Bonefish and all that relates (maybe a bit about tarpon too).

What is going to get packed is packed. The rest of the time before I take off is really just moving from one place to another. The trip is more or less set in motion.

The last reels arrived a couple days ago and yesterday was supposed to be the day that I got backing put on all those reels.  Then… call from my daughter’s school that she was sick. So, I scavenged. I managed to pull backing off a few of the reels staying home and am now fully set.  Here’s the reel list…

For the 8′s (Sage One, Mystery Prototype)

• Orvis Mirage
• Ross F1

For the 10 (Orvis Helios)

• Ross Momentum
• Ross CLA
• Orvis Mirage

For the 11 (Redington Predator)

• Redington Delta

The lines are a mix of Orvis, Rio and SA lines and for the tarpon rods (the 10 and 11) I have both floating and either clear int. sink tips or full clear int. sinks as well.

I’m feeling fairly well equipped. In fact, I may be over-equipped and I’ll have to consciously switch reels and rods from time to time to make sure I get some time with different rigs.

Four rods. Six reels. Seven spools/seven lines.

I’ll be carrying on the rods and the reels and I’ll be hoping the rest of my stuff makes it there.

Tomorrow morning I get on a flight for the first leg of the journey.  I’ll meet up with the others down in Mexico tomorrow night and from there, the adventure begins.

It is getting close to Go Time. Functionally, I have one more day before I’m on my way.  Wednesday is chock full of non-packing related activities, culminating with me not even being home on Wednesday night.  So… Tuesday is the last night to put stuff in my bag.

Now is when I start to get a little fidgety.

Have I tied enough of the right flies?  Are my leaders what I need? What am I forgetting?

An unease sets in. A worry.  I won’t be fully relaxed now until my toes are in warm saltwater and I have a rod in my hand.

The countdown is getting down to pretty trivial numbers and I am getting to the point that I really can’t wait.

Singular focus

PS – the bag is getting really, really full. Going to be close.

yeah... I need to get more into this bag

Cover art by Bob White

I’m very, very happy to announce the release of Pulp Fly, the ebook which has been in the works for the past year (plus). There are some really interesting stories in there by some pretty interesting writers.

It was my idea, and for that I’m feeling pretty smart, but once the gang got together it quickly became more than I had envisioned, which is a credit to the quality of folks involved in the project.

Now, those of you who go ahead and line my pockets make the wise choice to buy a copy, you might notice my story is about a guy getting a divorce and the logical fishing trip that comes out of that process. It may also occur to you that I am going through the Big D and I also happen to like bonefishing. It might be really tempting to draw a rather direct line from the character’s life to my own life and call it autobiographical.

Here’s a couple of things about that.  First, I’m way better looking than the guy in the story.  Secondly, I actually wrote the story well before divorce entered the lexicon. It was an imagined future for someone else.  It was never supposed to be me.   I guess part of me knew it was a possibility, but the guy who wrote that story, he didn’t know what was coming.

Some people might argue if life imitates art or if art imitates life. That question has been settled for me.

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Pulp Fly. It is a project I’m proud of and I think you’ll get your $4.95 worth.

I actually didn’t tie a single fly today.  I feel like that’s a step in the right direction.  Instead, I tied up some leaders.

I’m not buying a single leader for Cuba. I’m tying all of them… the bonefish leaders and the tarpon leaders.

I’m trying bonefish leaders that are about 9 feet, 40 pound butt down to 15 pound fluoro.

For the tarpon I’m trying 9 footers, 40 pound butt down to 50 or 80 pound shock.

The general formula is 4′ of 40#, 2′ of 30#, 2′ of 20# and then either the shock tippet on a bimini or the 15# tippet.

I’ve used this formula before and haven’t had any issues with it. I like it because it is simple. I like simple. Simple is better than, well, not simple, which I kind of hate.

So… any fatal mistakes I’m making?

Yup… this time next week…

How could I not notice the story in the HuffPo called “A Girl’s Guide to Bonefishing?”  Easy. I did notice it.

Ever since I read an article in Garden and Gun abouta bonefishing trip that Yvon Chouinard and Tom Brokaw took, I was curious about the sport. Mostly because it takes place in my favorite place of all, the shallow, crystal-clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean. Then, a coworker told me about his dad’s experience doing it and that it was “really hard,” and I got “hooked” on the idea. I had to try it. Plus, it is fun to say “bonefishing.”

It is fun indeed. The ill-informed think I’m being dirty when I say it.

Added kudos to Maria Rodale for bringing her 5 year old daughter along.

Hey! I have a 5 year old who actually ASKS me to go bonefishing in the Bahamas. This is great fodder for an eventual trip. I’m thinking that, like Maria, my little girl might not start off with a fly rod, but if I can get her out on the flats somewhere and get her into a fish, that would be pretty much as close to victory as I have a right to expect.

