The Why of Soul Fly
Fly anglers today have no shortage of options when it comes to where to fish, or what to fish for. So, with all the places to go and all the different species to target, why choose Soul Fly Lodge? Why join us in the Berry Islands to fly fish for bonefish, permit, and other flats critters?
We could wax poetic for days on what makes the Soul Fly experience unique and inspiring, and the best thing to do if you have questions is get in touch with co-owners Kitri and Kyle Schaefer. But in the meantime, here are a few thoughts on what makes our little corner of the fly fishing world special, and why you should consider spending a week with us.
Community Connection
At Soul Fly, we pride ourselves on our connection to the island and its people. In fact, we are an active member of the Great Harbour Cay community, contributing and participating in numerous ways to the health and sustainability of the culture and economy of our island.
Aside from our ownership group — who all contribute to our mission and visit the lodge regularly — our staff live on Great Harbour Cay; many were born there. Spouses, partners, children, and family members of staff are commonly seen around lodge grounds. We purchase as many of our ingredients from local sources as possible — these include eggs, fish, conch, and lobster. We’re continually developing new relationships with Bahamian vendors that help us further support our local economy. We invest in the youth of the community, training and hiring interested locals, and also offering two or more spots to local youth in our annual Fish for Change week at the lodge. Every fishing day, we launch out of the public marina on Great Harbour Cay, where we always cross paths with other anglers, residents, and travelers.
For our guests, this all means that the experience at Soul Fly feels inclusive and immersive in the island itself. While the lodge certainly has its unique amenities — like the quality of our grounds, lodging, kitchen, staff, and fishing program, to name a few — we rely on our connection to the community to run a successful operation. During their stay, lodge guests will interact daily with the community and the great folks who live on Great Harbour Cay. Oftentimes, these interactions are as memorable as the fishing itself. The Bahamas are a special place and we want you to feel the experience just as strongly as you see it.
Consistent Hospitality
We understand that, due to the nature of our preferred style of fishing (i.e., sightfishing in shallow waters), productivity and catch rates vary from day to day. This is precisely why we emphasize consistency in all the elements of the Soul Fly experience that we can control — those being the dining, drinks, comfort, and service.
Guests at Soul Fly Lodge can expect to have exceptional, satisfying, and personalized meals three times a day, made using the freshest ingredients we can find. Our chef and kitchen staff take immense pride in their work, and take to heart the fact that lodge guests are fishing hard during the days so need healthy and hearty meals to keep them going over the course of the week.
Similarly, we strive to make our guest and shared spaces as comfortable and inviting as possible, with plush mattresses and bedding, thoughtful and functional furnishings, and plenty of room to spread out and find quiet, when desired. Our staff embrace the fact that our guests are on vacation, and want to fish hard and rest easy. Knowing the magic of the Great Harbour Cay community, Soul Fly Lodge staff aim to share it with each and every guest.
Our Fishery: Quality Over Quantity
We are blessed with what we believe to be the most intriguing fishery in The Bahamas, and every day we wake with renewed enthusiasm to share it with our guests. What makes the Berry Islands so unique from a fly fishing standpoint is its ‘quality over quantity’ nature. By quality, we’re referring to the average size of bonefish found here — larger than most other areas where these fish are found — and the fact that we have an incredible permit fishery, with large specimens, a short boat ride away from the marina. The Berrys are not a nursery fishery; this is a place where big fish thrive, and are readily available.
With our fish being larger than average and significant portions of each week spent hunting permit, our fishing is, on the whole, challenging. But with these hurdles come greater rewards for our guests: the thrill of hooking a large, mature bonefish in shallow water; spotting and presenting to a feeding permit; working together with their guide to unleash the best presentations; improving casting and fly fishing so when they return, so our guests will be ready for the next encounters.
There are certainly days when numbers of fish are landed at Soul Fly, and while those days are exciting, our guides and staff are equally interested in the challenges and learning opportunities that our fishery presents. The journey is bottomless, the learnings endless, and we’re here for all of it.
Guide Team
Equivalent in quality to our world-class fishery of bonefish and permit is our incredible guide team. At Soul Fly Lodge, we are privileged to work with a team of seasoned, passionate, and professional bonefish and permit fly fishing guides who, collectively, have over 125 years of experience in The Bahamas. Our team is truly a team. The guides are a family, they share info daily, and they have each other's back… and yours.
The team is a mix of calm, collected veterans and pioneers, like living legends Percy Darville and Freddie Dames, high-energy, cutting-edge, and fast rising stars like Travis “The Flats Phantom” Sands, Chester Darville, and hungry, instinctive up-and-comers like Locksley “LJ” Bean. Each of their styles and approaches are unique, but the common threads are their passion for the Berry Islands, their love of the hunt for bonefish and permit, and their satisfaction in sharing the fishing experience with our guests.
Over the course of a week’s fishing, Soul Fly guests will have the opportunity to fish with and — most importantly — learn from all the guides, finding tactics, techniques, and ways to think about flats fishing presented in a variety of ways.
Who Are Our Guests?
While there’s no ‘typical’ guest at Soul Fly Lodge, we do find some common traits among those who join us in the Berry Islands. No matter the level of fly fishing experience of our guests, first and foremost, they love being on the water. And while this certainly translates into cherishing the opportunities to take shots at big and smart bonefish and permit, it just as much means enjoying and embracing what each fishing day brings.
Our guests also love getting to know the Soul Fly team — our guides, kitchen and hospitality staff, and management. Similarly, our guests appreciate that the team takes the time to get to know them as well. Meals at Soul Fly are plated and served family-style in our dining room, so guests enjoy the shared experience and recounting the day’s successes and challenges over good food and drink.
Our guests appreciate and respect the contemplative and quiet times of their stay at Soul Fly Lodge. During a stay at Soul Fly, guests may enjoy early-morning walks to the beach with coffee in hand, a post-fishing cocktail on the deck lost in thought, thoughtfully re-rigging a bonefish or permit setup based on the conditions, or simply enjoying the view from the edge of the pool.
Our guests that return again and again, love the whole experience; they are grateful, and they love the connected small moments that stick with them until next time.
What We Are & What We Ain’t
Soul Fly Lodge is a lot of things. Put simply, we are a world-class Bahamas fly fishing lodge that offers guests the opportunity to cast at, hook, and land the biggest bonefish and permit of their lives. In addition, Soul Fly is an immersive traveling and fly fishing experience in the Berry Islands, where guests can test their skills, improve their game, and make connections with other like-minded anglers, dedicated guides, kind staff and community members, and the ecosystem as a whole. Guests at Soul Fly will be comfortable, well-fed, respected, safe, and placed in exciting and mind-boggling fishing situations everyday, surrounded by natural beauty and some of the most exciting fish available to target with a fly rod. At the core of the experience, Soul Fly is a family, and if you come back, you’ll know what we mean.
Soul Fly Lodge is also not a few things. We are not a five-star boutique hotel with wait staff available at all times to serve. In the mornings, guests pour their own fresh, hot coffee, and in the evenings, guests serve themselves (and other guests) from the well-stocked bar. We are also not people concerned with numbers or statistics of catches; we are people that thrive on rich experiences. We embrace the nature and challenges of our fishery and choose to fish here for those very elements. Lastly, we are also not concerned with fly fishing abilities or expertise. Instead, we value the unique experiences and perspectives that each guest brings to the lodge, regardless of how many fish they’ve caught or where they’ve fished before.
In short, all are welcome, especially those who make us better, make us laugh, and want to be a part of something special. Reach out and come experience the Why of Soul Fly Lodge!
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