20+ years at West Andros

 

20+ years at West Andros 

 

November 2025- We just finished a fall trip to West Andros. While there for my part of the trip, Dennis reminded me that he thinks we have been coming here for more than 20 years.

Target species:

 

Over those years the usual routine that developed was a rotation in varying order between Dad and guests, Dad with John or me and guests, then later John and guests, me and guests, and sometimes Matt and guests. The usual travel pattern was fly to Nassau one way or another, meet the Otter from Charles Bethell and Flamingo Key, and go on the seaplane to the anchorage. The boat was either the Sarah Beth (the second) or later the SarABeth. A constant during the usual May time was horse flies, also called doctor flies because the bite felt like you were getting a shot. The flies were much, much less of a problem for our November trips.

Here's the spoiler at West Andros, although maybe his presence keeps other anglers away:

 

I did not start this blog until 2012 so any record of the first few years is slight.

To start this record though, I found a photo of Matt and a big bonefish at West Andros from 2011:

 And Matt and me with the second SB in the background:

 

 

Fishing Journal: Williams Island 2012

Williams Island May 22-25 2012

This is a picture of John Miller with Benry and John's big bonefish.

Our party was John Miller, FDG Jr and WMG. When we tried to take off from RIC, it turned out all of the Jacksonville area air traffic control was out of service for some reason so we had a delay. Then, when we did got over the San Andros airport, we couldn't find the runway because of low cover, so we went on to Nassau. After a while we rearranged the sea plane to pick us up on the lake in Nassau. We finally did get to the boat about mid day.
It was very overcast but we decided to go out in the afternoon anyway. Dad went with Dennis, John went with Benry and I went out on the paddleboard. I saw nothing, Dad and John each had some luck.
The next day John and I went out together and Dad went out with Benry. John and I each caught 3 or 4 including this nice one. I think John was liking it. Dad also had some luck but we were all rained out in the afternoon.
Bruce and Nancy and some of the boys were also at Williams and they invited us over to dinner that night. Their French chef laid it on thick and we had a great time visiting the Nifty Nance.
The next day did not help us out weather wise. We sat around watching the gray skies and episodic rain. Once in the afternoon, it broke for a bit and I went out, but we saw little and the rain never stopped howling. We kicked into Plan B based on the weather report and decided to set things up to head home a day early.
That night we reciprocated with Bruce and Nancy and Bruce Jr as guests on the SB. I think we matched the excellence of the meal. Our chef Drew viewed it as a competition.
Next day, home; very frustrating trip regarding the weather but we had a great time.

West Andros May 2013

May 16 (Thursday)- Ric to San Andros, San Andros to Williams Island via the Otter flown by Charles from Flamingo Cay. Connie and FDG Jr. Fished half day with Benry- turtles all day, many small permit, caught 7 bonefish; FDG caught 12 with Dennis; Hank and Gretchen Manly from the Escapade along with Captain Tony and Bahamian guide Shawn joined us for dinner. Shawn was taught to fly cast by Ted Williams, and says that the only time here not to use a "Gotcha" fly is when you don't have one (his dad named the fly).

May 17 (Friday)- Fished with Dennis. Great morning- 21 bonefish by noon. Slower afternoon but we took the paddle board into the big creek on the northwest side and caught 3. It was complicated holding the board in place with wind and tide while spotting and then casting to the fish. Total today 28 for me. 25 for FDG with Benry. Bad horse flies (also known as doctor flies- they make house calls and give shots). Broke a piece off the proximal ferrule of my Orvis Helios.

May 18 (Saturday)- Fished with Benry in the new Chittum skiff with the cage. Stayed around Williams Island. Caught 20 bonefish, many just following Benry's directions. At the end of the day we went over to Billy Island to look for tarpon, saw none, picked up the bonefish rod, and then saw 7 nice tarpon just swimming on the surface a couple of hundred yards off shore. They aggressively charged the fly. On the third or so cast one sucked in the yellow frog fly, I hooked him, and he gave us a long fight with 5 or 6 good jumps. He was about 35 pounds. What a thrill! Dad added 9 bonefish.

