Over the last decade, the organization, now called Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, has grown into a many tentacled beast—providing funding for research, supporting conservation efforts, educating sport fishermen, working with regulatory authorities and legislators, and serving as “a repository of information and knowledge related to the life cycle, behavior, and well being of the species.” Such an effort requires a leader who understands the scientific concepts and the many different perspectives involved in any debate about the future of marine habitats. Since 2006, that man has been Dr. Aaron Adams, whose impeccable “street cred”—as a scientist, and author, and angler—have helped recreational anglers make the connection between BTU’s research and what’s happening on the water. (see the rest f the story here)

This piece profiles Aaron Adams and the work of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

Good stuff.

BTT's Aaron Adams scouting out El Pescador

At any given time, only 10% of the fishable water harbors bonefish.  So figuring out how to eliminate the fishless 90% from your search area is half the battle. Understanding how bonefish use tides to their advantage will go a long way toward finding the productive 10%.

On May 31st Mike Berardi, fishing out of the Belize River Lodge with Pedro as his guide, caught a bonefish that I had caught and tagged on March 19th, the first recapture of a tagged bonefish in Belize.

via Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

Tagged bones are beginning to be recaptured.  This is a good thing. Recaptures tell us all sorts of things about growth rates and fish movements and from there policies can be developed that really help the fish.

Way to go Bonefish and Tarpon Trust!

Support BTT

You can also read my interview of Aaron here.

Aaron is amazing in that he is a very busy guy, but seems to always make time for questions.  He’s super accessible and easy to talk to… just don’t expect him to divulge any secret places!

There really do seem to be some different sized bonefish in there with the difference between the biggest and smallest being a few pounds.

What a joy just to watch those fish do what they do.

With some practice and experience, all the questions and answers will become second nature so that you are simply “doing” as much as thinking about what you are doing. And when you finally slip your hand over that big fat bonefish, the feeling of accomplishment is great. After taking a few thousand bonefish myself over many years, I still don’t take any part of the pursuit for granted.

via “Close to the Bone” | MidCurrent.

This photo was in a post about bonefishing written by good ole’ Chico.  I’m glad (and I bet Aaron is glad) that when it came time to select a photo of Chico with a bonefish they picked this one… the fish in the water, the release likely to be a good one, the fish probably surviving.

As far as the catching part goes, just fish as heavy a tippet as you can and have enough drag to make progress in getting the fish in.  Don’t overplay the fish… that’s a pretty easy concept.

In terms of the release portion of the issue goes you just have to be aware that every little bit longer you keep the fish out of the water increases the likelihood that it will get munched on when it is released.  These aren’t trout.  Just because it swims away doesn’t mean everything is OK.  If it swims away, but is tired… well… the odds that a cuda or shark will eat it go up a fair bit.

Here’s Dr. Adams…

No matter the size of the bonefish, the tendency will be to eat whatever will fit in the mouth and down the gullet. Bonefish live in a world where a lot of work is required to eat enough to keep their engine running. All of that grubbing in the bottom and eating prey with shells means that for every piece of good food they also ingest undigestibles like sediment and shells. So a bigger meal with less work presents a great advantage.

via Aaron Adams, fly fishing, flies, tarpon, snook, redfish, travel, fly fishing books.

I want to be Aaron when I grow up.

OK... that's a #1... should be a rather big meal there.

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Aaron sent us this video about evaluating mangrove flats as bonefish habitat, and we knew we had to pass it on.

In the video, Aaron covers these points and more.

* Evaluating bottom structure.

* The significance of algae growth on the bottom and on mangrove roots.

* Signs of other life on the flats.

via Reading Mangrove Flats | Bonefish Habitat.

Hot damn.  Check it out. Go to the link above.

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Awesome.

Marine biologist Dr. Aaron Adams, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Operations Director and Senior Scientist for Mote Marine Laboratory, joins Florida Fly Fishing Magazine with a focus on marine conservation and environmental issues.

via Florida Fly Fishing Magazine Welcomes Dr. Aaron Adams (this is the press release).

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine – this is the actual website.