The Fin just got back from a few days in Andros… yeah… Andros. He put up one heck of a report about it with lots of nuggets of information. Check it out.
Day 2: On day 2 we all agreed that we would try the famous West side of Andros in hopes of not only finding lots of bonefish, but big ones.
via TheFin.com: Andros Island Fishing & Trip Report – Andros Island Bonefish Club.
Yeah… I’m not ready for Hollywood, but these little videos are fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6o6vd2bbmY?fs=1&hl=en_US
Maybe you’ve heard of Mayaguana, maybe you haven’t. It’s in the Bahamas but without the acclaim of Andros or the population of Grand Bahama. It hasn’t been on the TV like Abaco and doesn’t have the DIY repuation of Eleuthra. The place only has something like 312 people living there, but what it does have is some pretty intriguing bonefishing. You, a canoe and some double digit bonefish. Sound interesting? If it does, you might want to talk to John Pinto who has been fishing there for about 13 years. I sent John some questions about fishing there and about the bullet that Mayaguana appears to have dodged. Here are his responses.
John, Mayaguana seems, for me at least, really far away and very hard to get to. What is the reality of getting to and from Mayaguana and why should the bonefish angler put Mayaguana on their list of places to check out?
Mayaguana is easy to get to/from. Bahamasair offers three scheduled flights per week (M-W-F) from Nassau to Great Inagua/Mayaguana. There is a large Morton Salt operation on Great Inagua therefore the American executives need to fly back and forth on a regular basis so Bahamasair looks after that flight. There will be forty passengers on the flight and 33 get off/on at Great Inagua. The 7 who get off at Mayaguana is usually my group of anglers.
Mayaguana offers the best wade fishing opportunity for really large bonefish. It remains the closest thing to real “virgin fishing” left in the Bahamas. Stalking ten pound tailing bonefish is typically Mayaguanian fishing. We do it by wading or by canoe.
Is there a fish from Mayaguana that stands out in your memory?
I had an angler from Bakersfield, California there one time and his dream was to catch a tailing bonefish. He had a week of mishaps, had everything go wrong and I began to think he simply had a black cloud over his head. He and I went out one morning way before sun-up, the flat was like an oil slick and there were tailing/cruising fish everywhere. We stopped the canoe and got out, he grabbed his rod, turned around and there was a tailing fish working right to us. I held the canoe, we knelt down and I told him to put the fly in front of the fish. By this time the fish had closed to about twenty feet and I’m screaming for him to cast. From a kneeling position he basically cast nothing but leader, the fly plopped down in front of the oncoming fish and he inhaled it. This seven pound fish did everything as advertised, made two great runs and really put on a show before surrendering. I remember this fish because I have never seen an angler so happy about his first bonefish. At least seventy-five photos then followed the successful landing.
With so few people around, is there anyone on Mayaguana you don’t know?
I’ve been traveling to Mayaguana for over thirteen years now. I make it a point to meet and greet everyone and like to think I know most of the inhabitants. I support the island the best I can and I’ll still run into somebody at an island event, gathering or fund raiser who I truly don’t know and they’ll say, “Hi John. How’s the bonefishin’?”
How often do you run out of Kalik on the island (now that may be the most important question of all!)?
In thirteen years we ran out of Kalik just once. The mail boat had broken down and the island was rapidly running out of everything including every brand of beer. Kalik is by far the most popular beer and is my favorite beer in the Bahamas.
There's John with a Mayaguana Bone.
I saw you mention the halting of the Mayaguana Development project. Over-development seems to be the major threat facing Bahamian Bones these days. Outline what that project would have meant for Mayaguana.
I think the development would have changed the entire face of Mayaguana. There are not that many Bahamians on Mayaguana to begin with and they could conceivably become outnumbered by white Americans and Europeans in a short time. The development claimed it would create jobs for the Mayaguanians but I question what kind of jobs and how many. I think there would have definitely become a major caste system on the island between the locals and the landed gentry had the development been completed as planned. I was also concerned about the increased number of people who would have built homes there near the beaches and bonefishing areas. My greatest fear was finding the children of these new islanders racing around Curtis Creek on jet skis and altering the behavioral patterns of the bonefish.
What’s your go-to rod/reel for bonefish these days?
I prefer a 9-ft 8-wt 4-pc Stealth Bomber fly rod which are distributed throughout South Africa by David Levene Agencies. I use a Bauer M4 fly reel and Sci Angler fly lines.
Is there something you’ve seen on Mayaguana that you haven’t seen anywhere else?
