, Kate wants one now...!

- Bob

Amazing Argentina - H&B Hosted Trip 2012

Expectations were high for our annual Argentine sea trout extravaganza this year - but even we never expected the size of fish our team landed. Here are the first pictures of some of the most incredible sea trout you'll ever see.

Paul Lalwan's 26.5lb monster sea trout. Look at that smile!

Paul Lalwan gets star billing with not one but two sea trout topping 26lbs. Yes, that's correct, two over 26lbs in  a 24-hour period. I still don't think he knows what hit him! It was an amazing achievement for Paul who had never picked up a double-handed rod before last October. He worked really hard with almost weekly Spey casting lessons with Bob and plenty of practice over the winter - and boy, did it all pay off. There's proof that it really is worth putting in the practice with an H&B instructor before the big trip.

Richard was back yet again for more big sea trout

The Rio Grande in Tierra Del Fuego was very low having had no rain for weeks, but our team were in the right place at Villa Maria on the lower part of the river, as hundreds of fish were held up in the pools down at the bottom end of the river. The big leeches were left for last light and our rods did well with small rubberleg nymphs on floating and intermediate lines with light tips. Even so, the pools were easily spooked and we had to cast and wade with care.

David's first H&B trip to Argentina

We were delighted to be joined by some old friends. Richard Williams was back for his fourth H&B Argentine sea trout adventure - and kicked us off in style with a 19lb fish within just a few casts of the warm-up session. David Ecclestone was after the Rio Grande sea trout for the first time after H&B trips to British Columbia, the Bahamas and Cuba - and he got some crackers.

Heart-stopping battles in low water conditions 

With the staggering average size of the fish we landed this year - following on from the exploratory trip Bob and I did last year when we hooked some colossal fish - we are now convinced that the biggest sea trout enter the river later in the year and tend to remain lower down the river. That makes our Villa Maria weeks in March prime time for the biggest fish, in our opinion. Given the low water, we didn't catch quite the numbers of fish we might have expected - five rods landed 51 sea trout and lost a bunch more. But among them were no less than seven fish over 20lb, and the average size was incredible at almost 13lb. Paul Lalwan alone landed 8 fish with an average size of 18lb. That is mind-blowing sea trout fishing. 

Keith with a beautifully spotted, fresh sea trout

The rest of the team was made up of Keith and Rock, a great pair of anglers who fish regularly together and were making the trip of a lifetime. It certainly lived up to its billing and Rock was particularly successful with a couple of twenties and an ability to keep hooking fish throughout the week.

Many of the fish came at last light

Fishing through last light into the Patagonian darkness was especially exciting and produced many of the fish for the team. This was the time to switch to the big leeches and hope for that big thump somewhere out in the blackness, feel the rod hoop over and wonder just what was on the other end. If you've never done it, I can assure you it is one of the most exciting moments in all of fly fishing.

Just another 26lb sea trout for Paul!

Of course, Paul had to crown the week with his second 26lb fish on the last day. It's no wonder he and the great guide Pablo were both in tears! As ever at Villa Maria, the guides were superb, with their intimate knowledge of the river and the care they show in returning every fish. The food and hospitality were as lavish as we have come to expect and the Patagonian scenery never fails to take your breath away. It's no wonder we'll be back next year.

In fact, given the demand for this fabulous trip, we are planning to host two weeks on the Rio Grande next year. Some of this year's team have already booked their places and the rods are going quickly so get in touch with Jim or Bob as soon as you can if you are interested in joining us next year to swing flies over the biggest sea trout on the planet. Details on our hosted trips page and check out our trip reports for more more details of the Villa Maria experience.

 - Jim

AAPGAI Spring Meeting

What a great spring meeting for the Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors at the Trout Hotel and the Cumbrian Derwent in Cockermouth. I think the performance of the candidates taking the AAPGAI assessments (and we all know how tough they are) shone as brightly as the sun did all weekend.

