Bahamas Trip Report: Summer Success at Red Bay Sunset Lodge

Yellow Dog's Ian Davis just wrapped up a Yellow Dog hosted trip to Red Bay Sunset Lodge in the Bahamas. The group experienced a solid week of weather and the fishing followed suit with a few grand slams being recorded! Red Bay's Lodge is one of our recommended summer destinations.

Red Bay Sunset Lodge Trip Report- July 9-15, 2019

Most do not realize that the summer fishing in the Bahamas can produce solid permit and tarpon opportunities. If you know your tides and moon fazes, pick the right destination and guides, you can likely have consistent diversity of species shots on fly. This held true at the new Red Bay Sunset Lodge on Andros Island’s famed west coast for a group of anglers hosted by Yellow Dog’s Ian Davis.

 

The catalyst for this trip was the Bozeman Bonefish and Tarpon Trust Round Up held in July 2018. Red Bay Sunset Lodge donated the trip to raise money for BTT. It was decided that the group that night the auction item would focus on permit and tarpon, so after research on the moon faze and tides a week in July was chosen.

 

Bonefish were on the flats in the mornings, before heading to deeper, cooler water to school up. Permit and tarpon were mostly found on the points on the north west coast, as well as inland in a few creeks and bays. The tarpon were aggressive to flies that stayed high in the water column, since these explosive game fish were in such skinny water. The permit were permit, and as always snobbish. The group did manage one permit to hand and a few more eats. The winds were constantly changing as a weather system moved through mid week, so the numbers of permit we hoped for never showed themselves until the last day on the Joulters Cays north of Andros. The guides Benry, Shaun end Elias worked hard and provided lots laughs.

 

A huge thanks to Benry and Dianne Smith for donating the trip to BTT, and taking fine care of this YellowDog group. Benry is one of the sons of famed ANDROS Guide Captain Charlie Smith, otherwise known as Crazy Charlie. Charlie passed away this past year, but was smiling down upon us for this special week of fishing ANDROS Island.