Is a hosted fishing trip right for you? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.
Photo by Louis Cahill
Gink and Gasoline hosted fishing trips are a great way to make new friends and up your game on the water.
I put together several trips a year to fish with G&G readers and share some of the best water I know. They are more than great fishing trips, they are meetings of fun, like-minded anglers. A chance to share information, stories and our passion for fly fishing. I host these trips myself and am there to help you have the best trip possible.
There’s no catch, no hidden fees. You pay the same amount you’d pay to fish these location any day of the year. Want to know more about how the hosted trip program works? You can find all the details HERE.
The next two trips on the calendar are the famous South Andros Bonefish School and Deschutes Steelhead Camps. These are two of our most popular trips with anglers returning year after year. Don’t wait. Shoot me an email at hookups@ginkandgasoline.com for more info or to reserve your spot. I’m happy to help any way I can. It’s my job to put you on fish.
Shoot me an email to hookups@ginkandgasoline.com for more info or to reserve your spot.
Bonefish Schools: Bari’s Lodge, South Andros, Bahamas
Jan 4-11 2025 SOLD OUT
Jan 11-18 2025 SOLD OUT
Jan 18-25 2025 SOLD OUT
Oct 2025 Dates coming soon! $6750
Get On The Waitlist (click here)
Kevin Hooks A Nice One Photo by Louis Cahill
The Bonefish School on South Andros is our most popular trip.
It’s hands down the best way to shorten the learning curve for saltwater fly fishing and build the skills and good habits you need to be a successful and self-sufficient saltwater angler. Many anglers return year after year to enjoy the camaraderie, the laid-back atmosphere and the amazing fishing on South Andros.
2019 season I will be hosting 3 weeks at the famous Bair’s Lodge. Part of the Nervous Waters family, Bair’s offers a relaxed, unpretentious vibe with personal service and amenities unmatched on the island. Delicious food, an exceptional guide staff, a fleet of brand new Maverick skiffs and an in-house fly shop are just a few of the things which set Bair’s apart. I am excited to be partnering with them to provide the best experience possible. Check out the Bair’s site; you’ll like what you see.
“Reid and I both could not have asked for a better trip — in large part thanks to time you dedicated to answering our numerous questions and to teach us about everything from strip setting to casting to tying flies and leaders. We learned more about fishing in our one week at South Andros than we have in our entire lives previously.”- John Hamilton
The School
Don’t stress, there will not be a test. The Bonefish School is as laid back as it gets. On our arrival, I offer my Bonefish 101 primer to anyone who is interested. This brief rundown is designed to prepare you for your week and get you off on the right foot. Anglers who are new to the salt always find it enlightening. Repeat offenders appreciate it as a refresher and as a great opportunity to heckle me!
I will work with you to be sure that you have your gear set up for success and feel confident stepping onto the bow, whether it’s your first time or your thousandth. Each day you will fish with a guide who not only put you on bonefish, but reinforce the techniques needed for success. I will be available to work with you individually as needed, to answer questions, work on casting or just mix drinks. I am there to see that you have the best possible experience. You don’t need any saltwater experience to have a blast and catch plenty of fish.
The Fishing
I’ll never forget how excited I was the first time I visited South Andros. Before my trip I asked a friend what to expect. He thought for a moment and said,
“The Bahamas is the best bonefishing in the world, and South Andros is the best bonefishing in the Bahamas.”
That simple description has proven to be true year after year. South Andros really does offer something for everyone. Schools of hundreds of eager bonefish, big singles and doubles, endless sand flats to wade and the world famous action of the expansive and intricate West Side. Your guide will have plenty of options to show you and you’ll seldom see another boat.
In addition to plentiful bonefish, South Andros also offers great fishing for big barracuda, shark, jacks, snapper and a host of other species, including the occasional permit or tarpon sighting. The island features the world’s highest density of blue holes and it’s always fun to see what’s in those ocean deep pools.
The Island
South Andros is one of the most beautiful places you’ll ever visit. Although it is the largest island in the Bahamas, it is the least populated. The vast expanses to the south and west are extremely remote and isolated. The fish see very little pressure and when you cast a fly to one, chances are he’s never seen one before.
The island and flats are dotted with ocean deep blue holes, which are a real natural wonder and marine life is everywhere. The folks there are warm and authentic. You’ll never meet a stranger on South Andros. This island is the real Bahamas. It’s easy to imagine the days when pirate ships moored off shore to bury treasure and locals rowed handmade skiffs into the Tongue of the Ocean for weeks at a time. It’s my favorite place on earth and I look forward to sharing it with you.