 

 

May 19 (Sunday)- Fished with Dennis. Steady fish and good weather all morning. Then clouds, wind, and no visible fish. Saw an osprey and it was so quiet I could hear each beat of his wings. Missed a tarpon. Had a frisky porpoise tag along in the wake for a while. Saw a mystery fish- sea robin like but weirder. 18 bonefish total. Dad had 8 fishing with Benry. Broke another piece off the same Helios, and then broke the middle piece of a second Helios.

May 20 (Monday)- Fished with Benry. Slow start with many angler errors including catching the fly line on the reel knob for the first fish, then pulling the hook several times, and somehow getting inside a loop in the line. We also had some surprise shark drama. In the late morning we saw a permit behind a turtle so we paused to put a permit fly on. When we looked up the permit was gone but Benry spotted a big bone, which I hooked, and then as the line drew tight on the bonefish, two very big tarpon swam up to within a rod's length of the boat. I missed them but did catch the bonefish. Wind made the boat hard to handle, the fish were gathering into big muds to spawn and so things slowed as the day went on. Then we had a torrential downpour and went back the boat early. Total today 11 bones, Dad added 2.

 

(In all the years at West Andros, no one ever caught the trifecta- bonefish, tarpon, and permit. On this day we at least SAW the trifecta.) 

Each day the weather pattern was pretty much the same- nice clear morning, then clouds building up over Andros in the afternoon. Fishing also better in the morning due to visibility, and slacked off in the afternoon due to cloud cover, murky water from the wind, and since it was getting closer to the full moon when they gather in the muds for spawning.

Total for this trip- WMG 84, FDG 46, so 130. Plus one tarpon.

Birds definitely identified- white crowned pigeon (new), red winged blackbird, osprey, white ibis, brown pelican, double crested cormorant, green heron (squawking a lot in the mangroves), Wilson's Plover (new), immature little blue heron, and least tern.

 

 

West side of Andros- May 2014

West Andros- Beth, Connie, Dad and me

 

Wednesday, May 7- Dad and Dennis- 11 bones; Beth and me in the morning with Benry- 6 bones plus 1 for Beth; reddish egret, barn swallow; 1 more in the afternoon inside the lagoon on Williams Island.

Weather- clear and in the high 70s, wind about 15-20 mph. Regarding lines, I thought everything that could go wrong did, but...I missed a lot of fish because we could not slow the boat down in the wind, and I could not get the line tight enough to set the hook. Almost every fish was caught on a trout strike, which is verboten.

Thursday, May 8- Dad and Dennis- 7, including one on the first cast; Beth and me with Benry in the morning. Quite a wild morning- shark thrashing after one fish which managed to escape, fish caught in spite of knot in the fly line, and in spite of throwing off the end section of the rod, Beth almost stepping on a toadfish; Beth tried some casts with a fly rod and hooked one. Beth caught two on the fly rod after I hooked them.  Caught about 6, lost 4 or 5.

Least terns.

Weather same as previous day but the water was murkier due to wind direction and due to bonefish spawning.

Added 5 more in the afternoon including one in the mangroves and also a big barracuda on the spinning rod.

Friday, May 9- wind unrelenting and a few clouds showing up. Dad and Beth went together back in the far north lagoon to the blue hole. Beth caught 2 on the fly rod (!!) and one more on the spinning rod. Benry and I caught 12 in the morning, then I caught a permit (!!) right front of Dad and Beth, and then I caught 3 more. The afternoons have been terribly slow. Two or three of my bonefish today very purposely rubbed their mouth in the marl to try to get the hook out and they were successful.

For appetizer we had mackerel spread on crackers using a mackerel Beth caught from the SB.

Saturday, May 10- Same wind, a few more clouds.  Dad fished with Benry all day. It was slow for them and Dad said Benry kept postponing lunch until they caught a few. Total 7. 