Yes, the behavior of the bonefish in Curtis Creek on Mayaguana. Very large bonefish (10 to 12 pounders) will enter the creek system or hang over through the tide change and lay in the seams of the channels perfectly still. I know this because we almost canoe over them before they spook and scare the hell out of us. Over the years I know where these “lies” are and carefully work my way to them look for just a glint of a tail or fin. Very strange behavior that I have not found on any other island. Makes for some very challenging fishing.
Thanks John… sounds very, very interesting.
Just saw this over at Chi Wulff and it was timely, as I just got the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Journal and have been reading it as well. Good stuff… I mean, really, really good. It’s glossy, but I think that gloss is ad-supported.
While perhaps overly laden with advertising, BTT’s Bonefish and Tarpon Journal 2011 is worth a look today, if just to read Chico’s Looking for Bonefish: A Beginner’s Guide.
via Chi Wulff — Lying About Fly Fishing Since 2007.
Something they pointed out that I didn’t know is that the journal is available on-line! Go to their post to get the link.
I’m kind of sad it is available for free… you should support BTT to get to see this thing. It is pure bonefishy goodness.
I’ll be headed to Andros South here in, oh about 2 months and I BTT is going to send me with a dozen copies of the Jornal to hopefully entice future guests into becoming members.
If you love bonefish, you should join BTT.
Angling Destinations and Scott Heywood had one of their DX trips that encountered some… well… frigging impossible fishing conditions. Check out the story.
The next day the winds rotated to the NE and rose to 30 m.p.h. While any far-flung exploration was once again out of the question, we were able to hug the shore line with our skiff and find hundreds of fish on two white sand flats. Under a bruised sky and with near gale conditions, we pursued hundreds of very bitchy bonefish. We managed to hook quite a few when all was said and done, but it was never easy and we worked very hard for what we got.
via Read the story from Angling Destinations.
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Support BTT
This thing made the rounds, showing up on both Midcurrent and Moldy Chum… still, if you missed is somehow, here is a little vid about a couple guys getting into some pretty virgin skinny water somewhere near the Belizean/Mexican border (slightly on the Mexican side, it seems). Costa de Cocos lodge is down that way… I’m guessing it is nearby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2BQ6Rd27lM?fs=1&hl=en_US
DIY Andros from Flybox.dk. A good trip with bonefish, sharks and a 12 pound lady fish. Andros… I’m coming for ya!
At the breakfast table we decide to go up the creek and target the large schools of bonefish that is gathering there. After breakfast we go to the store and buy lunch and drinks and then return to Hanks were the boat is waiting tanked and ready to go.
via ANDROS ISLAND – BONEFISH CAPITAL OF THE WORLD – FLYBOX.DK.
That's a good size Ladyfish!
Tom Rosenbauer invented fly fishing. OK… I made that first part up. It turns out Tom has been a bit all over this thing we call fly fishing for a while now… mostly at the Orvis Company where he is currently Director of Marketing for Orvis Rod and Tackle. He’s been at the company for 30 years, which is a good amount of time to hold down a job. He’s also an author of more than a couple fly fishing books. Tom’s podcast has been around for about as long as podcasts have been around and Orvis in general has been way out in front in the use of new media. Tom just landed Angler of the Year from Fly, Rod & Reel… the most amazing part of that is that it is for 2011… we are only three weeks into 2011… so… good going Tom!
Tom, 2011.
I read on the Trout Underground that you were Angler of the Year from Fly, Rod & Reel. What were some of your highlights from 2010?
I was actually Angler of the Year for 2011, so I’m looking forward to my angling highlights. I hadn’t even read the dates and someone told me, “Hey, you are angler of the for 2011.” So, I have to fish a lot.
Getting that in January, does that give you a pass at home?
Oh yeah, at home and at work, I can just fish any time I want. My wife is actually very understanding of my addiction and working at Orvis, we all get a pass more often than folks in other jobs… it is part of our job to stay up on things and to actually walk the walk. We are lucky, blessed in that regard.
Well, looking back to last year where you weren’t angler of the year, what were some of your angling highlights for 2010 and would your wife be willing to talk to my wife (this was before my wife signed off on my trip to Andros South, so, I think my wife is doing just fine)?
It took me a couple tries to get this one (wife). It’s a long road, a long and expensive road to find one that will let you go fishing.
I looked at the question and I had a hard time thinking of highlights. I had a great day brook trout fishing around the corner from the office one day. My annual trip to the Catskills, which I always love. I go to the Bahamas once or twice a year for what we call the Bonefish Classic where we go with some customers and Aaron Adams is there teaching about bonefish biology and I’m there doing a tackle and rigging seminar and then we go fishing, and that’s always fun. Striped fishing at Cape Cod. Nothing that I don’t do just about every year.
