bowbonehead

Seemed like more patrons and a lot fewer tables, would of thought there would be a few shops there ....... extra important in todays economic conditions to support events like this big or small .... managed to score a couple of new C&F saltwater boxes for 20 a piece... now I need to start tying to fill them up before June

BOA is free replacement if you contact them directly but you may buy replacement from Simms .....best way to avoid issues is to pre order free from BOA(lifetime warranty) not Simms before you have an issue .... that being said I prefer laces myself as it takes a little time to replace BOA on the river ..... not that many fail or they would not be so popular in the snowboard world... if you are hard on your gear go with laces

Happy and sad I kind of liked the added solitude when it was closed but I will enjoy the shorter walks/peddles

That's just silly .... how would I catch Butterflies

I think that's my guide from my last trip to Cayo Coco

Calgary Aluminum or Aerotech are probably looking for work right now with the downturn

used Sage 5100 Z-axis or RPL or similar length from another maker .... the extra length is nice out of a float tube.... brand is only my preference of models... faster rods

Hopefully you will have a car if you are staying around Bowers as the better flats are to the south Deadmans caye area or north in the Stella Maris area....some closer to you flats are acessed just north of the Deadmans airport there is a road thet leads to the public dump park and head east behind the dump to a very large flat which will be a longer walk at low tide but well worth it. Just south of Bowers is pinders....look for a sign marking the boundary between Pinders and saltpond and just past to the south on your right will be a dirt road heading off follow it to the end and fish to the south. This should get you started but i found fish everywhere I went and I drove the island from one end to the other about 80miles with one main road and a lot of trails going off to the flats. If you can get a jeep with clearance but I navigated the island with a compact and went a lot of places I should not have...nothing handles like a rental If you make all the way north hit Columbus harbor at low tide within sight of the monument..... this was really good with larger bones and lots of big cudas.... keep a slip rig handy.....you wont regret it.. If you are into snorkeling hit Deans blue hole for sure. there are also a lot of blues holes around on some of the flats that are always worth throwing a fly into but use wire lots of cudas and blacktips in and aroud them. I would suggest grabbing a copy of either the Bahamas Flyfishing guide or Rod Hamiltons DIY bonefishing as there are a lot of useful info in them. I also got a copy of Explorers Far bahamas chartbook with not only has about 10 pages of detailed maps of long island but also water depths this is very helpful. The first time there I flew into Stella Maris airport on a private flight and got the pilot to do a few loops around the north end which helped me with my bearings later I could see muds from the air. Shoot me a PM if you require further info i will being heading to that area myself late May/June for a week Tight Lines

Give Cyrex a call they do most of the repairs/warranties for the outdoor industry locally 403-258-1827

Where will you be located North end Cape Santa Maria...Stella Maris or further south Deadmans Cay....Clarence Town....loads of flats to fish from north to south all on the west side with decent access is you are willing to walk.....easy to find fish if you pay attention to tides

PowerDrifter vs Jon Boat ..... first of all which Power Drifter ...original Fishrite or late to the party Hyde which is considerably heavier and harder to row... I have both a 16' ft Jon with a 40/30 and a Fishrite with a 50/35 ... the Fishrite rows easier and is my preference to fish out of... that being said the Jon and is better universal boat for rivers and lakes and much more maneuverable under to power ....the big problem with both of them is they are only good on lakes if it is relatively calm as jets do not work well in a chop due to the tendency to cavitate so you must slow right down or risk high revs and potential engine damage.... Long and short I like them both and will sell neither soon..... if you go the Powerdrifter way look for a used Fishrite or be prepared to up the HP on the Hyde as most of them came under powered with a 40/30 on them..... remember that weight is your enemy with either in regards to rowing or motoring .... keep it as light as possible

If you do a little research there are still some reasonable all in packages available at some DIY areas in the Caribbean in Canuck dollars with minimal expenditures once you arrive... of course you must be competent on your own on the flats....google map is your friend!

I have been using a Simms Dry Creek for years on saltwater trips and have never been challenged by airlines. 36litres and waterproof, room for a rod tube per side although i can not say for the newest edition as mine is 1/2 dozen years old but mine has pockets on both sides for bottom of tubes or water bottles and sashes up top to secure the tubes although I usually only use these(tube pockets) when hiking or biking and I am only carrying 2 rods. I tend to take a larger 5 rod tube which I carry on for saltwater trips which leaves room for essentials... boots,rain jacket,flats clothing in the pack in case my main bag does not arrive. Great pack as its waterproof and light. One to look at if you carry a separate rod tube and do not need the tube pockets is the 35litre sealline boundary pack and likely cheaper than the simms.

Wrapping works great when boat is new but not so good when boat has seen some use as adhesion becomes an issue the problem with painting is similar as Aluminum needs to be etched for the paint to hold which again requires a fair bit of prep. I have done this a couple of times with my present boats I did a wrap initially on my fishrite(new) it lasted a three season but eventually it got enough scrapes from sticks and shorelines that I needed to re-do I looked into rewrapping but they said it would not adhere well unless we power sanded the whole boat down to bare clean metal. I have found that painting to be the best solution as far as wear and tear goes and now just do touch ups every spring myself. Its not that hard to do but does require time, the better your prep the better it will turn out. Hope this helps but no I am not looking for another project as I still have both boats to keep up myself

BEAUTY Brown I would say a loooong 28 closer to 29"..... hows the pointed stick launching going.... I've seen some monsters but have yet to launch an Arrow

Shared a boat down the Bow with a policeman from Tacoma who had brought some canned smoked sturgeon he had caught at home...... phenomenal much better than Sockeye, apparently they have a slot limit in Washington or did I believe he said you were allowed one per year between such and such a length...that was a good dozen years ago

I have a pair of next to new Springbrook Guide weight stocking foot with the heavy duty knees in a large I believe if you are interested PM me I believe Simms discontinued their boot fit Neoprene a few years back

Better watch out for Monger he likes pass shooting

That would explain.... no fishing pals...

Its not just the temps we could use a lot more rain to get volumes up so they have to open the gates but typically by Sept the nights cool off which makes a huge difference

I think this was more of a common sense move but as we know its not so common...regardless of Party

Hanging out with questionable characters again are we Rob.......Nice fish I recognize those rocks

Liquid Gold.....nice

That would be the" Golden Hour " perfect light for pictures and usually not a bad time to fish too!

Great Shots, keep in mind with the warmer temps to handle fish at a minimum (preferably not at all...net only) as done in these photos