I fished with Dennis while Connie and Beth went with the crew to the wrecked plane for some snorkeling. They speared Lionfish and snapper which we had for dinner. No one was stung or poisoned.

The wind has been holding the Doctor flies back but Connie seems to attract them anyway and got a few big bites. I doubt she will come with me on this trip in the future or venture outside the SB if she does.

Dennis and I had 12 before lunch but only added 2 more. I lost two in the mangroves. I actually think we had 2 more in the morning. We ran past a tarpon and went back to look for him. He weighed about 50 pounds and was in the same general area where we had seen one on the previous days. I cast a yellow toad to him and stripped it to within about 15 feet of the skiff. I could see him open his huge mouth to suck in the fly and reacted too quickly pulling the fly out of his mouth. DadGummit.

Home on May 11, Mother's Day. The sea plane ride was worth the trip- beautiful shades of blue, green, a zillion creeks and bays. Total about 75 bonefish. Good fishing and a great trip.

 

 

West Andros 2015 

Guides- Dennis and Shawn

 Anglers- Floyd G, Stuart Lee, and Bill G

Weather- first afternoon and next two days very windy, 15 pretty steady, gusts maybe to 25. Then two almost perfect days.

Fish- 

Tuesday afternoon- 3

Wednesday- 16

Thursday- 28

Friday- 43 

Saturday- 30 plus Stuart’s tarpon

Sunday, 8 am- 9am- 18

Total- 138 plus the tarpon

New bird species for WMG:

White crowned pigeon

Bahamian Mockingbird

Better acquainted with-

Tricolor heron

Eastern Kingbird

 

 

2016- John and Sam were first this year and here is a great photo of a doubleheader by them-

 

 

West Andros Island May 12-17 2016

The West Andros Island trip was special this year for several reasons- we were aboard the new SarABeth; we had Leesa and Gordon and John and Deborah Miller with us; and the weather was good. For this post I am going to let the photos tell most of the story, but

John caught several bonefish on the fly rod.

Leesa caught her first bonefish on the fly rod.

Gordon had a 33 bonefish day
I had a 22 bonefish day, and
I caught 3 bonefish back in the front lagoon off the paddle board.

We had five days of Drew's cooking.

We celebrated John's birthday in style.

And here is all that and more in photos:

A pause here about the anchorage- the bottom was very difficult but Dennis would get the right GPS coordinates to let us hold. When the wind was really blowing and really changing, you could go to the bridge and see the red circles the SB spun in on the radar. Dennis was only comfortable coming here in May, before hurricane season, and in November, after hurricane season, because of the shallow water and the tricky anchorage between the two islands.

May 22-26, 2017 West Andros Island

West Andros  Island, Bahamas May 22-26, 2017 with Dad, Matt, Connie, and Beth; Shawn as bonefish guide.

We arrived on Charles' seaplane after John, Sam, and Joe P had the first trip. The weather was mostly cloudy, hot, and windy.
The water also was too warm in the afternoon, but the fish had mudding and mating on their mind. The short day of fishing was not the greatest. I had 3, Matt had 2; Dad broke a couple off. The next day was more of the same with very tough wind. I tried the paddle board in the morning without luck. Beth caught 1, Matt 5, I had 1, and Dad broke a couple off. 

Then it really got windy, making the water murky. The tide (near new moon) and wind combined to flood the flats giving the fish plenty of extra places to hide.  Luckily I had a good morning with Shawn and got 14, Dad got 1 and Matt broke a couple off. For the next day the wind picked up even more after a storm during the night. Shawn said the wind was blowing about 30 mph. I caught 1 and that was the production for the day. For the day we returned home, the breeze, of course, dropped out. I had a superb morning fishing with Dennis. We needed about 30 to get the trip back to normal, but 16 cooperative fish were enough to put me back in good spirits. With no wind the heat was borderline dangerous and the horse flies were hungry.

Beth taught me to "catch and release" the doctor flies. The problem with that is that you let more in when you are trying to do the release.