What was a real highlight was I had really good fishing in my backyard. I live on a little trout stream with wild brooks, browns and rainbows. The fishing was really good in my backyard and I was able to go down with my wife and dog and six year old and I was able to catch nice fish on dry flies while they were playing on the gravel bar every night. So, that was fun and a highlight.
Bonefishing is an addition for some and a dream for others. What advice would you give to someone who was maybe a little bit intimidated by bonefishing, but wanted to give it a shot?
Don’t go to the Florida Keys because the fish are incredibly difficult and the guides are very impatient. So, I’d not go to the Keys for my first time, or maybe my second or third. I’d go to Mexico or Belize or the Bahamas, Venezuela. Unfortunately, it’s a more expensive tour.
Two things. Don’t go to the Keys, not for your first time, and practice your casting. Practice, practice, practice. I can’t stress that enough. I mean practice casting to get the fly out there at 40 feet, accurately. I don’t know if I’ve ever made an 80 foot cast to bonefish and I don’t know that I’d try. People go down there and they spend all this money and they tie all these flies and then they get in the boat and they really, really can’t get the fly out there. They get a little wind and the game is over. All it would have taken was some practice.
Bonefishing is not hard. The fish are spooky, yeah, and the casting has to be accurate, but they aren’t that selective, at least in most places. They eat almost anything and you don’t really need to worry about fly selection and most bonefishing guides are so good at pointing out the fish and telling you where to put your fly, but you have got to be able to put that fly at 40-45 feet and you have to do it in a hurry. My advice would be to practice your casting.
Tom, Stick in hand
You do the Podcast and Orvis has really been out in front when it comes to Social Media. A lot of the other established players aren’t really even in the game. The question you hear about Social Media is, “Does it work?” So… does it?
We don’t know for sure. We are going on trust. We have some advantages, we have a big infrastructure behind us that allows us to do these things, but we have a guy names James Hathaway who is our Social Media Guru who has been her for 4-5 years and he’s really pushed us into Social Media. The owners of the company are totally behind it, so, that has made it easy to get into social media.
Anecdotally, you hear it all the time. “I bought this rod because of your podcast” or “you’ve really helped me enjoy fishing more” and you have to believe that is good business. The fact they bought a fly rod, that’s fantastic, but that you’ve helped them with their casting or their stream reading or whatever, it has got to put Orvis top of mind next time they go looking for a piece of tackle.
As far as monetizing it, we haven’t figured that out. I don’t think anyone has. We are going on faith and that’s what you do when a new technology comes out or a new way of reaching out to your customers. That’s kind of out of character for Orvis because we are a direct marketing company. We’ve always been a direct marketing company and we measure everything. If you aren’t measuring it, chances are you aren’t going to get the support of the management here to do it. But with social media, we’ve taken that jump, we’ve taken that risk. Anecdotally we see it every day, you see indications that it is working, but as far as monetizing it, figuring out what it is worth to get someone to listen to your podcast, figuring out what it’s worth for a download, looking at the fishing reports, the blog… we don’t know.
There are places with big bonefish and places with a lot of bonefish. If you had to choose between the two, which way would you go?
That’s a tough one. Big bonefish can be kind of boring with long dry periods. Places with a lot of bonefish get a little too easy and you get bored… not that I ever get really bored with bonefish. Can I split the difference? My favorite place would be a place with a number of moderate sized bonefish with a few big ones thrown in. The Bahamas fits that bill better than any place.
I’ve seen 20 pound bonefish there. I’ve seen bonefish that Aaron Adams of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust said was a 20 pound bonefish. The average fish is usually 3-4 pounds, but the big ones are there. That’s kind of my ideal would be to split the difference. I don’t care if I don’t catch a 12 pound bonefish. A 6 to 8 pound bonefish I’d consider a really good day. I’d have to split the difference.
I may have a good idea what your favorite rod and reel is, but why don’t you tell me anyway.
It is hard to beat those Helios rods. They do everything you ask them to do. They are light and they are pretty. The Mirage reel that Steve developed… the Helios and the Mirage is really hard to beat. Luckily, we have an employee loaner program here so we can get these things, any model we want, at any time. I can fish any Orvis outfit I want.
Do you have one bonefish that you remember more than others?
