Grand Bahama – Day 3 – Ass Kicking

Sadly… I was the kickee as opposed to kicker today.  The sun came out, mostly, but the wind came up, hard, and while I found fish, I spooked nearly every single one of them.

I spooked so many fish it is practically Halloween.

I got out to a little bay/cove on the East End today and went down to the far end where I found fish tailing in the corner up  against some mangroves about 2 feet off the bank.

“Sweet” I thought.   “This is going to be a great day.”

Cast, cast, gone.

Then the wind.  Uff da.

Luckily, I found a little mud and got a skunk breaker.

I like this shot for no reason in particular.

I had some company on the flat starting off the morning… but they didn’t touch any fish.  I think someone sent this guy out here to make me feel good about my casting.  Watching them go at it I was again thankful for the good guiding and good fishing I had with Captain Perry.

Company.

I found a lot of fish today… but these fish were not the virgin/naive fish of the far reaches of the East End.  These were educated fish.  Most of the spooking I did came from the fish seeing the fly… any fly.  I tried lots… #2’s, #4’s, #6’s… pinks, yellows, tans, whites… bunny, silly  legs, very plain… they all send  the fish running (swimming, I suppose) away at great speed, pushing water as they went.

I found one little pod of nice fish, made the cast, got the follow and got it to eat, but I missed the hook set and he/she/it wouldn’t eat again.  Frustration was mounting at that point.

I drove down to Rocky Creek, but the tide  was wrong for the flat there. I should have known better, really.

I drove back to the first spot.  The wind was howling.  It was too late to go anywhere else… this was going to need to be it.  As I was walking out to where the sand stopped and turtle grass began I had the sun to my back and the wind in my face… I had one window to see the fish, but that also meant casting into the 15-20 mph wind.  Just when I was coming to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to find any more fish I picked up 4 or 5 nice fish cruising my way on the edge of the grass… pretty much directly into the wind.

I slogged a cast out there and it wasn’t bad (surprising even myself).  I saw one fish break off from the school.  I moved the fly, I stopped, stripped,  felt the fish, set the hook and I was hooked onto my second bonefish of the day.  The fish started splashing around, it came tight, but didn’t start it’s run.  I got ready to enjoy the sound of the singing reel and then it just spit the hook.  wtf.

Damn.

Tomorrow promises to be pretty much exactly the same as today from a weather perspective.  Wind… lots of wind… 12-16, all day.

Now I have figured out that I can see the fish.  Need to see if I can’t catch a few more tomorrow, or I’m going to be reduced to throwing for little cuda’s again.

Sometimes you just need to feel the pull of a fish.

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4 comments

  1. Hey dude!

    You haven’t mentioned if you’ve enjoyed all of what the Bahama’s has to offer!. Kalik beers…Rum Bubbahs!…Johnny bread, fried chicken with peas’n’rice…conch salad…conch fritters etc…!!!???. Go down to the local dock where the boys clean their daily catch and grab a bunch of conch guts to use as chum. Stake out your place on the flats and toss some out..bones will arrive soon.

    You’re there, and I’m here…sucks to be me!!!…wish I were there. How’s the Inflatable Kayak working out for you?

    Keep having fun pal…you deserve it.

    Henry

  2. The IK isn’t going to get used… winds today were 15-20 and the flats were all churned up. Didn’t see a single bone all day. The wind was just relentless. I had one spot where this little flat was protected, but no one was home. Otherwise, everywhere I went was just unfishable… visibility measured in inches, not feet.

    So, I went to Geneva’s and had some cracked conch and a Kalik. Takes the sharp edge off of the fishing today. Did get a few small snappers and one cuda.

    Still, it is good to be in the Bahamas.

  3. Once constant you can generally rely on in the Bahamas is to be dealing with some wind. Once in a while you’ll get a nice calm day but more times than not, you’re dealing with 10-15-20 knots.
    If you’re spooking a lot of fish, try lengthening your leader to 12 or more feet. It’s a little harder to turn over, especially in the wind but gives you a little more room from your line slapping the water.
    Also, you may need to lead the fish more a let them come to the fly. This takes patience and can be maddening but sometimes if the fish are super spooky, that’s what you need to do.

  4. Hey Jason, thanks for the advice. I had a good weather morning before I left yesterday… partly cloudy, winds 3-7 or so… had lots of shots and only got one fish to eat… which I botched. C’est la vie. I ended up doing exactly what your recommended… added about 4 feet to the leader and led the fish, let them come to the fly. It is obvious to me at this point that I need to do A LOT more of this to convert fish that are this spooky. Even mudding fish were out’a there as soon as they saw a fly, any fly.
    I met the guide I had gone out with walking on the beach with his wife. As we were talking along came a bonefish… I cast, the fish calmly took a 90 degree turn and headed for deeper water. The guide said “If that is how the fish are acting, I don’t think you are going to catch anything today.” And so it was.
    Oh well.

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