Testimonials

09 June 2010
Ann L.

Black Fly Outfitters, thank you so much for a very special trip to Abaco. The Beach House was beautiful, comfortable, and very inviting. Clint was simply a great host and what a chef! The food was really special and original. We learned a lot about the Bahamas' culture from all of your staff. They went out of their way to meet our every request. Elizabeth kept everything tidy, even did our laundry. You must not let her get away! Clint was a regular tour guide for Sherri! I was almost jealous! It was my first time Bone Fishing and I am sure I had the very best guide in the Bahamas. Paul was fantastic. I can not say enough about him. Bill knew what he was doing, but Paul was there with good advice and help. Paul made it possible for me to land my first Bone Fish, and to help the sharks have lunch on another. I have had the opportunity to fish with many guides all around our country, Paul knew exactly what to say and how to say it to make a female and just average fisherperson feel very comfortable. I would rate his as probably the best guide I have had. I know we will go back to Black Fly in The Abacos', it was a trip to build very good memories from.
Thanks again!!!
Ann

07 June 2010
Dom B & John K

Clint, You know the hallmark of a great trip is when your enthusiasm for return at departure is the same as your enthusiasm at arrival. You have great partners in Vaughn, Jean & Paul. Vaughn and Jean made our administrative experience in booking a breeze, through their timely & thorough responses. We look forward to meeting them at Schooner Bay.
Paul is one of the most knowledgeable guides we've worked with, sharply focused on maximizing productive fishing time.
Clint, we cannot say enough about your dedication to making the Blackfly Bonefish Club experience a standard bearer for all others, from your authentic Bahamian cuisine, accommodations, real Cuban cigars and of course to the marine ecosystem you support.
As we have spoken, you're a great "fishing coach" for intermediate fishermen like us, providing the perfect balance between a task master and an unselfish, gentle, nudging parent.
Thanks for a great time.

03 June 2010
John Adams

Vaughn it is hard to describe the number of good things that happened on our recent trip to the Black Fly Lodge on Abaco. Thanks for putting together the experience.
It started off with one of the most hassle free flights out of Daytona Beach. We flew on a small 6 passenger plane and were met in Marsh Harbor by the airlines station person who stayed with us through Customs which made it quick and simple. Outside we were met by Clint Kemp the resort Manager and Paul Pender the Guide/TV star who loaded our equipment and transported us to the Lodge.
After a quick lunch we gathered our equipment and were dropped off near the lodge to fish. Bill caught two good bones before 5:00 when Clint picked us back up for drinks and dinner. Day one was bones, bones and more bones with Joe polling and me trying to get over a bad case of buck fever. I managed to hook 15 and land 13. Clint turned out to be and outstanding host as well as a gourmet cook providing us with continues selection from his Grandmother's kitchen. During the day while we were fishing he took my wife with him into Marsh Harbor and accompanied her while she did some shopping for things to take home for the kids.
On day two he took her to Hope Town in his Dads boat and gave her a tour of the town.
On day three he arranged for her to explore the local beaches and collect Sea Glass with a neighbor near the lodge. I can truly say she was mesmerized and could only say "when are we coming back".
As for me and the bones the trip just go better. With more bones being caught and larger bones being seen as we extended the trips to the out islands.
I can truly say it was a trip of a life time for both my wife (who doesn’t fish) and myself. I will not have to ask her to go again she keeps asking me when.
Thanks for a great trip.

