Photos

The Flats of South Andros

By Ben2

Updated: July 9, 2010

The Flats of South Andros

All photos by Mike Mazur There’s nothing like flying over the Bahamas. The colors of the water, clouds and sky never fail to inspire. My pal…

The Flats of South Andros

…RA Beattie was pretty excited about it, as well, and had his camera at the ready!

The Flats of South Andros

Soon, we flew over south Andros and our destination for the next several days, Tiamo Resort. Yes, that’s it down there, tucked along the beach. As you can see, there’s not much around Tiamo – just miles of white sand beaches and gorgeous water.

The Flats of South Andros

We were taxied to the docks, where we were met by the resort’s 28-foot World Cat. We loaded our gear, hopped in and…

The Flats of South Andros

…made the short run to Tiamo. You can only get to this place by boat, and the resort and its cottages are nestled back in the tropical vegetation along the shores. We got off the boat…

The Flats of South Andros

…and then got a better view of the property as we made our way up the beach. I was curious to see what was around, so I…

The Flats of South Andros

…ventured back along the nature trails that meander through the property. It didn’t take long to find…

The Flats of South Andros

…a beautiful cluster of orchids. I was immediately impressed by all the nature here, but then stopped dead in my tracks as I came upon…

The Flats of South Andros

…a rare Andros Island iguana! This subspecies lives only on Andros, nowhere else in the world, and only a couple thousand exist. I was pretty stoked already! But on the way back to the resort…

The Flats of South Andros

…I was reminded why we were here. Tomorrow morning, RA and I would zip out into the South Bight with bonefish on our minds.

The Flats of South Andros

We met the guides at the dock that next morning, hopped in one of the skiffs and were off.

The Flats of South Andros

Our guide told us he’s caught bones up to 16 pounds in these waters. No doubt, there are some very large fish here, and it didn’t take RA long…

The Flats of South Andros

…to get hooked into a fish.

The Flats of South Andros

RA’s bonefish was a perfect specimen. The fish in the South Bight and around Western Andros are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen – long, slender and powerful!

The Flats of South Andros

While RA did most of the video work, I took a turn on the camera when he was up to bat with the bones. Similarly, he…

The Flats of South Andros

…snapped plenty of stills as I searched for fish. Matter of fact, before long, RA was taking a few shots…

The Flats of South Andros

…of this beauty I latched into that ate a big Gotcha.

The Flats of South Andros

The next morning, while I scanned for bones along Tiamo’s beach, I bumped into this Wilson’s Plover hopping happily along the dunes. He compelled me to follow, so I began walking down the beach, when I found…

The Flats of South Andros

…another bigger bird – a brown pelican that also worked its way down the beach, always staying just out in front of me. The morning was coming alive, and a flooding tide pushed…

The Flats of South Andros

…crystal clear water in from the South Bight, creating some beautiful sand formations along the beach. I followed this pool a bit farther back and discovered…

The Flats of South Andros

…this perfect little creek flowing with gin-clear water. It was about four feet deep here, and I was amazed to see snappers swimming in fresh from the bight. It was like an aquarium, one of the coolest “discoveries” I made all week. The day was off to a great start and we hadn’t even thrown a line yet!

The Flats of South Andros

With kayaks and fly rods in tow, RA and I headed out to the nearby flats for some solo fishing.

The Flats of South Andros

We dragged the yaks into the shallows. The tide was still coming in, covering the flat, and promising a great drift back towards the lodge over productive waters.

The Flats of South Andros

RA was in good form this morning…

The Flats of South Andros

…and he was soon rewarded with a big, gorgeous south Andros bonefish! As for me…

The Flats of South Andros

…it didn’t take me long to latch into a very respectable bonefish of my own. The morning zipped by much too quickly, and soon…

The Flats of South Andros

…we found ourselves back at the resort, where shade and an inviting pool awaited. Also in store was lunch. First came…

The Flats of South Andros

…a couple delicious fruit drinks and an appetizer fit for a king. But then came…

The Flats of South Andros

…the main course, a plate of fresh seared tuna. Yes, the food here is about as good as it gets. And if you think this looks good, you should’ve seen dinner that night!

The Flats of South Andros

Before that, however, we had some time to kill and checked out Tiamo’s famed “Crack,” a deep pool fed by a tidal creek that borders a blue hole. RA jumped in and swam with the fishes awhile!