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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
John Havlicek with bonefish
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ALICE TOWN, The Bahamas -
If only the spirit of Ernest Hemingway could have joined in the conversation at the Bimini Big Game Club Bar and Grill this past weekend—it was just the type of après fishing camaraderie that Papa would have immensely enjoyed.
While a seemingly endless stream of college teams competed for a chance to stay alive in the NCAA Men’s Division “March Madness’” playoffs on the multiple TVs, basketball Hall of Famers Bob Knight and John Havlicek joined with fishing legend Stu Apte to share bucket list memories—fishing with Presidents, tennis with Ethel and Teddy, fishing trips with the mercurial Ted Williams, collegiate salad days at Ohio State and bailing out of a fighter jet at 20,000 feet seconds before it exploded.
Stars Join Guides For Start of Fishing Day
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Truly a litany of places, people and accomplishments that most of us could only dream about was the main event for three evenings, courtesy of three very special and accomplished men gathered at the historic Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina in Alice Town.
Fishing the Bimini flats and chasing bonefish and permit during the day was a testament to the trio’s patience and endurance. Guided by some of Bimini’s best—Bonefish Tommy, Eagle Eyes Fred and the incomparable Ansil Saunders— Knight, Havlicek and Apte fished long days covering miles of flats. They discovered as Apte sagely pointed out “why we call the sport fishing and not catching” as the bones and permits for the most part proved taunting and elusive.
Former Pan Am and Navy Fighter Pilot Stu Apte aboard Tropic Ocean
Airways seaplane.
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As for fishing, Knight, who won 902 games as a college basketball coach, was once quoted “I’ve never predicted anything. All I have ever said is, that we will do the best we can.” And the three were at the top of their game giving it their best both on and off the water.
Guests and locals made stops to shake hands and seek an occasional picture or autograph from the man nicknamed “Hondo”, an eight-time NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics. The convivial Coach Bob Knight graciously would pose for pictures and chatted away with offering encouragement to a local girl, whose husband, a Bimini athletic coach, was away convalescing following a sports-related operation. A young fishing guide’s knees went weak when introduced to the man they call the sport’s greatest fly fisherman and the holder of 44 world records, only to have Stu Apte put a fatherly arm around his shoulder with a “just call me Stu.”
Bob Knight displays flyfishing technique
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Appropriately, the visit ended with a flight aboard Tropic Ocean Airways Caravan seaplane service—just how Ernest Hemingway would have written the conclusion to a Bahamas adventure.
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