Return of The Bang Bang Club

By Doug Windsor

     This past May, I had the privilege of spending a week with Charlie Smith, "crazy charlie" Smith, at the renowned Bang Bang Club in the bights of Andros Island, Bahamas. My friend and fishing partner, David Fowler, and I choose destinations every few years, and I convinced him this year to give Andros a try. We were initially slated to stay at a different lodge booked through Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures (Tel. 406-585-8667. Web: www.yellowdogflyfishing.com), but due to an overbooking we needed to reconfigure our trip and that was when I took advantage of information Ian from Yellow Dog had shared with me about an exploratory trip he was taking to the Bang Bang Club.

     The Bang Bang Club is Andros' oldest and first bonefishing lodge, built in the 1940's by Colonel Hank Thorne. The lodge's name contains a number of references including but certainly not limited to duck hunting, one of the bangs. These were the days of Joe Brooks, Lee Wulf, W. L Thompson (who were guided by Joseph Coakley), Bill and Arron Behring, Rudy Bell and Ivan Neymour. The club lost its way and lay dormant for many years until Charlie Smith, hammer in hand, along with help from his son Edison "Eddie" and a few others, resurrected the Bang Bang on Pot Key. My personal research revealed that the Bang Bang was operating, and when Ian mentioned it, I jumped and told him this was where we wanted to go.

     Ian was concerned as Yellow Dog had not even checked it out let alone created a partnership. But David and I like the adventure approach, and I convinced Ian to set it up. After a slight delay flying out of Fort Lauderdale, partially due to the smoke from wild fires, we were off to Andros Town and our first leg to the Bang Bang. I cannot say enough about the extraordinary treatment we received as soon as we walked through Customs. A taxi driver specifically assigned to us loaded our gear and drove us the half hour to a dock where Eddie Smith would meet us. OK, we went to the wrong dock, but the cabbie promised not to leave us alone and called Eddie; within 10 minutes we backtracked a half mile to the dock in front of Charlie's Haven, where we loaded onto a good-sized center console and rode out the 20 minutes or so to the Bang Bang Club.

     I was a bit anxious about meeting Charlie; I mean it isn't every day you get to meet "the legend" as Charlie is known on Andros. My anxiety quickly disappeared as we walked up the dock to the main building, consisting of a front porch bar and fly tying room. Charlie appeared covered in plaster and holding a 6-inch trowel in his hand. He ushered Eddie back to a shower room where he showed him what he had accomplished that day. Of course we all took a peek, and that's how the ice was broken. David and I headed off to our private stucco'd building and just smiled from ear to ear at the beautiful surroundings and sights. Out on a small island in the middle of Andros the only two fishermen alone with Charlie Smith - wow! It only got better.

     Look, this isn't for everyone; I should make that clear. Showers dribble; sometimes there's hot water. The place has a long way to go before/if it is ever finished. But our room was clean, the toilet worked, the food was good, and Charlie, well, I can't say enough about this 72-year-old. And that is what I want to share with you a bit. We did not catch a ton of fish. I hooked two or three a day, one seven-pounder. A high accompanied most of our week, and that plus fish spawning made things a bit challenging. We fished the West, the East and the middle, and many places only Charlie still knows about. After our first day with Frankie Neymour, we fished the next five exclusively with Charlie. It was amazing. Often we were on the water at 8 am, and we didn't get back until 6:30 or 7 pm. Charlie loves to fish. He loves to guide! There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for us. We targeted bones, tarpon, jacks, snapper and barracuda.

     Charlie has a colorful history, the father of 16 children. Aside from fishing, he was a professional chef and played in a Calypso band. In his younger days Charlie would guide all day, returning to the dock to take a shower, change into his chef clothes to cook meals for guests at the famous Lighthouse Club and then pick up his six string and play in a Calypso band until three in the morning, only to do it all again the next day. He has a unique work ethic and is demanding of those who work with him. Charlie knows what he wants and how to get there. Born in 1936, he has guided for over 50 years and recalls his first clients as Duke Ducette in 1950, and Lord Toby Nelson an Irish gentleman in 1954. He has guided for the likes of Ted Williams, the Franklin and Ford families, and Joan Wulf to mention a few of his many famous clients. He has also played on stage with Benny Goodman.

