I had a trip to Abaco planned for March 2020 to follow up my 2019 Xmas Island trip. Bonefish trips were yearly things back then, maybe a couple times a year when I was lucky, and I got lucky more often than I deserved.
Then, COVID and the world changed. I have not touched a bonefish since that Xmas trip. I had a chance in Kauai, but on the day I had lined up to hit the flat the swells were over the reef, the water stirred up, visibility negligible and the fishing was cancelled. I did managed a blue fin on a spinning rod, but that was it. I also managed, a couple years ago, a small trigger in Maui. A bonefish though? No… no bonefish.
This weekend though, I’m headed to Belize, a country that holds a lot of big memories for such a small place. Thirteen years ago I stumbled into a Grand Slam there. I had my second honeymoon there. I had two trips with my daughter there. Now I’m headed back with my wife and son.
I’m very much looking forward to it, but I haven’t had much time to prepare. The vice is gathering dust, I just had a 36 hour trip to and from Boston. I just celebrated ten years at the company I work for. I’ve been neck deep in soccer club stuff. So, I had to do something I haven’t had to do in a long time.
I bought flies.
I love catching fish on flies I tie and I really only tie for the salt at this point. Still, this year, for this trip, at this point in my life, I just couldn’t find the vice time.
I have a hunch I may enjoy catching a bonefish, or seeing my 9 year old son catch a bonefish, with one of these store-bought flies almost as much.
- Unique Post