28 May 2010
Paul T. Horne

Vaughn – I got back from Abaco and wanted to give you a report on our trip. Ray and I were very reluctant to take our non-fishing wives to a fishing lodge. He and I have been to some that the girls would definitely not have been impressed, to say the least. Reading about Black Fly, it sounded a little too remote for them to just hang out…no swimming pools, restaurants, shopping, etc. Well it was a little remote for them, BUT they were thrilled! We actually fished 4 days at another outfit that they had been to before and really liked prior to going to Abaco. After a couple days at Black Fly and especially several of Clint’s meals, Shari (my wife) said she’d come back anytime. I am a little worried that she and Clint had too good a time shopping and sight-seeing! I know you already know this, but Clint is as good at what he does as anyone I’ve ever met, not just in the fishing business but any business!
Our first day was okay, but we fought the cloud cover and didn’t see a lot of fish. We saw enough to catch a few and stay interested. The 2nd day we spent at Moore’s Island was truly special. We saw more bones that day than any 3 days put together on previous trips. I would describe that day as “Lot’s of bones, lot’s of tailing bones, and lots of BIG bones”! That is hard to beat! Ray and I both put 6 lb fish in the boat and caught several in the 3-5 lb range and missed way too many admit to. Paul Pinder guided us that day and he was outstanding. As it was our 6th and final day of fishing for the trip (2nd at BF), he decided we needed to try on some permit (we had already seen 2, but couldn’t catch them). I started to argue, as it was hard to leave the area we were fishing with less than an hour remaining to fish, but decided he certainly hadn’t led us wrong yet. We moved and within 15 minutes had shots at 2 nice permit. The 2nd turned and looked at Ray’s fly…we all thought he was going to eat! It was a thrill!
Black Fly is a truly special experience! As you know, we are already working with Jean to book a November trip. Shari even said she wants to book 2 boats one day so they can go with us…or maybe just go with Clint! I’m already dreaming of another day at Moore’s Island. I attached a few pictures I took of Ray, Paul and some bones. Thanks! Please forward this to Clint.

Thanks to Ian Davis at Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures for this endorsement:

“I want to thank Vaughn, Jean and Randy at Black Fly Outfitter for the fantastic service provided to our customers. Every customer has been completely satisfied. Their questions were answered, their orders arrived quickly, the hand-selected custom fly kits were effective and the rods and reels were perfect for the fishery.”

- Ian Davis, Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures

From Chris Travis of the TV show “Hooked on the Fly”.

14 April 2010
Hi Vaughn,
Well, I think you found the place, my friend. I really like Clint very much and you can trust him with your life. And the food! OMG! Paul is a very good guide, he understands the meaning of time. He is a person of great character too. I like him a lot. I liked Tony, too. We got to know him quite well, and see him do a great job for us. I was so happy to fish with you and get to know the person behind the Black Fly Mystique. We almost cried on our boat when we heard you landed your best bone ever...and on film. What a gamer! You are still probably on cloud nine, and we will get some footage out as soon as we can. We got lucky, my friend, as Friday with Clint was magic. I hooked 16 bones and landed 11. My biggest was an incredible sequence with Paul spearing a bunch of closing sharks with his push pole (on film) while I landed an 8+ lb bonefish, hook falling out and reviving it properly after some stunning shots. We were at Gorda Key and it was perfect. I landed numerous others all with a story from Paul about how sharks can hone into the elicited pheromones of bones when in terror. Life plays out vividly on the flats. We really got great footage all day. How magical.

With my big day and Clint's, as well (he had shots to 5 permit and we got all the expletive deletes on film...we won't do that to him) we have more than enough footage for a great second show! We got him breaking a rod when fighting a trigger fish (his second broken rod of the day...oh my.) We got a great sequence of Clint battling a tough bone that took him to a drop off at Moore's Island, he running after the bonefish. That will be a great full sequence. My 8+ lb bonefish will end the second show with Paul and the sharks and the 200 yard runs the bone took and me freaking out running around the boat (at least 100 yards away) and out of the mud. We got a fin clip sequence of a smaller bonefish with Paul and it worked. We were not smooth at it, but editing does wonders.

We will have two shows (two weeks) airing to 60 million viewer homes 5 times a week on 4 networks. They will repeat again two months later the same 5 times a week for two weeks and we will have a best of (repeated too)..... to show our best sequences. You guessed it, Vaughn and his fish of a lifetime will be part of the best of.