I remember a day of bonefishing I had that really stands out. I was staying on a place on Abaco and there’s a place called Cherokee Sound with lots of white sand and ocean going bonefish, they are bigger bonefish, tougher fish, almost like Keys fish because they get fished kind of hard. One day I said to the guide, just leave me on a key for a day. He said “what?” I said, yeah, take me out there and leave me there and then come back at 5. You go have a smoke or drink a six pack, whatever you want and come and get me at 5. He left me on this little key and I fished all around. I caught some 8-9 pound bonefish and just had a wonderful day.
Another one recently, was a bonefish I was fishing with a customer during the Bonefish Classic and it was my turn on the bow and there was a bonefish way up in a mucky bay and we couldn’t poll to him. So, I asked the guide if I could get out and stalk it and he said “yeah.” I was able to sneak up and stalk that fish and I caught it. That’s always cool. It wasn’t a huge bonefish, but it was challenging. It was fun.
Do you have a “one that got away” story?
I don’t think so. I don’t think I’ve ever hooked a really, really big bonefish. Maybe 11 pounds is the biggest fish I’ve ever hooked, but it didn’t get away. I don’t think I’ve ever had a really giant bonefish. I don’t know if I’ve ever even had a shot at a really giant bonefish. That 20 pounder Aaron was casting to it, not me.
I have a good tarpon that got away story from El Pescador. This story involved a broken rod and a broken reel and diving in after the fish and being left treading water while the guide chased the fish with my rod dragging behind it. The tarpon that got away story is the only good one I have. They are still talking about it at El Pescador.
Thanks Tom. Appreciate the time.
For my money, nothing beats wandering around in ankle depth water and targeting tailing Bonefish.
Mexico Bone
I must say, that fish is bigger than I thought MX bones got. I love Mexico, I really do (except when it comes to soccer). Don’t be afraid of Mexico. No one has been shot on a bonefishing flat. The drug violence is focused on the first word… “drug.” So don’t freak out.
Mike Michalak makes the third person from The Fly Shop that I’ve interviewed. It isn’t really hard to see why… I used to live in Redding (at least for a couple of years) and in Northern California, The Fly Shop is a dominant presence for fly anglers. In fact, The Fly Shop is the world’s largest fly shop, in terms of revenue. They’ve been in the international travel game for about thirty years and played a roll in opening many fly fishing destinations that anglers dream about. Mike is the owner of The Fly Shop and he has a passion for bonefish and has traveled the world in pursuit of the Gray Ghosts.
As owner of The Fly Shop in Redding you’ve been in the fly fishing game for a long time and you’ve kicked around the globe a fair bit. Do you think there are still bonefish fisheries yet to be discovered?
Good question. Ya know, our travel company has been in business for over 30 years and for a great part of that my one dimensional focus was bonefishing. We were the first licensed anglers and the first people to really fish Los Roques legally in 1988. We helped open up Christmas Island with the Frontiers team and Bob and Carol Faro (sp), but honestly I don’t think there are any bonefisheries yet to be discovered. I do think that there are probably three or four (parts of Cuba, the South Pacific, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, maybe one archipelago in South America, some of the coast line of Venezuela) that are yet to be fully explored and fully developed as bonefisheries. Having said that, I don’t think there is anything left to be discovered. Lefty Kreh in his book Saltwater Fly Fishing made the comment once that there are no bonefish found south of a particular latitude. I don’t want to be that definitive because I’d probably be, and I hope I would be, proved wrong. I hope that someone finds something really great, but I don’t think they will. I think that the best of it has been discovered. I don’t think the best of it has been completely explored or understood.
An example, we found some phenomenal fishing in French Polynesia, but it was in the middle of the summer. It wasn’t when anyone would think of going there. It was incredibly consistent int he middle of the summer. What we were told was that if we thought it was nice then, we should really see it in January, February, March, April, when everyone wants to come to French Polynesia. So, we promoted the hell out of it and fell flat on our face because what happens is that the waters were entirely too warm in French Polynesia, but we didn’t know it. We put out a lot of effort and Polynesia got a bad rap because of it and because of us. We hadn’t done enough due diligence.
Cuba is hardly new, hardly undiscovered, but it has yet to be developed and anyone with a brain in their head is sitting on their hands instead of going to Cuba and they are waiting for normalization of relationships.
If you fly the coastline of Venezuela, it is just incredible. It looks like an exponential map of Florida, but it is totally undeveloped as a fishery.
Another question there is why would anyone want to go there? To go two-thirds of the way around the world when there is fantastic fishing within a single day’s flight. Whether it’s Christmas Island to the west or going to the Bahamas to the East. It just isn’t necessary to go to the other side of the world to have great fishing.
Think about your favorite bonefishing flat. What makes that place a special place for you?
