From Tail Fly Fishing Magazine January 2021
On Monday, October 5th, 2020, South Andros lost a beloved member of its tight-knit community, Captain Joseph “Josie” Sands.
I had the honor of catching my first big bonefish while being guided by Captain Josie during my first visit to Andros. Over the years, Josie put many fly anglers on big bonefish.
Josie was an intimidating figure because of his large stature, but his reputation as a guide was even more intimidating. He was the guide you both wanted—and didn’t want—to fish with. On the skiff he was all business, and that often meant tough love.
Josie and I did not get along initially. He was a gruff veteran guide who wanted his bragging rights daily. Josie always expected accurate casts and good technique from his clients. He took every missed opportunity personally. He was often short. One day while pushing through a creek on the west side, Josie said, “Throw one of those long, pretty casts to the mangroves at 11 o’clock.” Assuming he must’ve been talking to my buddy Matt, I just sat there.
“You don’t hear me?” Josie barked. “Throw a cast to the mangroves!”
If Josie Sands ever gave you a compliment you knew it was real. The entire time I was casting I was thinking about that: I felt as if I had arrived. Meanwhile, the fly disappeared somewhere into the mangroves. Josie dismounted the platform like an olympic gymnast and simply said, “Let’s go find another fish.”
If you ask those who’ve visited Andros, most will tell you that their fondest memories of Josie were from the time they spent with him at his bar. Across from the Andros South launch point on Little Creek was a tiny bar with a pool table and a limited selection of libations, which Josie owned and operated. The bar’s actual name was The New Ocean View Wholesale & Retail Bar, but everyone knew it as the Little Creek Bar. I recently heard a story about Josie opening the bar on Super Bowl Sunday to let some travelers watch the—an exceedingly rare thing for most guides in Andros take Sunday as a day of rest.
While behind the bar of The New Ocean View, Josie Sands was a different person. His competitiveness was replaced with hospitality. He was congenial, generous, and accommodating to everyone in the bar. Once you got him talking he always had a few good stories to tell. The trick was to get him talking. Speak sparingly and carry a 9-foot carbon fiber stick.
When Josie wasn’t on the skiff, he was just a big guy with a huge heart who loved both his immediate family and his South Andros family. He often spoke of his garden and his wishlist of fly gear, and he spoke of his back pain from 200-plus days a year on a skiff. Most of all, he spoke about how much he loved putting clients on big fish. You could see the sparkle in his eye when he told fish stories.
Josie Sands gave me some great memories of fishing Andros that I’ll cherish forever. Those of you who fished with him and have been to The New Ocean View are likely nodding agreement.
Thank you for everything, my friend.
Rest in peace.
Joseph Ballarini
Editor-in-Chief
Photos courtesy of David Madison who was very kind to share his photo memories of Josie Sands.
