You can find this shirt here.

Well done Vaughn... I own this one, FYI.

My first bonefish pics were pretty much the standard bearer for what not to do.  Long air exposure, excessive handling.  Those fish probably didn’t do well.

Yeah... I cringe a bit seeing these pictures.

I didn’t know better and the guide on that particular trip didn’t seem concerned in the slightest. It was kind of a big #fail, even if I didn’t know it yet.

The next trip (same island, different guide) was a big change. I knew better and I was glad to see the guide knew better too.  Captain Perry was my guide and he was very, very vigilant when it came to handling of fish.  The whole day with him we didn’t take a single fish out of the water for pictures.

My last trip to Cuba I found that I was often foregoing the photo-op.  Maybe I’d take a pic of the fish underwater, but often times I would just let them go at the side of the boat and not even snap a single picture. The pics aren’t too glamorous, but I’ve found I’m a bit less concerned about that now.  I do like having a nice photo and I have a few, but I don’t need a hero shot with every fish, or even most of them.

Let those fish swim.

Maybe not the sexiest pic.

Here’s advice from BTT about how to handle a bonefish and how to practice good C&R.

I didn’t see the cuda around before I hooked the fish. I didn’t think the bonefish was acting weird or wild before the fish hit. I had the bone on and then, all of a sudden, the cuda was there, chewing on the bonefish.  When I pulled in the fish, I was left with the front 1/3 or so of the bonefish.

I got to hold it him my hand and look it in the eye.

It was a weird moment. It underscored that this is a blood sport, even when we don’t intend it to be.

Thanks for the pull. Sorry it didn't work out.

After that I broke off a bone, lost one in the mangroves and was starting to get a little frustrated.  Then… the day turned around. My boat-mate, Charlie, caught his first fly caught bone, then his second and third. We found a school of bones that just wouldn’t spook and we caught bone after bone.

Then, we went looking for tarpon. We found them. We fished a deep cut with sooooo much life, it was just amazing.  There were jacks busting bait and tarpon rolling and cudas crushing little bait fish. It was happening all around us and it was awe inspiring. Felt like being transported back in time to some virgin bit of paradise.

I had a tarpon eat my black death bunny about 20 feet off the boat. I was sure I had a good hook set on him, but he spit the hook on the first jump. I was shaken… literally. Took me a few minutes to get composed (but it was the kind of being ruffled with a big smile on my face).   Had a second shot and a good hoot set. The fish took off and then jumped (caught on camera, I’ll get it up when I can) and then came off.  I even jumped a third tarpon. A nice tarpon.  Maybe 60 pounds.  Awesome.

It was just a fantastic, wonderful day with Avalon guide TiTi and boat-mate Charlie. I caught somewhere around 5-7 bones, three snappers, a horse eyed jack (15 pounds) and jumped three nice tarpon.

We’ve even seen Franco this evening, the saltwater croc that hangs around the houseboat.

One of the most enjoyable days I’ve had on the water.

Yes... it is as awesome as it looks here.

Things like…

1. Do it all. Bait fish, spin fish, fly fish… The more you are on the water, the smarter you get for all types of fishing.

2. Find the exotic, wherever you go. You don’t have to go to the end of the world to find adventure. Make something exciting happen on local water.

3. Keep everything in perspective. Fly fishing is only an “extreme” sport on television shows. It’s really a tradition. Respect that tradition.

The list is hit and miss with me.  I do some of it, I don’t others.  I haven’t really done spin fishing for ages.  I don’t use bait and I can see how that could hurt me understanding some species of fish. I still have trouble feeding big fish the fly. Ya know… I’m not perfect (by any stretch).

I have a few things to add to the list though.  So, here are 7 tips from BOTB for becoming a better angler:

1. Learn more knots. Not every situation calls for a clinch knot. Knowing those other knots helps when you run into something “different.”
2. Learn to Double-Haul. You don’t need it most of the time while trout fishing, but you need it almost every cast for flats fishing and once you know how to do it, it becomes just a part of your casting stroke.
3. Learn to Spey-Cast. While most people think of spey-casting 14 foot long rods for steelhead, you can also single hand spey a 9 foot rod for trout and that skill can REALLY help you out.  Your traditional rollcast will go out the window.  It is a really, really good skill to have on pretty much any river or stream… even the little ones.
4. Fish with people who are better than you and watch them fish, be open to advice. Fishing with my friends Shane and Drew have proven critical to my development as an angler. Playing with people above your level can be really helpful, if you aren’t busy trying to impress them.
5. Share information when it won’t screw up something environmentally sensitive. Some streams or flats can’t handle the pressure, but most can.  If you share, others will share with you. Don’t give away a buddy’s secret place, but when you can help someone out, do so.
6. Learn to tie.  Tying flies teaches you a lot about materials and fly mechanics and makes you a more rounded angler.
7. When you can, get a guide and listen to them. Kind of like fishing with your buddies, sometimes guys want to impress the guide.  Don’t. Be humble and ask for advice and help where you need it. Guides know a lot and can shave years off your development as an angler, if you are able to take the lessons.

Those are a few keys I have tucked away in the back of my mind.  Do you have any keys you’d be willing to share?

Had the opportunity to spend two fabulous days on Oahu chasing bonefish with Mike Hennessy from Hawaii on the Fly.  Mike knows these bonefish.  If it wasn’t for his exceptionally keen eyes to see these fish, I would still be trying to catch one.  I would hear 12 o’clock 30ft and start casting.  The whole time I would be scanning the water looking for the fish.  The fly would land and I would hear, “long strip, long strip, let it drop, short strip, short strip, long, long, he’s got it strip it”, and bam fish on, never seeing the fish.  The only time I would see a fish, is if it was hovering over sand, or my cast would scare it and it bolted off.

Yeah… that sounds familiar, just in a different geographical context. Nice post there ARF.

The trip was a good one, as long as we don’t look at it strictly in fishing terms.  I had a few reasons to head here and fishing was only one of them.  In many ways this was a trip to bring the last 8 years of my life full circle and I think I accomplished that.  Another reason to come here was this is where I saw my first bonefish, about 4 years ago.  The experience had a bit of an impact on me and I always wanted to come back to have another shot at those fish.

The first couple of days the weather was considerably less than ideal.  High winds, constant cloud cover and a good smattering of rain really put the damper on things… literally and figuratively.

Hard to see the fish with out the lights on.

The weather broke a bit on Saturday and I had a good amount of time with the lights on.  No bones even seen.

Sunday… Sunday was what I was really here for.  I walked out onto the flat and saw what looked like a bonefish feed mark.  I took a picture.  20 seconds later I saw my first bonefish of the trip and 30 seconds later I spooked my first bonefish of the trip.

Much better conditions

I came back to that spot three more times and the next two I found single fish and at each occasion the fish spooked on the cast.  Fly hit the water and the fish bolted.  These fish are SUPER SPOOKY.  They were in deeper water, maybe 3 feet, and I was lucky to see them at all.

Later, at low, low tide, I was walking really far out on a big rubble flat and I saw tails. I don’t even think they were tailing, I think they were swiming in water that was about 5-6″ deep.  I got two casts in before they bolted, never to be seen again.

Sunday was a day of shots.  I had them.  I can’t argue with that.  I didn’t convert any, but I had shots.  I found the fish, on multiple occasions.  Turns out these fish are a bit tougher than I planned on.

I’ll post some more pics and go into things a bit more in the coming days.

Yeah… Salven is a pretty talented guy and he puts paint on canvas in a way that makes me want to be in the places these fish are found.

Good on ya Salven.  Keep it up.

I really can’t add much to this photo…