Legendary Bonefish Guide Ansil Saunders

IGFA Tommy Gifford Award recipient Ansil Saunders, now 88 years old, is a legendary fishing guide. He is best known in angling circles as the man who guided his client Jerry Lavenstein to the world record bonefish on the flats of Bimini in 1971. He also guided historical figures such as the former president Richard Nixon, and of course, his most famous client of all, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The funny thing is Saunders didn’t even take Dr. King fishing. Rather, he took him to secluded, spiritual island places so that King could work on his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech and, later, his Sanitation Workers Speech.

Saunders is the guide of the current IGFA World Record for a 16-pound Atlantic bonefish that was caught by Jerry Lavenstein in 1971.

IGFA Tommy Gifford Award recipient, Ansil Saunders,  is perhaps Bimini’s most beloved and revered bonefish guide. Saunders has been building bonefish skiffs since the age of 15, and is a fifth-generation boat builder in a lineage of builders that goes back to Scotland.

Ansil is known as an excellent bonefish guide and still is the captain of a current IGFA World Record for a 16-pound bonefish that was caught by Jerry Lavenstein in 1971. In addition to being the largest Atlantic bonefish recognized by the IGFA, it is also the largest ever caught on 12-pound line class. During his career, Ansil guided a suite of famous individuals including President Richard Nixon and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Saunders is the fifth generation in a long line of boatbuilders originating from Scotland. Using mahogany, oak, and native horseflesh wood, Saunders builds his 16-foot handcrafted vessels to perfectly navigate through Bimini’s shallow bonefish-rich waters.

U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas, Nicole A. Avant presented a plaque to Ansil Saunders in recognition of his outstanding contributions in keeping Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy alive in The Bahamas.

During Dr. Martin Luther King’s visit in 1964, Saunders took him to a favorite spot that he had been fishing since childhood – a place that he would later name as the Holy Grounds. It was on that trip that King would find the inspiration to write his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Later, in 1968, King visited Saunders again to work on his sanitation workers speech, the last speech he would ever deliver. Dr. King had a lasting impact on Ansil, and he would later become a member of The Bahamas independence movement, which allowed him to meet Margaret Thatcher and the Queen of England. Now in his late 80s, Ansil no longer guides for bonefish but still takes people to the Holy Grounds so that they can share the same experience that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. found a friend in Saunders. Just four days before his assassination, Dr. King was sitting in Ansil’s boat, sharing psalms and working on “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”—his final speech.

Mighty Waters

 In the newest @coldcollaborative film, “Mighty Waters,” Ansil Saunders visits the spot he had taken Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.