Bahama Slim and the Blue Horizon

“Now the reason I’m smiling, is over on an Island on a hillside in the woods where I belong”

Guest Blog By Legendary Fly Fisherman, Peter Perkins

I don’t think James Taylor was singing about Green Turtle Cay, but the lyrics capture my sentiment for this place. It’s a wonderful little island that Kit and I have visited for several years now, and we were very honored to welcome Slim and what I believe is the first international leg of Ridgeline tour.

Fly Fisherman Extraordinaire Peter Perkins

Slim arrived right on schedule via Jet, taxi by Rose, and ferry, and was well into a Kalik and plate of cracked conch by the time I picked him up at the Green Turtle Club.

It was a beautiful day, so after dropping the bags at the house, we headed out to town flat in search of bonefish. Prior to Jim’s arrival, Town flat had reliably produced shots at lots of incredibly spooky big bonefish. For some unknown reason, they seemed to have vacated the flats the first day and a half of fishing, and we only saw a few fish in many hours of wandering. Fortunately Slim took it pretty well and with the help of more Kaliks and conch was able to slip into Bahamas mode. We took him to some of the Islands finest eateries, Pineapples, and Shortys where he seemed to be quite impressed with the minced fish and house cocktail, the Gully Wash.

The third day we sought out professional help and enlisted the services of legendary local guide Ronnie Sawyer. True to his reputation, Ronnie put us on bones, and in spite of some strong winds, we were both able to each land one before our half day of fishing was up. Ronnie was suffering from a pinched nerve, so he couldn’t do a full day.

Slim’s fish fell for one of Ronnie’s weighted yellow eyed gotchas. It was a large fish and once it felt the sting of the hook, it was off to the races. Ronnie was barking out guidance as the fish went well into the backing. We were a little concerned as we saw the backing rapidly depleting and even more concerned as I saw Slim pinch the line in an effort to slow the fish down. It’s sort of like trying to grab a band saw. After two huge runs, Slim boated a nice 6 pound bone.

At this point I should humbly mention that in the Bahamas as well as Montana last summer, Slim has caught bigger fish than me. This has been a very painful experience for me which I am currently being counseled for. Pisces envy!

After leaving Ronnie, I took Slim to a little flat behind the town cemetery. Just as we reached the end of the sidewalk I spotted two large bonefish and put Slim on them. He got one to take, but unfortunately, the fly snapped off on the set and our yellow eyed Gotcha was gone.

On our last trip to town flat, the elusive bones had returned in droves. While we saw many fish, these fish lived up to their reputation of being the largest and hardest to catch in the Bahamas.

Pete and his buddy 50 Cent getting the island a little barbecue from the reef

I’d hoped to get Slim out for an Island adventure of conch and lobster diving with local character 50 Cent, but the winds kicked up and the ocean started rocking. Something to look forward too next time.

All too soon, Slim’s visit came to an end and we put him back on the ferry and on to the land of the free. As always, we greatly enjoyed his company and look forward to the next great adventure of the Ridgeline tour.