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| Vaughn Cochran to create Black Fly Bimini at the Bimini Big Game Club, Bimini, Bahamas. |
Opening in late October 2010, Black Fly Bimini will operate out of the newly reopened Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina.
Black Fly Bimini will organize all of the Big Game Club's backcountry fishing programs, with on-site staff, operations and merchandising support.
Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Cochran and his fly fishing wife, Jean, oversee Black Fly Inc., a collection of enterprises featuring fly fishing merchandise, art and travel. The couple has recently opened Black Fly Bonefish Club, their newest lodge, located on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
"Bimini is one of those rare locations where you can have world-class back-country and offshore fishing just minutes from the dock." said Cochran. "Hands down any day, for a pure adrenaline rush, the Grey Ghosts of Bimini can hold their own against the Man in the Blue Suit," Cochran added referring to the Blue Marlin that is synonymous with Bimini's reputation among off-shore anglers.
About Vaughn Cochran: A Florida native, Cochran grew up in the art community of St. Augustine and earned art degrees in ceramics and painting at the internationally known and respected Art and Printmaking Department of the University of South Florida. Arriving in Key West in 1972, he started his fishing career, teaching Jimmy Buffet how to fly fish while playing the washboard, banjo and bass guitar for his Coral Reefer Band. Becoming one of the most respected fly fishing guides in the Florida Keys, Cochran later managed some of the legendary fishing lodges of the Caribbean and Central America, including Parismina Tarpon Rancho in Costa Rica and Turneffe Island Lodge in Belize. Along the way, he nurtured his artistic calling, and today his works are found in numerous private and corporate collections, including a recent one-man exhibition at the IGFA¹s main gallery.
With his quick wit and entertaining laid back style, Cochran is a frequent host and guest of various fly-fishing TV shows including the popular 'Spanish Fly' with fishing pal, Jose Wejebe.
What started out as Vaughn Cochran's marine art gallery years ago has turned into a unique destination fly shop in the U.S., Black Fly Outfitter, a full service technical fly shop specializing in saltwater flies, custom fly kits, fly rods, fly reels and clothing for tropical fly fishing destinations around the world.
About Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina: Founded as a dinner club in 1936 in Alice Town, by Nassau entrepreneur and bon-vivant, Neville Stuart, the Big Game Club has over the last 74 years hosted world-class fishermen, major tournaments, international celebrities and tens of thousands guests looking to bask in the unique 'Islands in the Stream' mantra made famous by author Ernest Hemingway who fished and lived in Bimini in the mid 1930s.
Today, the Big Game Club's Outpost concept is designed to take the resort beyond that of a 'fishing lodge' to create an eco-destination attracting both fishing and diving enthusiasts while focusing on adventure travel, sustainable tourism and marine conservation. The Club features a 51-room resort and a 75-slip marina capable of accommodating boats up to 145 linear feet. By Spring 2011, a full service fuel dock will be operational. Phase II plans include a Guy Harvey Theater, guest lecture series and interactive sessions with Dr. Harvey and the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NOVA Southeastern Oceanographic Center and day trips to the Bimini Biological Field Station¹s world-famous shark lab.