Travel
South Andros is easy to reach by two options. You can fly into the Congo Town airport via Nassau on Western Air or via Fort Lauderdale on Watermakers Air. Your shuttle to and from the airport is covered in your trip.
Gear
The basic gear I recommend for bonefishing is an 8-weight fly rod with a good large arbor reel and tropical line. If you don’t have that kind of setup, no worries. The lodge offers loaner gear at no additional charge. You will need good protective sun clothing, sunscreen and a pair of wading shoes. I can help you with a packing list and any specifics that arise.
Pricing
The folks at Bair’s are as excited to be hosting the G&G community and they are making us a pretty sweet exclusive offer. This 6-day, 7-night trip, which includes everything but your travel to the island and gratuities is offered at a 23% discount for our anglers only.
That’s a phenomenal value for one of the best and most famous bonefishing lodges anywhere. This pricing is only available through Gink and Gasoline, so don’t wait.
Whether your goal is to learn the saltwater game, make new friends, see one of the wildest and most productive fisheries anywhere, or just get out of the snow and onto a beach, this trip is a great time. I hope you will be able to make it part of your most memorable fishing season yet. I look forward to sharing this amazing island and its flats with you.
To reserve a spot or get more information, shoot me an email at HOOKUPS@GINKANDGASOLINE.COM
Amazon Adventure with Nomadic Waters
October 18-27, 2024 Price: $6500
We are extremely excited to announce our newest hosted trip with Nomadic Waters!
Join us October 18-27, 2024 as we travel to the Brazil interior to chase big Peacock Bass throughout some of the Amazon River’s fish-filled tributaries. The Peacock Bass of the Amazon are known as some of the most aggressive, and beautiful, fish on the planet. Found on most anglers’ bucket lists, they live within the watersheds of the largest, most biodiverse rainforest on our planet, making this a trip of a lifetime.
Over the past several years, the Nomadic Waters crew has developed a fly fishing experience that offers amenities and hospitality unrivaled by other operations in the Amazon.
Through their dedicated work they have built strong relationships and gained support from the local Amazon communities, helping grow their program to become an increasingly popular fishing operation that welcomes many repeat guests, and hosts, yearly. Yes, the fishing in the Amazon is amazing, but it is the attention to the finest details, professionalism, and their hard-working staff that made us choose to travel and fish with Nomadic Waters.
Location: Rio da Lua, Brazil
Trip Dates: October 18-27, 2024
Price: $6500 – A 50% non-refundable deposit will hold your spot
Our trip will focus on the prime time of year to fish the waters of the Rio da Lua (September through October) when the water is low enough to bring the fish out of the deep cover of the jungle. Nomadic Waters is the only outfitter that has gained access to fish this area of the Rio da Lua, and this exclusivity means that you will be casting in water that has not seen any anglers since the previous year’s trips, literally 365 days prior. On top of that, this region is so large that the Nomadic Waters crew has only scratched the surface of these waters. Because of this, these fish aren’t accustomed to angling pressure, which only increases your chances of hooking up!
Adding to the jungle experience, the amount and variety of wildlife in the Amazon is unrivaled. Because of such low human impact, on any given day our guests can encounter flocks of Scarlet Macaws and Parrots, Pink River Dolphins, and the occasional Jaguar appearance. The Rio da Lua is also home to many monkeys, caiman, and the rare Amazon Manatee. Take the time to look up from the water now and then! This isn’t just a fishing trip. It’s truly an experience!
Getting There
Just a five-hour flight from Miami, travel to Manaus, Brazil is much easier than what some anglers may have experienced traveling to destinations such as Alaska or Argentina. There are also other economical route options out of Miami by way of Panama City, Panama and Sao Paulo, Brazil. For folks traveling from the western U.S., connecting through Panama City has been the easiest, most economical route. Once we have all arrived in Manaus, we will be greeted by the Nomadic Waters team who will escort everyone on a short bus ride to the Wyndham Tryp Hotel and take in a good night’s rest. The next morning there will be time to check out the enormous breakfast buffet and maybe a short jaunt to one of the many local shops before departing on a short charter flight to the interior where we will meet up with the rest of the crew at the Rio da Lua camp. After six awesome days of fishing, we will fly back into Manaus and check back into the Tryp Hotel. That evening, we will gather for dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse before departing for the airport to catch our return flights home. Michael and Kristi have made this trip tons of times and have worked out many of the kinks that they first encountered when they were first working out the logistics of this trip years ago. We will make sure that your travel is the least of your worries. It’s up to you to make sure you packed deodorant though!
