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Tag: Frankie’s Two Boys Inn

Reel Time on the Road: Andros North Bight

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, Reel Time.

“Strip, long strip, stop, short strip, stop, strip,” Harry Neymour called out as I watched the bonefish home in on my fly. Neymour had spotted three fish as they hunted a shoreline in the Dressing Room, a vast shallow mangrove-lined bay on Andros North Bight. The experience I’ve gained over the years combined with the coaching paid off as I lowered the tip of my rod to the water’s surface and set the hook with a short strip strike. The bonefish accelerated immediately, causing the fly line to create a rooster tail of water as it headed for the perceived safety of deeper water. I instinctively took my eyes off the fish, separated my hands and concentrated on clearing the line that lay at my feet on the deck. As the line disappeared through the guides, I guided it onto the reel and gave two more sharp jabs of the rod to make sure the barbless hook was secure.

In what seemed like a split second, the fish was on the reel and deep into the backing on its first scorching run. After the first run of 100 yards, the bonefish turned and raced back towards the boat faster than I could recover line. I dipped the rod into the water so the tension would prevent the hook from coming loose and reeled as fast as I could. After catching up and having the fish on the reel again, I marveled as it made three more runs, each progressively shorter than the last but still strong and fast. Then I was able to work the fish back to the boat where my fishing partner Bill Partridge lifted it from the water for a quick picture and release.

This was the fourth day of a six-day fishing trip that had an inauspicious beginning. We had departed the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport on a Makers Air flight as a disturbance approached that would generate one of the heaviest rainfall events in the last 11 years. The approaching weather made for a bumpy ride and landing, causing cloudy skies and high winds for the first two days of our trip. We were staying at Frankie’s Two Boys Inn on the edge of North Andros’s legendary North Bight. It was here on Cargill Creek at Bering Point where some of the first anglers chased bonefish with a fly rod and where the Bahamian guide and inventor of the Crazy Charlie lived and fished. The Nemours are an extended family of guides that are regarded as some of the Bahamas’ best and my experience fishing with Frankie and his nephew, Harry, bore that out.

Reel Time on The Road: Andros North Bight
Anna Maria’s Bill Partridge with an average Andros bonefish he caught fishing the Dressing Room with Harry Neymour. – Rusty Chinnis | Sun

We had planned on fishing for six days because, in my almost three decades of fishing in the Bahamas, it was routine to have at least two days of weather, clouds and/or wind that resulted in poor fishing. This trip was no different and I didn’t even make a cast for the first two days. That all changed on the third day when fishing with Frankie Neymour. As the conditions and the fish settled down and the skies cleared, we estimated that Partridge and I each caught 15 bonefish, including several doubles. The next day we fished again with Frankie Neymour with similar results in places like Charlie Alley and Bight Landing. On that day I caught my largest bonefish (7 pounds) while wading a point as school after school of bones departed the adjacent bay in waves.

On the last two days, we sight-fished with Harry Neymour, who put us on singles, doubles and trios of fish that required a well-placed fly and a nuanced presentation, my all-time favorite type of fishing. Harry is quickly surpassing the prowess of his father, Charlie, and Uncle Frankie with the energy of a new generation perfecting their style of angling.

Andros, the largest and least populated of the Bahamian archipelago, boasts some of the largest bonefish (November-February) to be found anywhere. Frankie’s Two Boys Inn is quickly becoming one of my favorite bonefishing haunts. It’s one of the most reasonably priced lodges in the Bahamas, is a short run to fishing, and boasts one of the most expansive areas to explore. You must pay for your liquor, make your lunch and fish maybe one hour less a day, but at half the price of most lodges, it’s the best deal and fishing I’ve found in almost three decades of pursuing the grey ghost.

To book a trip, visit Frankie’s Two Boys Inn online. If you are a flyfisher and haven’t fished for bonefish, you have one of angling’s greatest adventures to look forward to!

