Bitter Sweet Bahamas

Bitter Sweet Bahamas

WHAT IT TAKES TO MANAGE A FLY FISHING LODGE IN THE BAHAMAS

Words & photos by Christiaan Pretorius Photos by Will Graham

After a couple of seasons under my belt guiding in the Seychelles, it became evident to me that one of the biggest perks of doing what I do are the people I get to meet along the way. I have made some lifelong friends while guiding, friends of all different age groups, friends from different nationalities, and friends who share the same passion for fishing and conservation.

One of those friends was no other than Oliver White, a true role model for most of us in the industry. He is the perfect example of someone trying to make a difference in the world through fly fishing. Starting out as a guide himself, Oliver spent his winters in Argentina and his summers out west, more specifically Wyoming, guiding for trout. He too made the most of his connections and was given the opportunity to work on Wall Street during one of his seasons guiding in Tierra Del Fuego. After a couple of years in the urban jungle he realized that it was not his calling, and he went back to pursuing his dream in the fly fishing industry. In a short time Oliver had, with some help from others, found a little slice of heaven on the beautiful Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Together with the partner company Nervous Waters, Oliver created what is known today as Abaco Lodge - something truly unique and special in the fly fishing and lodging community.

It was during my fourth season guiding on St Brandon’s Atoll in the Indian Ocean when I met Oliver, who was hosting another group there at the same time. All the guides were very excited to finally meet the man of legendary proportions.

Well, let’s just say the fishing wasn’t the best by St Brandon’s standards that week, but it really didn’t matter, as the friendships established were more valuable than anything. We managed to stay in touch over the next couple of years while I was guiding on Astove Atoll in the Seychelles. In 2014, my wife Lindi started to work and travel the world with me, which to this day is the highlight of my career. Being able to share these remote destinations with your special person is just such a privilege.

Fast forward to late 2015 when I reached out to Oliver to check in and catch up. He told me about Abaco Lodge and mentioned how they might be looking for a new managing couple to take over in 2016. He planted a seed, and that seed kept growing throughout my guiding season. Lindi and I went through the pros and cons and went back and forth with our decision. Since she was also well qualified to manage the logistical side of the lodge, we finally decided that it was a good time for a change of scenery and started the interview process.

We started the application for the work visas and we finally managed to get everything in order to allow us to “move” to the Bahamas. Not a bad place to call home! I finished my guiding stint in the Russian Far East (Kamchatka) where Oliver hosted yet another group of clients. This presented us with the perfect opportunity for he and I to talk about the management position and what it entailed. A couple of shots of vodka around a campfire was the perfect setting for going through everything, and the excitement started to creep in.

Directly after my guiding stint in Russia, Lindi joined me in Miami and we headed over to the Bahamas. Upon arrival at the airport, Velma and Travis - two rock star employees of Abaco Lodge - welcomed us. Velma is an enthusiastic Bahamian who helped Oliver from day one, ten years ago. She is very well connected on the island and her excellent work ethic and friendly attitude do not go unnoticed by the guests. Travis on the other hand, pretty much grew up guiding under guidance from his father Harley, who is still a guide to this day over at our sister lodge, Bairs’s Lodge, on Andros Island. Travis’s infectious laugh and passion for fly fishing and guiding makes him a well-known name in the guiding industry.

I guess most people know him by his Instagram handle “flats phantom.” Others know him as “Hollywood” or “Smiley.” Whatever it may be, he is a true asset to the lodge and forms part of our great guide team.

After the warm welcome and a short ten minute drive from the airport, we entered the gates of Abaco Lodge. The red building was a familiar sight, having seen pictures of it before our arrival. A quick walk around the property and we quickly realized we had a lot of work ahead of us to get the lodge ready for opening week which was five days away. The next couple of days were all guns blazing with help from all the staff to get the lodge clean and get everything set up. We had the dock to put in, the boats to prepare, food and drinks to be stocked up - the list was long. With the help of everyone we managed to get the lodge in shape and ready for the arrival of our first guests.