On a side note… Something that is very unique to this trip, and one of the many reasons why we chose Nomadic Waters, is that Michael (Nomadic’s Owner/Operator) will be present during the week, and may even fish with some of you during the trip. Michael takes a very active role in the day-to-day operations and that is something you will not find with every outfitter. Rest assured that they will make your trip a memorable one!
Accommodations
Our home for the week will be a floating camp comprised of well appointed and equipped double-occupancy cabins. This floating camp allows the Nomadic Waters crew to move to different areas of the region in order to put their anglers on the best water possible from week-to-week.
These floating cabins are extremely comfortable and include individual air conditioning units, private baths with showers, and plenty of storage space for your gear and clothes. Nomadic’s private chef offers a delicious variety of Brazilian fare along with classic international dishes. Meals, and fish stories, are served up in the floating dining cabin that has solar-powered air conditioning. Daily laundry and room service is also part of the Nomadic Waters experience. Rest assured, you will not go home hungry and you will be well taken care of on this trip!
The Fishery
This remarkable private fishery is exclusive to Nomadic Waters. If you are looking for consistent shots at huge Timensis peacock bass, this is the location for you. The Rio da Lua offers the finest and most consistent fishing that we have ever experienced in the Amazon. This is a quality fishery, both for numbers and trophies. Here you can have non-stop action and head-hunt for that true trophy Timensis Peacock Bass at the same time. Guests lose count of how many peacock bass they land between 65 cm and 75 cm (10+ pounds) each trip! Characterized by small water, this river connects to countless lakes and lagoons that also hold large paca, three bar acu, butterfly, and popoca peacock bass. These are the largest butterfly peacock bass we have ever seen, with 10-pound butterfly peacocks landed each week… on poppers!
Aside from the multitude of double-digit peacock bass, a variety of other species such as Arowana, Payara, large Piranha, and Jacunda inhabit these waters as well, adding a fun and welcomed variety to this angler’s dream trip.The Rio da Lua is perfect for families, father-son/mother-daughter combos, corporate groups, and fishing buddies who want to share this amazing jungle experience. If you are an explorer at heart, you will be blown away by this experience as we fish our way into new lagoons every week.
Big Bonus!
Why not make an already amazing trip even better? On the first evening of the trip we will throw all of our guests’ names in a drawing for a brand spankin’ new Orvis Helios 9ft 9wt Fly Rod and Mirage IV Reel!
EACH ANGLER will also receive an Orvis fly line/tippet package to help get everyone rigged for success!
I don’t think we need to tell you just how awesome that is and how excited we are to have Orvis be a part of this trip! Big thanks to Drew Nisbet and the rest of the awesome folks at Orvis for joining the fun on this awesome experience!
What’s Included?
8 Nights in country, 6 full days of guided fishing.
Double Occupancy accommodations
Nomadic Waters host/interpreter, all airport transfers, and single occupancy hotel accommodations in Manaus, Brazil.
Round Trip charter flights to the Nomadic Waters Camp.
All permits, licenses, insurance, and documents required for fishing.
Drawing for Orvis Fly Rod/Reel combo ($ Retail)
Orvis Anglers Package ($130 Retail)
Daily laundry and room service.
Domestic beer and chef-prepared Brazilian cuisine.
Both myself and Michael (Owner and operator of Nomadic Waters) will be on this trip and able to work personally with each guest to ensure everyone has what they need to enjoy their trip.
What’s NOT Included
Transportation to Manaus, Brazil (Nomadic Waters travel agent available to assist with booking flights)
Brazil Travel Visa
Meals and drinks while in Manaus
Gratuities for guides and crew (typically around 10% of trip cost)
Additional alcohol/liquor. This can be purchased in any duty-free shop and easily transported or purchased in Manaus.
Extras Services Available To You
Additional Nomadic Waters Excursions
Trip Insurance (recommended)
Travel experts to assist you with your airfare and schedules. One call and everything is taken care of!
Access to satellite phone
Fly rod and reel rentals
Questions? Ready To Book? Contact Us At Justin@GinkandGasoline.com!
How Do Hosted Fishing Trips Work And Is It Right For Me?
I promise you, this is not going to be a sales pitch but a full disclosure.
A good friend of mine suggested I write this. A good friend who, as it happens, I met on a hosted fishing trip. It’s funny how that works. As I think about it now, there are a whole lot of folks, who I call good friends, who I met on hosted fishing trips. Guys who have turned out to be life long friends and fishing buddies. Some of them are now contributors to G&G. Tim Harris and Johnny Spillane for example. And friends like Scott McKenzie, who I talk to almost every day.
Scott gets a good one!