Again, we had a magical run, and I thank you both for your generosity and trust in mankind. It is easy to become jaded in this age, but it is so nice to see people like you who still believe. I am glad to know you.
Chris

21 February 2010
From Mark

Thank you to Karen and Wendy for letting Jim and I go fly fishing.
It was a fantastic trip. We were blessed with gorgeous weather (our guides said the best 3 days in months), great accommodations at the Black Fly Bonefish Club facility, wonderful Bahamian cooking, two really excellent guides (Paul Pinder and Clint Kemp) and lots of bonefish with a lot of big big fish.
It was really educational for Jim: he learned what it was like to catch two double-digit bonefish (a 10 and a 12), he learned how to tie flies and clean conch, and he is planning on tying his fly line to his backing in the future.
I really have to single-out the performance of the guides. I have been fortunate to have trips with many good fly guides in the past. Even so, these two stood above. Their calm and capable direction made it much easier to spot the fish, anticipate the moment and place for fly presentation, and to understand how to succeed in hooking up and landing them. We caught bones with flies we learned to tie the night before! There was no screaming, no yelling, no anxiety. They were confident they knew how to guide us to make once-in-a-lifetime catches, and that confidence was contagious. There was no hope that we would catch fish, there was absolute certainty that we would catch fish.
Why fly fish? Because it offers the chance to catch gorgeous fish in heavenly places, in an elegant and rewarding manner. This place had it all and more: great fishing, spectacular locations, and great guys to catch fish with.

Mark

From Ian D.

This unique beach house is perfectly located to fish some of Abaco's finest flats. If you are looking for variety in the style of flats, then checkout the Black Fly Beach House and the Schooner Bay Project. Not only are the flats diverse, but so are the species of fish you can target with very little running distance in a boat. Captain Clint Kemp is a true professional and works very hard to make the Bahamas a "better place" for everyone, not just his new destination in South Abaco. Paul Pinder, the head guide is awesome and fun to be around. There are special places these guides know about that rival anywhere in the world for the slam.....see you there,
Ian

From Robert C.

For years May has been considered one of the best months to fish the Bahamas. But not this year. I was at the Beach Club May 18-22 and every day experienced squall lines, wind in excess of 20 knots, and rain that came down sideways. It was combat fishing. Nevertheless, Clint Kemp put me on the fish. The first afternoon I caught two, lost one, and, because of difficulty casting in the high winds, could not reach dozens of others that were visible. One day we went to Gorda Cay and the first fish was seven pounds. This is a world-class fishery with big aggressive fish; I saw dozens of double-digit bones. I stood on a mogul and watched about 50 bones circling me. We got on permit two days but they were too persnickety to eat. Legendary guide Paul Pinder can see bones in the next zip code, a phenomenal waterman and guide. If Clint stops guiding, he can be a chef. The seared fresh tuna was one of the best meals I've eaten in a long time. I would go back in a heartbeat, even if another baby hurricane was blowing.

From Mark C.

Vaughn is onto something really special in Abaco. I just got back last week from a CF (Cystic Fibrosis) Redbone Tournament in Marsh Harbor and ran into Vaughn making his final arrangements. We were there fishing and also filming some footage for the ESPN Saltwater Series show in 2010. Let me just say, I'm well traveled around the Caribbean and Keys tournaments, including Cuba and I've never seen a fishery like this one. I'm already scheduling to go back. It's the best visual fishery I've ever fished. Sure you have friendly Bahamian fish 21-27 inches consistently, but on the Marls bottom you get to see it all happen, fly-land, fish-turn, fish-chase while switching their heads like a bloodhound from 60-80 feet away (and typically way closer) because of the light bottom, fish-pound the fly into the bottom, fish-zip away. WOW!! You can check out the Abacos Tournament and exactly what I'm talking about at the ESPN website. I'm a dad with a 10 and 1 year old and this will be the place they cut their teeth on bonefish. Lots of action and GREAT visuals.
Coop

From Frank F

Clint, I've never been on a trip where the fishing was so lousy and had such a great time.

An exception to the lousy fishing was, of course, the fine day we had at the secret spot. Fine would have turned into fabulous had I landed "the monster". Still not over that one.

The food and the company and your accommodating approach made up for that infernal west wind and what I now know was a low pressure trough over us. All in my group feel the same way and were highly complimentary. Blackfly is a winner and you're the best!

I think I've found the tide chart but would be grateful for your link anyway. And that minced lobster recipe would be most appreciated!

Frank