31
Aug 16

Maui fly fishing and the continued lack of an HI bonefish

I went out with Captain Jon Jon today in his two person kayak to hit some spots in Maui on my family vacation.

One of Capt. Jon Jon's two man kayaks

One of Capt. Jon Jon’s two man kayaks

Sadly, there was no bonefish hooked.

Still, it was a good time. I learned a lot and I can see the potential.

We started off with spinning rods, trolling flies, as we made our way out to where he wanted me to focus. We picked up a couple jacks/trevally (little ones) this way, which was fun.

When we got started actually fly fishing, it was blind casting in spots Jon Jon knew held fish… educated blind casting, if you will. Some of this was in water that was a bit deep as I had a few swells come up to my armpits (my double haul starts falling apart in water that deep). The bones just weren’t with the program though. Captain Jon Jon said he saw several, but my eyes have never been good at spotting deep bones and I didn’t see them.

We finished the day on a spot where I had excellent vision into water that was maybe 3 feet. If a bone had crossed within 60 feet of me there, I would have seen it. Alas, it was not to be.

As we made our way back in I was trolling a fly with my fly rod and managed a nice bar jack, which may be my first such fish.

My Maui Bar Jack

My Maui Bar Jack

The whole thing started at 6 AM and was over at noon, giving me time to get back to the family without my wife being left on her own too much. It was a good excursion and Captain Jon Jon was knowledgeable and personable.

If we come back to Maui, I’ll be looking him up again.