Before I ever went on one of these trips, I had a very different idea about what they were. Many of these trips are based around fishing lodges and, like a lot of guys, I thought of lodges as being stuffy, elitist deals where I would have nothing in common with anyone. And I still think lodge fishing can work out that way a lot of times. What I didn’t get at first is that the hosted trips are a way around that. A way to insure that you connect with the guys you’re fishing with.
I learned to host trips from my buddy Bruce Chard. Bruce does a great job and I started going along with him to co-host trips in the Bahamas. I don’t know if I was much help at first but it was sure a lot of fun. It always seemed to be such a great crowd. Finally it struck me. The reason the groups of guys who came on those trips were so awesome is because Bruce was awesome, and they were all guys who loved to fish with Bruce. There were guys still coming on Bruce’s bonefish school for ten years running. The host is there to teach, but these guys weren’t there because they had anything left to learn about bonefishing but because they had all become great friends.
Ryan Thompson wades in Nov 2014
Imagine that you have ten fishing buddies who have the same interests as you and they are willing to go on any epic fishing adventure you can think up.
That’s kind of what it’s like and after a while, that’s kind of what it is. In a couple of weeks I’ll be joining a group of guys for a week of tarpon fishing. One of the guys has a home in Florida and has generously offered to host the group. It’s not a hosted trip, but that’s how we all met.
4 X world champ Whitney Gould teaching
I think it’s true that a lot of folks don’t understand how hosted trips work. Let’s say, I’m hosting a trip to the Bahamas, because I am several times a year. It costs you the same thing it does to go to the lodge without me. There is no additional charge, so how does that work? And I’m giving away rods and reels and lines and clothes. A lot of guys look at that and go, “what’s the catch?”
Their really isn’t a catch.
Jose’s Bar
The fishing lodge business is tough and the lodge sees value in me exposing new folks to their service. They pay me a small commission. Usually enough to cover my tips and air fare. I help the lodge staff make everyone’s trip as good as possible. Happy clients means return business. Basically, I sing for my supper, which is how I manage to do a lot of awesome fishing. G&G sponsors donate gear because they see value in the G&G community. The way I make it work financially is to take photos, which I sell to folks like Simms and Orvis. It’s complicated but I eventually make a modest living.
So why should you come on one of these trips? Again, not a sales pitch.
• I do a lot of the leg work for you.
Jeff Forse with AK Bow
Before I ever host a trip anywhere I get to know the operation and the fishery. I don’t want to take a group of guys somewhere that turns out to be shady or have marginal fishing. I get to know the guides so I can match them to the right anglers. Destinations don’t always work out. That means I make the mistakes so that you don’t have to. I’m there when you’re packing or buying flies or booking flights to help you make it a great trip.
• I bring travel experience to the table.
In the process of putting these trips together I have learned a few things. Like, you can’t carry a fly rod or reel onto an airplane in Argentina. Or when your bags don’t show up at the airport in Nassau, you need to call someone on the island to go sit with them while another plane goes to get them because the airport closes after the plane leaves and your bags are sitting out front unattended.
Aleks renshaw gets a Dolly on tenkara
• I help you become a better angler.
I’m not trying to play the expert. I have some skills and experience and I’m happy to share them. I like teaching people to fly fish. I get folks involved who feel the same way. We learn from each other. On our last trip to the Bahamas the best casting clinic we had all week came from my buddy Michael White. It was one of those moments that just clicked for everyone. It was awesome!
Andy Bowen’s first day spey casting!
• G&G attracts the right people.
Deschutes Steelhead
For me this is the whole point. I know too many guys who have had miserable trips because the group they ended up with sucked for one reason or another. When Kent and I started G&G the word that kept coming up was community. We wanted to create a place for a community of like minded anglers. We had no idea how many of you there were, out there looking for the same thing. That’s been the big payoff for me. Getting to meet and fish with that community. That has been amazing for everyone.
Ok here’s the sales pitch!
I’m not very good at making sales pitches so I’m just going to share an email I got this morning from John Hamilton, who joined me on the last bonefish school in the Bahamas.
AK 2014
“I wanted to thank you again for being such a gracious host / instructor during our time in South Andros. Reid and I both could not have asked for a better trip — in large part thanks to time you dedicated to answering our numerous questions and to teach us about everything from strip setting to casting to tying flies and leaders. I speak for both of us when I say that we learned more about fishing in our one week at South Andros than we have in our entire lives previously. It is easy to see why the island and the people there hold such a special place in your heart – it truly is a remarkable place filled with wonderful people, so thank you for sharing it with us.” – John Hamilton
And from Scott McKenzie,
“Also, as someone that has been traveling fishing for 25 plus years, now my preference will always be to go on hosted trips especially to those special places like Alaska, Bahamas or the like.”