Tag Archives: Deneki Outdoors

Teach me a lesson at Alaska West

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Those who have endured fishing with yours truly know that I rarely know what I am doing, but am very good with Photoshop. Hero shots are, of course, my specialty, and I now must dislose that virtually every fishing photo that has graced these pages has been manipulated. Except for maybe this one. Oops…here’s another. And lastly, one during the “had hair stage“.

The soul searching that led up to this admission has been a long, tough road. Many late nights with whiskey bottle in hand, seeking a new path, one that would lead to tranquility, purity of heart, and forthrightness in every fiber of my being.

But alas, I failed. And instead sent a check to Deneki Outdoors for a slot at their famed Alaska West Lodge the week of July 12th through July 19th, 2013.

Payment to Alaska West, for a life of lies

Alaska West sits on the legendary Kanektok River, home to the largest concentrations of gill and fin laden biomass in the western hemisphere. The folks up there are partial to catching the assorted beasts with two-handed fly rods. I suck at two-handed fly casting, and not for lack of practice. So if you decide you have a hankering for incredible fishing, combined with what could be the bonus of a lifetime, schooling me on the water as retribution for my years of deceit, here’s your chance.

If, however, you decide you want to plan your trip to Alaska West that week because I am an exceptional angler…too good looking for Hollywood…a lucky bastard that you’d rather just deliver a crippling kick in the nuts to, that’s ok as well. I’m adding Global Rescue service to my trip package.

Deneki Outdoors Alaska West

MG signing off (to see how much more chicanery I can get away with before judgement week)

Size doesn’t always matter, but pose for the hero shot anyway

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You visit Andros South to catch big bonefish…

Well, don’t you?

Ooh Barracuda

Photo by Andrew Bennett

If you are competing in the Inaugural Chickcharney Invitational, however, it’s a no-holes-barred multi-species grudge match. So anything goes, but size doesn’t necessarily matter.

MG signing off (because the competition was supremely tough, and he has to go pay up to the winners)

Two out of three ain’t bad, no matter what kind of water you’re on

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fishing stories

My smallest fish was this big!
Now get me another beer.

There’s this steaming pile extremely informative column running over at Deneki.com right now – it’s a three part series on how a trip to the bonefish flats can actually improve your (likely more frequent) trout fishing experiences. Part 1: Situational Awareness, and Part 2: Reading Water, are already up.

Yeh, you might think such a comparison, between stalking the flats for the voracious, invisible speedsters and hooking everyone’s favorite salmonid, is borderline reaching. I wrote the posts, which means your probably right. But read them anyway – you might learn something (even if it’s just how to scribe a thousand words that sound like you know what you’re talking about).

And of course, Part 3: How to Drink Beer Like a Bahamian Flats Guide While Standing in 40 Degree Riffle Water, doesn’t come until next week. So you are forced to stay tuned anyway.

MG signing off (because saving the best for last is even more distracting than the fishing)

The mother of all presentations happening at Trout’s Fly Fishing on May 26th

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It’s entitled: Everything you ever wanted to know about fly-fishing for bonefish on South Andros Island but were afraid to ask…me, because I had a zit on the end of my nose that looked like something out of a scene from “There’s Something About Mary”.

bonefishOr maybe it’s just that I didn’t shave that morning, nevertheless said presentation will be hotter than mid-summer tarmac, but not nearly as hot as the fishing you’ll get if you join Trout’s Fly Fishing at Deneki’s Andros South Lodge from October 22nd through the 29th of this year.

Bonus!? I’m hosting said trip, hence your participation means off-the-wall sight fishing AND the finest entertainment value this side of the San Bernardino Valley in the entire Western Hemisphere. You didn’t think I’d slave away in a fly shop six hours a month because I like the company of Tucker, Jim, Rick and Cody, now did you? It’s all about the endless saltwater flats…duh!

Again…Trout’s Fly Fishing, 6th and Marion, Denver, May 26th at roughly 6:00 pm. And there’ll be free beer too (as if you needed another reason to attend).

MG signing off (to find my teleprompter)

I’m not the only one who packed light for Deneki’s FIBFest

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Deneki Outdoors Andros SouthI’ll admit I possess the originality of a Xerox, but I truly thought the concept of traveling thousands of miles to go bonefishing with just a carry-on bag was a first. Little did I know that Andros South customers were already doing it.

