Bahamas Spring Break 2013 Grand Bahama Island March 31 – April 6, 2013

Special Thanks To:

This trip was not intended as a fishing trip. This was a family trip. My 6 year old had spring break and that offered the possibility of a week somewhere sunny and warm. The Bahamas. Now, we are West Coasters and we are supposed to head to Hawaii or Vallarta, according to the laws of geography. I wanted to buck convention and take my family to the Bahamas, a place I love and a place none of them had ever been. So, my wife, child, brother and parents all chose to head to the Bahamas. Grand Bahama Island is easy to get to and it made for an easy call. Lodging was through VRBO, the cars were through Avis and the flights were US Air.

Flying from the West Coast meant either a red-eye or a day eaten up with travel and I made the call to do the redeye. I had not done that with a child before and while I was a little hesitant, she was a champ and it all worked out well.

What this trip was.

Overall – A summary of the trip. The weather was iffy. We had some beautiful days and we had some foul days. It rained, it shined, it was wall to wall clouds and isolated puff balls. In short, it was the Bahamas. The fishing was hit or miss. One very short bit of fishing with Sidney from Water Cay Lodge produced some jacks for my 6 year old on a spinner and no shots at bonefish for me under solid clouds and winds 20-30 mph. Fishing out of Deep Water Cay for a half day with my wife as partner and Ted as our guide was great. The weather was with us and the location was beautiful. Caught a few bones and saw all manner of wildlife.

A day with Bonefish Sam Taylor fishing with my dad produced only two bonefish, wind and cloud cover from the only clouds in the sky. It was frustrating as we were on good flats with no fish. Even the cudas were hiding. I did a little bit of DIY, but only on the margins. The weather mostly didn’t cooperate and I didn’t hook a single fish on my own from the very few shots I managed. If this were a different trip I would have fished harder and longer, but this wasn’t that kind of trip. I was fortunate to fish as much as I did and I got to share Bahamian flats with my wife, child and father. I’d call that success.

I got to bring my wife out to Deep Water Cay.

What a treat that was. Here’s the post I put up

on the blog about that day.

My daughter and I got to spend a little bit of

time with Sidney at Water Cay Lodge. Here’s

my post about that experience.

Fishing with my dad. A tough day, really, one of the toughest days of fishing

I’ve had in the Bahamas, but I got to fish with my dad, which is priceless,

and I had a couple of perfect moments.

One of those perfect

moments is here.

If you find yourself in Grand Bahama with your kids, you

need to go to the Pier One Restaurant.

Two words…

Shark. Feeding.

Pretty awesome.

The video

There just weren’t a lot of fish on this trip, but this one was a bit special.

This was 22”-24” to the fork, making it somewhere north of 6 pounds.

This was another fish I found on my own. I had seen two fish before this

one. One had refused and the other swam by while I was changing flies. I

didn’t panic, I just got on with my business and when I was done tying the

new fly on I found a new fish. One cast and the fish raced to the fly and

ate.

A very fine fish… found on my own, on a fly I tied.

Perfect.

The Gear – Spring Break 2013 The Abel Super 7/8n I used this reel exclusively for the bonefish I caught. It is silky smooth. I can understand why people rave about this reel. I can’t say that landing 6 bonefish is a real test of what this reel can and cannot do, but I can now understand a little bit more about what it is, what it offers and why people love them. My largest of the trip was about 6 pounds and a 6 pound bonefish can really put some excitement in your day. This reel sang the praises of that bone… a good sound. For me, the $700 price tag is a killer, but then I like budget-friendly-and-bulletproof, which is hard to find. Budget-killing-and-bulletproof is what the Abel gives you.

The ContourROAM I thought this thing wasn’t recording sound. It was. So, with that gripe taken care of, I can get a little deeper. The camera took some good shots, no question about it. The 170 degree view is interesting to look at and I think I might be a fan of the camera overall. I have not used anything like this before, so I have little to compare it to. There are some negatives: • There is no view finder. You turn it on and hope it comes out

and you can check only when you download the movies or pics at the end of the day.

• It is hard to switch between modes too. • I had the battery die once on me, which was odd, since I

charged it every night. • Sound levels are very low from anything more than 4 feet

away from the camera. I like the simplicity of it. You move the switch forward to record, back to stop. It is waterproof with out a housing to a meter. The cost was about $100 (Amazon), as the ControuRoam 2 is out ($200).

RIO Quickshooter Bonefish Line The idea behind the Quickshooter (read Flatswalker’s review) is when you need to load a rod quickly, especially the ultra-fast rods you find on the flats today, you need a line capable of loading the rod with very little line out. This is a wading line for when you see the fish at 30 feet and need to send something pointy down range quickly. I can say it works. Two of the fish I caught were while wading and one was probably about 35 feet away. I had no problem loading the rod quickly and making the shot. I’d say I think the line is slightly less ideal for fishing out of a boat on a windy day when you want to keep line on the deck. The thin running line can get a bit FUBAR if not watched closely

or if you are fishing with flats beginners who don’t understand their role in keeping your line from birdnesting. I like the line and will fish it in the future for sure, especially if I think I’ll be doing a lot of wading. *This line was sent gratis by RIO.

The Pants. I have to say, I put a hole in the crotch of the pants, but before I did, I kind of loved them. They are very similar to my favorite pants of all time, the Guidewater pants from Patagonia. They feel very comparable, but at a lower price. The pocket is on the other side, but beyond that, they have the same feel. When they have a day of saltwater on them they feel pretty much indestructible (mostly).

Redington Gear (SolarTechTee – Long Sleeve, Rip Current Pant and SunPro Hoody) Redington kind of stepped up their game on these garments. First, the hoodie is something I’ve taken to wearing a lot, even off the water. It isn’t too warm (it isn’t designed to be warm), but it is just right for those times you want just a little bit more than a t-shirt. On the water, in the wind, the hood looked like a parachute, according to my daughter. If I’m wearing a hat and a buff, I don’t have much need for the hood. Still, I liked it. The SolarTechTee – Long Sleeve is just well done. The sleeves have the thumb holes and the sleeves are long enough you can use them without feeling like you are pulling the sleeve down. It is just a well designed bit of flats wear. With this shirt you can leave those sun gloves at home.

Albright Spinning Rod First off, what do I know about spinning rods for saltwater? Not much. Still, I really enjoyed having this rod along on the trip. It will come with me in the future. Fun for little jacks or casting off a dock or letting someone reel in their first fish. At about $80 it felt pretty affordable.

Revo Bearing Sunglasses I got these Revo shades sent to me just before the trip and I’m glad I had them. They do what they are supposed to do. These have a plastic lenses and are pretty light. Your nose won’t hurt at the end of the day and you’ll see the fish. These are Eco too… click the link to learn more.

Patagonia Torrentshell Pullover I don’t know what happened to my old rain shell. It just wasn’t in the house at one point. I had to get something new and I ended up looking to the Patagonia Torrentshell Pullover. Packs down small and has Patagonia quality. It will be with me for years. Sadly, it got some use in the Bahamas. Luckily, it did the job of keeping me un-rainy very well. Can’t go wrong.

We’ll be back.