As I was wrapping up a busy summer season in the Karen Talbot Art Gallery in Rockland, I was also watching Hurricane Dorian bear down on the Bahamas. As many of you know, I recently launched a Bonefish Angler’s Pint and an Angler’s Pint Islands Series. Putting those two ideas together to help raise money for relief and recovery efforts in the Bahamas seemed a no brainer.
I went right to work on the design for the back of the glass and then got together with my printer to see if we could get a rush order of these limited edition Bonefish Angler’s Pints placed. I’m happy to announce that the first glasses will arrive on 1 October and start shipping immediately.
The glasses are a limited edition run of Abaco Bonefish Angler’s Pints. They will sell for $20/glass, and all the profits will go to relief and recovery efforts. On the front of the glass, you will find my full-color illustration of a bonefish (along with the species’ common and scientific name), and on the back you’ll find Abaco Island. As with all the saltwater Angler’s Pints, a saltwater fly rod with a large arbor reel will mark the fill line for this Angler’s Pint…which, of course, is larger than a British and an American pint and is perfect for tall tales ofter a day on the water.
The last piece of the puzzle was to figure out how to get the money to the Bahamas in a way that could support the local angling community. As many of you know, fly fishing for bonefish is an important part of the economy on Abaco (and Grand Bahama), and the guides, lodge employees, and their families have a long road ahead. While insurance will help re-build structures, I want to help rebuild people’s lives–people with whom I (and many of you) have a strong connection through passion for this very special fish.
I started seeing many of my friends in the fly fishing community hopping on the #DozenForDorian campaign on social media. The Fly Fishing Journal coined the campaign as Josh Mills’ “little/big Idea to help the Bahamas,” and to date it has raised more than $30k for relief and recovery efforts. I got in touch with Josh, and he put me in touch with Dillon Gruber of Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures in Bozeman, Montana. Dillon is the Associate Director for Yellow Dog Community and Conservation Foundation, where Josh settled on directing all #DozenForDorian funds. YDCCF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, but even more important, its central mission really spoke to me.
The Yellow Dog Community and Conservation Foundation works to enhance communities, build partnerships and support conservation in places where great fishing is found. We achieve this by providing targeted grants to directly support priority conservation needs, vital community projects, and educational efforts in international angling destinations. The Foundation also provides support for certain events and builds partnerships to leverage funding for specific projects and impact.
I am pleased to announce that I am partnering with YDCCF’s Double Haul for Dorian – Anglers for the Bahamas campaign, and I invite you to pre-order your limited edition Abaco Bonefish Angler’s Pint today by clicking here.
The Angler's Pint Blog 