 

 

Birds- white crowned pigeon, kingbird, sand hill crane, flamingo, roseate spoon bill, least tern, willet, reddish egret, blue heron, great blue heron, green heron, double crested cormorant, laughing gull, white ibis.

 

 

West Andros Island May 2018 

Sam and Emily went this year and did well- 

 

WMG's trip was with Dad, Michael, and Jeanie

Fish- 0 bonefish the half day when we first arrived; 31 with Benry; then 7 with Dad and Dennis; then 18 with Dennis inside; then 8 with Benry before the rain, including two very nice ones.

Birds- osprey; white ibis; reddish egret; great blue heron; blue heron; great blue heron; green heron; brown pelican; roseate spoonbill; gray kingbird; eastern phoebe ?; mixed wing blackbird; Kirtland’s warbler; least tern; willet; marsh hen, AKA clapper rail; gull or tern with swallow tail.

Lemon shark drama with Dennis; dumb move with water bottle and two knots in the line. Wonder how many bonehead moves John D makes each day fishing.

Last night the lights at the back of the boat attracted a magnificent demo of flying by the warblers and minnows with hound fish in the water.

Here is one of the very tired Kirtland's Warblers on his way from wintering in the Bahamas to his summer home in upper Michigan pine forests, but confused by our lights, liking the insects they attracted:

The crew including Cookie, Drew, and Igor.

May 15-20, 2019 West Andros Island

 

My group, John and Deborah, Gordon, Beth, and I, followed John D. Dad decided at the last minute not to go because he had been twice to Key West plus the two weddings (Caroline and Ned was one, I think)  and was worn out.

The weather was spotty for John D., and for us too. The first full day there was a torrential rain in the morning and we really didn’t fish much that day. On each other day the mornings were ok to brilliant, but then a storm would come up that would threaten the fishing.

Dennis and Shawn Leadon were our guides.

Shawn gave John a great fly casting lesson. John put it to good practice the next day and caught 2. Then on the last day we fished with Dennis and John caught two again very quickly. So rewarding to see him catch fish.

The count for me was 3, then 1, then 5, then 8, then 6 including one on the paddle board in the lagoon.

We watched some golf, some lacrosse, had great conversation, slept well with the rocking boat, flew the drone, watched the full moon. So even if the fishing wasn’t great (however, Gordon did have a 20 fish day and a 23 fish day), we enjoyed ourselves. The crew knocked themselves out for us, and as usual Drew’s cooking was Michelin 5 star.

 

 We had discovered drones by this time.

2020- No trip this year due to Covid.

2021- No trip for me due to Covid again and tough Bahamian rules on entering and exiting the country. Substitute trip to Key West, Dry Tortugas and back to Palm where I went Peacock Bass fishing.

 

May, 2022

 

Andros with C and little B- May 12-May 18, 2022

 

We left home Thursday the 12th. It was in the 50s and gray. When we landed in Nassau, because of R’s great work, all the Covid paperwork was in place and customs was a breeze. There were lots of people at the FBO with the same idea-find and enjoy some sun and relaxing.

The seaplane trip was with Coco, Ricardo and Zack since the usual plane was in repairs. As usual it was a short flight of wondering what life must be like among the pines, then scrub, and then the apparently mostly stagnant lagoons until we reached the green and blue of the seaside.

I went fishing to work out the kinks and made every mistake that was possible- short cast, too much splash, bad aim, hit the fish on the head, pulled the hook, fish in the mangroves, too hard a long strip. Each day I repeated the same mistakes, but perhaps fewer of each kind as the trip went on.

 

The weather was on and off with showers, severe thunderstorms, even a well formed waterspout, and one day mostly rained out. One night the storm was so intense with about 40 mph winds that the anchor dragged.

 

As for birds, nothing unusual. Great egrets, green herons, red winged blackbirds, reddish egrets, osprey, pelican, maybe a bald eagle, roseate spoonbills. However this year I got a photo of the small flock of West Andros flamingos: 

 

 

At dinner on the last night an immature herring gull came on board and walked around on the deck eating deer flies.

 

One very unusual thing- D spotted a wild pink orchid in the mangroves on a dead branch.