     One day pushing us over the flats Charlie shared with us a story when he used to fish as a mate on large billfishing yachts. Apparently the captain was in no condition this one night, and Charlie ended up taking charge of this over 40-footer, bringing it neatly into its slip. His comment to the captain's wife for this feat, "I'm a genius not a genie." My friend David enjoys fishing, but is not the maniac I am and one afternoon he asked Charlie how to double haul. So Charlie gave an explanation, one that I think Lefty would find interesting. From up on his poling platform Charlie started, "Sing a little song-pull- pull- wait, let me show you what you doin' wrong. You doin' dat, now watch me. See- I'm pushin straight out- I sing a little song see- pull-pull-forward gently and back as hard, keepen your left hand tight. Better, better- keep her tight- better- you got it! "Thank you," says David. "Pleasure," replies Charlie. "The world weren't made in one day." "What's that bird that sounds like a crow, almost a growl?" asks David. "Marsh hen," replies Charlie. "She talks like that until its time for the tide to change and then she goes rup, rup, rup." Charlie is like a walking encyclopedia, having spent so much time living amongst the mangroves. His knowledge of the spawning characteristics of bonefish is perhaps more than is currently known. He has watched and developed his own spawning tanks. During our stay we witnessed huge "milks," a combination of muds and bonefish sperm throughout the inner bights. We also saw inch-long bonefish fry amongst the mangroves.

     It was a perfect still morning, we poled directly out of the berth, not a ripple and here we are "on the best flats in the Bahamas, looking for big mama." This is Charlie's flat. Charlie greets each day with the joy of a young boy full of life. He says, "People ask me what were the best days of my life, I tell them today and tomorrow. As long as I can guide and fish I am happy. When I can't guide no more I'm goin' to sleep. I'm goin' on the flats, hook a barracuda or a shark and say, 'Take off with me-let's GO!'"

     One morning I found Charlie out on the end of the dock. The day before I had tried to tease some large jacks, 20 pounders, with a crease fly and a fast strip, even sweeping my rod as for barracuda. I was only able to garnish a couple of strikes and lots of follows but no hook ups. This morning Charlie asks, "Do you want to see how to use that fly for the jack?" I was all ears, of course. Charlie picks up an old cobbled together fly rod, part Sage part Loomis, hooks a piece of foam from a fly box onto the streamer, a perfect popper, and proceeds to show me how to make the popper mimic a fleeing bait fish, using long strips and little pops at the end. I could go on and on, but hopefully you're getting the picture. Fishing with Charlie is like playing catch with Cal Ripken, and he loves doing it with you. If you get the chance to fish with Charlie take it. Charlie is working hard to set the Bang Bang up for his son Eddie, who by the way makes fantastic "conch critters." The Club sits out far enough to call it out, a true haven, a paradise of sorts once and still for pure fisherman. I'll close with something I wrote while waiting my turn on Charlie's Dolphin flats boat one afternoon:

Cast yer line to deh bonefish mon
the bonefish com'in

Marsh hen growl like a hungry stomach
the sun burn hot on decked bare feet
Pushin' in deh breeze from the Thunderhead
Up in mangrove creek.

Cast yer line to deh bonefish mon
deh bonefish com'in

Polin' on deh clay flat,
Polin' on deh sand
Polin' on deh coral near deh
spongeboat man

Lookin' for deh digger holes
Lookin' for deh muds
Lookin' where the shark do roam
Look see-see where he dug!
Slidin' over Blue Holes
Driftin' thru the creeks
Wadin' on the hard flats
Where the big schools tend to meet

Cast your fly to deh bonefish mon
deh bonefish com'in
Deh bonefish take, deh bonefish run
deh bonefish sing runnin' to the sun

Dark Clouds are comin'
Rain is fallin' round
But the sun she still shinin'
On deh bonefish mon

Pushin all his life
Smilin' in the wind
Flat vision eyes
See out above his grin

Cast your fly to deh bonefish mon
Deh bonefish comin'

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