Well played Maria. We can talk later about proper handling of bonefish… for now, enjoy your victory.

When I head down to Cuba in… like… a WEEK, I’ll be on a media tour heading out with some folks from Yellow Dog (they aren’t selling trips to Cuba, fyi) and we’ll be fishing with Avalon.

One thing that that Avalon is known for is their fly… the Avalon fly. This is supposed to be a permit-getter and while I think where I’m headed is less known for permit, there is a chance I’ll be throwing to one.

I tied up a few last night. I didn’t have the tan marabou so I substituted materials, but I think that I got the concept more or less right.

My Avalon... maybe it will work, maybe it won't.

A week from today I start the journey. Countdown in full effect.

I’m a very lucky guy. I’m thinking about this Cuba trip that I’m about to embark on and I can’t help but think about the last big trip I had to Andros last year. There are some parallels.

• It was almost at the exact same time of year.
• It was a dream destination that I had no idea  how I would ever get to.
• I was getting over a cold (then, I actually had one on the plane on the way there).
• It was an opportunity that came to me through the blog and people that I genuinely like.

There were a couple of differences.

At the time of that trip I had a sense that my marriage was on really, really thin ice. It was when I got back from that trip that things fell apart. Literally the day after I landed. That was pretty horrible, but it wasn’t totally out of the blue. I’m pretty sure I told one or two people in Andros that I suspected my marriage was about to end. In fact, the story I wrote for Pulp Fly is a fictional story about a guy going through a divorce who went to Grand Bahama to try and get his mind of things. I wrote that a good 5 months before le merde hit le fan. Something in me had a feeling about things.

I was right.

As the Cuba trip comes into clear focus that old relationship is in the dustbin of history, save for a 5 year old connection we still have in the form of a wonderful little girl who loves cobras and wants to fly fish in the Bahamas with her old man.

I have a new relationship and one that is going to be around for a long time.  She’s happy I’m going to Cuba. She’s happy FOR me. That’s a pretty important attribute.

So, the tale of 365 days and two trips and two different me’s. I find that the trips I take like this sever as markers to remind me of where my life was at at any given time.  This trip, most likely, will mark the beginning of a new life.  I’ll say “Oh, that was the year I went to Cuba when all that wonderfulness happened with Renee (that’s her name).”

This year, with this trip, the future looks pretty bright. I’m full of optimism and hope.

Do your trips mark times in your life like this, or is that just me?

Yeah, this year is shaping up nicely.

The days are in single digits and I’m starting to get really annoying on the whole “Guess where I’m going?!” thing.  The media tour with Yellow Dog and Avalon is fast approaching and my rods are finally all here.

There they are.

This is what’s on tap.

• 11 wt – Predator from Redington (I fished this in a 9 in December)
• 10 wt – Helios from Orvis (I’ve fished this before in a 10 and an 8 )
• 8 wt – One from Sage (brand new)
• 8 wt – mystery prototype rod

That’s a pretty sweet line up. The only thing I don’t really have in there is a dedicated permit rod, but that’s because I hope I find more time casting to baby tarpon and not-baby bonefish than searching for permit. I just can’t help it… that’s how I feel. Don’t hate me.

These are not my rods, of course. The sad day when I get back will be returning these rods to their corporate parents. I hope to get a sense of where the new Sage One stacks up to one of my favorite rods, the Helios.  The Predator is a good, workman rod that is the low-cost rod of the bunch. The prototype? I’ve never cast a prototype before.

Basically… I’ll keep you posted and I. CAN’T. WAIT.

I’ve caught one tarpon in my life at this point. I’ve hooked a few more, but I’ve only landed one. I’ve tied a great number of bonefish flies, but not so many tarpon flies.  Some techniques I have not mastered and almost all the patterns are new to me.  That said, I’ve been trying to get in the groove with my tarpon tying and I’ll bring you into that experience.

First… almost all the patterns are bunny patterns with a little marabou thrown in for good measure. Bunny is just a joy to tie with and the patterns come out looking damn fine. On the down side, I know when I’m out there casting them they will hold water more so that the synthetic materials will. I’ll have to see if that is a real bummer or not.

The desk, set up for tarpon tying.

I have a desk dedicated to tying.  I can close it up and put it away, but these days I’m leaving it open and ready. Thoughts of tying beckon often.

Pile O' Bunny

If you can palmer a bunny strip, you can make a tarpon bunny and since that means just wrapping the strip around the hook… I can palmer a bunny strip.  So… I have a lot of bunny strips.

Another one done

A few of the finished products, ready for Cuba.

An assortment of flies that are ready for Cuba. 1/0 to 3/0 and damn strong hooks. I can’t wait to see some of these spit back at me by fish bigger than my daughter.

I just like the look of these flies.

Now, the fuchsia might be a bit much, but the concept is pretty solid, I think.  I think, but I don’t know.

Simple and Sexy.

We’ll seen in a couple weeks if any of these make the cut.