Reel Time on the Road: Frankie's Two Boys Inn

Reel Time on the Road: Frankie’s Two Boys Inn

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of fishing a lot of destinations in the Bahamas. The fact that it’s so close to Florida coupled with its vast schools of my favorite catch on the fly, bonefish, make it hands down my choice destination. Despite all those opportunities I had never fished what is widely known as the birthplace of bonefishing, the middle bight of Andros Island.

Arguably one of the richest flats fishing locations for bonefish on Earth, the middle bight of Andros holds vast opportunities. I had my first experience there the third week in March when I visited the Bering Point Settlement and Frankie’s Two Boys Inn. I first heard of the lodge from Robert Fischer, a Tampa native and a longtime member of the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club. Years ago, Fischer and I fished South Andros, so when I heard he was a veteran of the area and lodge I reached out to him. I wanted to explore that area and, in the process, experience the place where I planned to introduce some friends new to fly fishing to the thrill of bonefishing. In the process of organizing the trip, another new fly-fishing friend, Andy Grosso of Sarasota, signed on as did Fischer and Tony Piazza, a member of the Suncoast Fly Fishers in St Petersburg.

We met at the Tampa International Airport on a Wednesday morning for a flight to Nassau and then to Andros Town. There we were met by a taxi for a 45-minute drive to the lodge on Bering Point. After settling into our rooms, we all met in the lodge’s great room for libations and snacks. The morning began early with coffee at 6 a.m. and breakfast at 7 a.m. As soon as breakfast was complete, anglers made and boxed their choice of sandwiches, chips and fruit, assembled tackle and walked across the street to the lodge’s dock on Cargill Creek. The day’s fishing started at or before 8 a.m. and finished with lines out at 3 p.m. While 3 p.m. sounded a bit early to finish, after experiencing the short run to fishable water, it became clear that the actual fishing time was probably longer here.

Weather and wind were challenging six of the seven days we fished, something I had become accustomed to (well, almost) fishing the Bahamas. Despite the weather and the wind, everyone caught fish including the two anglers fairly new to the sport. Actually, they bested the “old salts.” On the first day, Grosso and I fished the east side of the island with Calvin Bowe and had shots at schools of fish on the flats and at a creek mouth near the lodge. The shots we had were plagued by clouds and wind but we still managed to land, break off and make presentations to numerous bonefish. Our second day was tough as well but we got a wonderful introduction from owner and head guide Frankie Neymour to the vast and unbelievably beautiful middle bight through all-too-infrequent windows in the clouds. When the sun did break through, it revealed a kaleidoscope of varied and eye-popping colorful flats laced with deep azure channels.

The weather improved over subsequent days and the fishing did as well, with everyone at the lodge catching bonefish. I caught my first-ever mutton snapper on fly the third day and Grosso caught one the following day that fed everyone at the lodge. On the fourth day when the weather broke and the sun shined all day, I caught five fish before lunch. Two days after we arrived at the lodge thee more anglers came including an old friend of mine and one that had connections with Grosso. While the fishing and weather were challenging, the camaraderie was excellent and we all looked forward to sharing stories from the flats as well as some very funny jokes at the end of each day. While fishing is the main focus of any trip, the time spent with other passionate anglers really enhances the experience.

I’ll have to admit this was one of the most challenging bonefish trips I’ve ever taken, but also one of the most memorable. The fishing was tough, a combination of weather and the fact that bonefish don’t flood the flats in as great a number during the mercurial change from winter to spring. I was so impressed with the experience as a whole and accounts of fishing there in the late spring and fall that I booked space for six anglers this coming November. Frankie Neymour and his wife, Melinda, run a tight ship and the locals were friendly and accommodating. I can highly recommend this reasonably-priced experience that is sure to please even the most discriminating angler as well as anyone new to or wanting to experience bonefishing. To inquire about availability and book a trip, contact Melinda Neymour at Frankie’s Two Boys Inn at 242-375-2054 or visit their website at www.twoboysinn.com.