Neil Barcock demonstrates salmon techniques on the Derwent

There was an unprecedented pass rate of 83 per cent - 10 out of the 12 assessments were successful. That shows just how much preparation candidates are now putting in for the AAPGAI instructor qualifications - and it is paying off.
I was delighted to be part of the team assessing candidates in all three disciplines - trout, salmon and fly dressing. It was great to see Frank Moors complete his Advanced Fly Dressing qualification - and in doing so become the first full member of AAPGAI to enter through the fly dressing route. A big moment for AAPGAI and I'm sure more fly dressers will follow him.

Gary Champion's demonstrations always silence the crowd

Jim and I assessed together along with Illtyd Griffiths on Saturday and we were particularly pleased to be able to pass Nick Taylor in his provisional salmon assessment - the first rung on the instructor ladder. Nick's come a long way since Jim and I first met him down on the Rio Grande in Argentina last year and we're delighted he's now joined us in AAPGAI.
Tiggy Pettifer passed her Advanced Salmon assessment in style while Alexandr Chernysh flew in from Russia to become AAPGAI's second Russian member.
The weekend was completed with a day of excellent demonstrations from top instructors and a chance for one-to-one casting with AAPGAI members.
For more details of AAPGAI qualifications or qualified instructors, visit the AAPGAI website and for a full account of the AAPGAI assessments and open day visit the AAPGAI blog.

- Bob

On the Eden

Just squeezed in a great morning on the lower Eden in Cumbria, trying for a spring salmon with our good friend and fellow AAPGAI instructor Glyn Freeman. Glyn had kindly invited me up to fish one of his beats ahead of the AAPGAI assessment meeting in nearby Cockermouth this weekend.

Bob concentrating hard on a cracking lower Eden pool

We had a stunning spring day and the Eden, though a little low, was looking beautiful. This is one of my absolute favourite English rivers and made me look forward very much to our special one-day trout course on the Eden with Glyn in May.
I had a strong pull on a Spring Boyo fly - the Illtyd Griffiths pattern that Glyn has popularised through his success with it on this river - but after a brief roll on the surface, the fish was gone. Almost my first spring salmon of the year!
We fished through until the effects of the high tide pushed back the current and then, right on cue, a strong hatch of brook duns emerged, enticing some trout to feed on the surface. After a quick coffee, we switched to the trout rod and managed a few cracking wild trout on dry flies - a taste of what is to come on our course in May.
Glyn is also a brilliant H&B trip host, so the flying visit gave me the chance to talk through plans for some international trips we have in mind. Keep an eye on our hosted trips page for news of what Glyn is up to. And if you get the chance of a day on the Eden this year, I can strongly recommend it. And no one knows the river better than Glyn. Contact him at Cumbria Fly Fishing.
Now on to the serious business of assessing aspiring instructors and the AAPGAI meeting...

- Bob

The Salmon Rod Test

Check out Jim's exhaustive test of the best 14-foot salmon rods on the market now in the April edition of Trout & Salmon magazine.
Jim and fellow AAPGAI Master instructor Gary Champion put no less than fourteen 14-footers through their paces with a whole range of different lines - and they came up with some surprises.
The second generation MacKenzie DTX was as good as expected (the original is one of our favourites), bit in the lower price brackets the Guideline Exceed, Grey's XF2 S and the Enigma EMG3 all won the approval of the testers.
But what was most surprising was the improvements that Hardy has made to its salmon rods (we detect the influence of Ian Gordon, Hardy's consultant, master speycaster and AAPGAI instructor). Jim said the Hardy Marksman 2 was so easy to use it "felt like a 10ft trout rod" while the Hardy Zenith (albeit at £949!) had astonishing power.
Fourteen footers are increasingly popular as they are more user-friendly than the traditional 15-footers and we find we are advising our clients to kit themselves out with 14's much more often now.
Check out the review if you're in the market for a new salmon rod - you won;t find a more thorough test of the leading contenders anywhere.
- Bob