Paul Milne, proprietor of The Oaks Waterfront Inn & Events in Royal Oak, MD is one of those people that gets a little unexpected free time now and then. When his establishment isn’t hosting a spectacular wedding, he goes fishing. And Andros Island is one of his favorite destinations. It’s not a bad problem to have – in fact, the only bother for Mr. Milne has been finding a place that doesn’t mind him popping in for just a few days.

While I was at FIBFest, the entire staff went on an all night bender, and somewhere in the middle of it decided to assemble the boat assignments for the following day. And while none of the previous statement is even remotely true, it’s the only reasonable explanation I could expect readers to accept for the Deneki Outdoors peeps pairing me with a bonafide paying client, and one that only had three days to enjoy himself. Needless to say, Mr. Milne and I had a grand time.

How did Paul wind up there in the first place? Well, as he told me in between basking in the rays and hooking a few bonefish…

I had a few days off, and made a few calls. Nobody seemed all that interested in taking on an angler for less than a week. Then I found Andros South, via an internet search. They were quick to respond back, seemed happy to accommodate me, and made it clear there wouldn’t be a surcharge for the stub visit either.

Little did he know I was already hell bent on proving a point – that you don’t need a ton of gear or preparation to go fishing at the lodge. I just got beat to the punch, and now have to find yet another schtick – sandbagging AND minimalism are now both toast.

MG signing off (since those Deneki patrons took the last beer too, as they should)

Bye bye bonefish

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Deneki Outdoors FIBFest 2011 is officially over. Bye bye bonefish.

bonefish

Photo courtesy of Cameron Miller

Special thanks go out to everyone that participated, a list of which you can find here. Additionally, grande muchas gracias to Rick Sisler, Trevor Covich, the camp staff, and of course our rockstar host, Mr. Bennett. Meanwhile, some end notes…

Continue reading →

The bone in bonefish

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It’s been said that bonefish get their name because they are very boney, and that’s supposedly the reason people don’t eat them. The reality is something quite different…

bonefish

Photo courtesy of Cameron Miller

Bonefish have a clear exoskeleton covering their head. It’s Mother Nature’s way of protecting their eyes from wayward anglers (and allowing them clear vision when digging around the bottom for shrimp and crabs). They are disregarded as table fare because they are worth a heck of a lot more swimming the flats than sitting on some human’s dinner plate.

This educational message brought to you by the fine folks at Andros South, where it isn’t just about fishing the finest flats with the finest guides and then returning to a cooler full of the finest Bahamian beer. Although that’s the excuse they’re pitching.

MG signing off (to fail miserably in my never-ending quest to poke a bonefish in the eye)

Paging Dr. Bonefish

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bonefishWhen I was offered a trip to Andros South, the first thing I thought about was outrageous bonefishing. After that blissful concept settled in, I pondered a post-day Kalik, a tasty meal, and a comfy bed. Performing surgery on fish, in the name of science, never crossed my mind.

Then I spent the day with Bjorn Stromness, a.k.a. Doctor Bonefish. Doctor Bonefish is one of the world’s foremost experts on the wily creature that bears his name. And with data gathering projects to be completed during FIBFest, Doctor Bonefish needed an assistant – yours truly was lucky enough to be chosen.

Our task…clip small chunks of flesh from the rear of the fishes’ dorsal fin, cram it in a little storage vial, and record length measurements and the approximate location of the catch. These samples and the associated data are then turned over to the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust – I suppose they will handle the genetic sequencing and subsequent cloning of the piglets we hauled in over the course of the day.

bonefish

Fishing for science. Kind of like fishing for beer, only not.

MG signing off (to find an electron microscope that will fit in my wading pack)

The blue pill, the red pill, or the diet pill

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Choose your vestThree days into this grand event called FIBFest, I stroll down to the dock. There I’m met with a slight, as Trevor Covich, Assistant Manager at Andros South, hands me the blue vest.

Some folks believe the color blue represents safety, while red represents danger. Others feel that blue would be hard to see when you’re overboard, while red stands out like a sore thumb when in the water. Unfortunately, when it comes to the mandatory floatation vests Andros South clients wear on the boat, blue means extra large while red fits the medium to small we all wish to be.

Dinner at Andros SouthI’d like to call the incident a simple misunderstanding, but the fact of the matter is that for the first three days out, I was, without question, immediately handed a red vest.

I hold no ill will towards Mr. Covich though – everyone has seen my dinner plate. Bottom line – the food at Andros South isn’t as good as the bonefishing, but it runs a really, really close second.

MG signing off (to find a Jenny Craig program in the Bahamas)