The day before the scheduled arrival we received a call from Oliver, who was deep in the Bolivian jungle hosting another trip, notifying us of a big tropical depression moving our way and that we should keep an eye on it. Well, in a nutshell, we had to cut the first week short by three days. We had to take the dock back out, move all the furniture indoors and shutter up the entire building. Hurricane Matthew was on it’s way. Thankfully, the storm passed and did hardly any damage to the property - the total loss was one broken palm tree. We went through the same process as the week before and unpacked everything again. During this process I forgot that we had taken out the dock lights and placed them in the rod rack, which resulted in me burning down half the dock. Let’s just say it’s not the way you want to start a new fishing season. The next phone call to Oliver was something along these lines:

Me: “Uhm, I burnt down the rod rack and a section of the dock.” Oliver: “I didn’t like that rod rack anyway!” Me: “Dude, all these issues, is it ever going to end?” Oliver : “Hell no, it’s just going to become normal to you brother.”

Those honest words truly stuck with us over the following years. We have now come to realize that most of the issues are really small and fixable, and for the most part there are qualified people here on the island to help out.

It’s one thing managing a lodge in your home country, surrounded by your own people and in your own well-known language. Managing a lodge in a foreign country and working together with different nationalities and customs is completely different on so many levels. I think we were fortunate to have had a lot of experience working in foreign countries before coming over to the Bahamas and ultimately that experience helped prepare us for the task.

Maybe you have realized that I have not once spoken about the fishing opportunities out here? Well, welcome to the life of a lodge manager! All jokes aside, the size of this fishery and how unpressured it is, really blew me away. With all the research we did before coming over here we were prepared for a Bone fishery. My friends, Abaco has so much more to offer! Over the past three years we have seen more and more Permit fish on the flats, or should I say we have been looking for them a little more? I soon realized the potential of Abaco as a trophy Permit fishery. It’s a bold statement to make, I know, but the amount of shots do not do the numbers of fish landed justice. Three years into managing the lodge I will not let a boat head out without being ready for Permit, that’s the least we could do right?

When we started out here in 2016, we averaged about 3-4 Permit per season which is over a stretch of nine months. During 2017/18 we managed to land 5 Permit for the season and for this last season we are currently on 24 Permit. With these statistics we are super excited about what the future holds for this fishery. Then again we haven’t even talked about the true hero of this fishery, Bonefish. It’s hard to imagine that a fishery only an hour’s flight away from Miami could be as untouched and unpressured as these flats we fish on the west side of Abaco. Our playground consists of 245 square miles of water averaging out to two feet deep - Bonefish nirvana perhaps?

We pride ourselves on making everyone feel at home here. Even if you’ve never tried fly fishing before, we welcome you. If you are 91 years old and want to try saltwater fly fishing for the first time, we welcome you. We honestly cater for anyone, and for the most part we have met great people and made new friends out here. Like most things in life, it is not always sunshine and roses, but that is very much true in managing a lodge anywhere in the world.

My first love remains fly fishing and unfortunately as a manager my days on the water are few and far between, but still more than enough to keep me sane. Let me guess, you thought I had the luxury of fishing every day? Haha! Instead, I have become a very capable handy man able to do electrical wiring, plumbing work, boat mechanics, gardening, carpentry and my cooking skills have improved vastly. It is for this exact reason that we signed up for this job. We have grown immensely over the past three years and will leave here WAY MORE skilled than when we arrived.

On the other hand, when things go wrong - and trust me, they will – the managers can quickly turn into punching bags if they don’t learn how to defuse frustrations and conflict. Running a lodge of this caliber takes a team of hard working individuals that all contribute in their own special way to make this lodge a bucket list destination.

The team includes: Marie who comes in at 4 AM to start baking bread; Cialin who keeps the property in shape; David who uses his culinery skills to keep the guests well fed; Clement our electrician and of course all the guides who push skiffs around for nine months straight. Everyone plays a major role in the success of this lodge. It’s a team effort.

And now our time has come to move on to the next adventure. We have been living this nomad lifestyle for eight years now and we feel the pull from Africa more than ever before. Namibia will be home for us from August 2019 onwards and we look forward to start a life closer to family and friends. My fly fishing adventures will continue and I will probably travel more than ever before, but I look forward to a more balanced lifestyle with a secure home base.

Managing Abaco Lodge has been one of the coolest, as well as one of the most challenging, experiences that we have ever had. But we will leave as better and stronger individuals, looking forward to the next exciting chapter of our lives!