 

Final count day by day- 3; 13; 37; 14; 5; 33. Total= 105.

Looks like I missed 2023 too.

 

May 19-24, 2024 West Andros

 

C and I went to West Andros for a few days of fishing for me and relaxing for her. My first afternoon was a bust- murky and very hot (high 80s) water and wind. I was hoping to get all my usual mistakes out of the way this first afternoon, but we saw nothing for me to make mistakes on. The next day was pretty much the same- Kenny and I saw maybe 10 bonefish and caught one. In the afternoon we went snapper fishing and caught a few small ones. We also looked for tarpon at the mouth of a creek. I was just dragging my fly behind the skiff and a tarpon made a halfhearted pass at it. 

Tuesday was a banner day. We made the long run and caught 34, well on the way to a record, but a serious storm with lightning came up and we had to quit. The next day was a repeat except I had to get back early for a Zoom call and only caught 25. Another possible record day cut short.

 

 

 

For Thursday we decided to give the sweet spot a recovery day. The water was much clearer and the wind light. We fished around the island and caught 8. Back for lunch and then I went out paddling and wading. The only bonefish I saw came up on me from behind and I couldn't get the rod and the board in a good place to make a try for them.

Friday was our day to come home but the return  flights were late so I could get in an almost full day of fishing. The wind was light but it was very, very hot and the horse flies (Tabanus lineola) were vicious and relentless. They kept biting me on my fingers through my fishing gloves. They drew blood.

 

 

 

I ended up catching 24 but made every mistake possible (got back into trout striking for one). It coulda been another contender for best day ever. 

Total 92. May not need to catch another bonefish for a while. 

 

 

May 21-25, 2025 West Andros

C and I went to our usual spot. It turned out G and J were at a lodge fairly nearby. Our weather was great- winds fairly calm, storms blew up two afternoons but never interfered. The problem was the water temperature- 86 in the morning, nearly 95 by the end of the days. I had a first- a ZERO fish day. All in I got 33 bones in three full days and one partial- about average. 

G and J had 68 one day, lost a lot to sharks. Total for them was about 100 with each catching a tarpon.

 November 2025

John D. went first.

 

 

Connie and I and Deborah and her sister Susan followed Matt this trip. Matt and his two buddies caught something like 297 bonefish in their three days. Hard to match that.

The water was mid 70s up to almost 80 at mid day. Each fishing day it was warm, mostly sunny with intermittent clouds, wind 5-10 mph. 

11/20 arrived via charter. I fished 2-5 with Dennis and caught 3. 

11/21 Kenny, Dennis, and I went north. The fish were very spooky, but somehow I managed, amid all the usual screw ups, to catch 14. 

11/22 I went south with Dennis then north, then all over looking for fish. In the end I caught 6. We tried tarpon in the blue hole but they were mocking us. We saw a sawfish. The most remarkable thing we saw was feral pigs on the shore and in the water. I have never seen this. I think there were about 4 or 5 of them. We also stopped where Matt had released the last of Dad's ashes. It was a beautiful spot with mangroves and a little creek. Dennis said he and Dad had stopped there several times over the years for lunch.    

 

 

11/23 We went north to my favorite spot near a big creek and a big mangrove on the point. I caught 32 and Dennis added a couple more. We also saw a huge tiger shark, which might have been the same one Connie and the others saw near the SB a day before. 

11/24 Dennis and I tried several spots around the island but without success. I did have a tarpon turn on my fly but then he got scared and left. Then on to home. 

For those who rode on Charles' Otter or who are just interested in vintage aircraft, here are the pages of the back of the seat folder Charles keeps on the Otter telling its long and scary history:

Cockpit-

 

Nameplate-

 

Page 1-

 

Page 2-

 

Page 3-

 

Page 4- 

  So who knows when we will get back to West Andros again, but it sure has been a fantastic run of 20+ years of good times and good fishing. Thanks to Dennis, all the rest of the crew over time, chefs, guests, and most of all to FD Jr.