For me the best of bonefishing is the chance to wade, the chance to do it on your own without some guide peering over your shoulder and saying “Bonefish at 11:00, mon.” It is the wading experience. In my mind’s eye, there are those evenings walking some flat in the middle of nowhere, especially in the early days when we were at Los Roques and seeing schools of 4, 5, 7, 10,000 fish. Tails that look like gillions of pieces of cellophane that stretch to the horizon. Those were the best of the best days I’ve ever had. On foot.
Do you remember your first bonefish?
Absolutely. You remember your first trout?
I don’t know if I remember my first trout, really. That was a long time ago.
I remember my first trout. I remember first bonefish and my second and third and forth. Years ago I took my wife on vacation to the Inn of the Sun on the island of Guanaja of the coast of Honduras. What an incredible place that has long since changed. It was an absolutely breathtaking resort. A country boy like me, I’d never been treated like that. It was just incredibly historic. It was where Columbus had made landfall on his second voyage. Tiny little island about 50 miles off the coast of Honduras. I could definitely remember my first bonefish. It wasn’t very big. It was on foot, all wading.
I’m more than a fisherman, I don’t want to say that, being a fisherman is enough, but I absolutely enjoy the hunting experience. I don’t entirely enjoy the killing experience. I enjoy the hunting experience, I enjoy the shooting experience. Bonefishing is hunting. Wing shooting ducks, leading bonefishing, bonefishing encapsulates every skill as a hunter and as an outdoorsman. It is something primal.
In bonefishing there is the 80/20 rule. In bonefishing it is easy, really, when you do it right. If you do it right you’ll have an 80% chance of success on your first cast. You have a 20% chance of success on your second cast.
I can remember the first time I saw a fish before the guide. That was almost as much fun as catching the fish. We opened up Nettie Symonette’s on Abaco when she opened up the Marls. We went down as her guests and I took down a couple dozen pairs of cheap sunglasses because they were all just getting started. The guides were all excellent “waterman” as they say down in the Bahamas, but they didn’t know anything about guiding. Netti laughed and she said the guides would never wear them because the head guide, the guy they respect the most, Donny, doesn’t’ wear them. He thinks they aren’t necessary. I said “give me Donny the first day.” I said “Donny, your tip today is $100,” and Donny said “Wow, that’s great Mr. Mike.” I told him, “But wait… there is a caveat. Every bonefish you see before me I’m going to give you another $5. Every bonefish I see before you, I’m going to subtract $5 from the $100.” At lunch time he said “give me a pair of those glasses.” There he was, up on the platform, he had the advantage. Experience isn’t all of it… it’s tackle and everything else.
Throughout our fishing lives we often meet people that have a particularly big influence on us. Can you think of someone who has really influenced your bonefishing?
Easy question. The two people, it wasn’t so much that they influences my bonefishing, but they influenced the whole idea of travel. Before I opened The Fly Shop as a single and reasonably successful young man, I used to spend the vast majority of my disposable cash traveling to fish. I did it because Bob Nauheim and Frank Bertaina, who owned Fishing International, gave me a love of travel. They got my juices going about fishing travel. I spent every cent I had on travel. They were huge and got me pumped up to go places.
I can remember going to a cocktail party in Pacifica. I’m going and doing a lot of travel and I’m at this party and I’m listening to Frank Bertaina talk about this bonefishing trip. He’s standing behind me and I’m holding a margarita trying to listen to his conversation. He’s got me all jacked up and I’m trying to pay attention to the conversation in front of me and I’m listening to his conversation and then I realize… wait… I’ve already been there! And it was nothing like how he was describing it! He had such a great way of painting a picture and getting you juiced up about things. They were wonderful about that because of their own passion for angling.
When you are out on the water a lot, you see things that others just don’t see. Is there something you’ve seen out there on the flats that stands out?
I used to lease a yacht off the coast of Belize for six or seven weeks a year and I’d invite down friends and we’d just bonefish and permit fish and dive. From San Pedro down to the Honduras boarder. One day we had gotten out of the skiff, probably around the Turneffe archipelago, and the guide runs over to this great, big bale of marijuana. It was the size of a kitchen table. It was all wrapped in plastic and had floated up against this island. The guide said “Mr. Mike, would you mind if I take some of this?” and I told him I didn’t care. He cut a great big x on the top of this thing and he dug down in it. This was a long time ago. It was all full of seeds, really low grade dope. He took the skiff and went back to the boat and came back with a big black garbage bag of his own. We had this guy on the trip, I won’t give his name, but I was a kid at the time and we had this middle aged ex-marine along. When the guide had gone back to get his bag the guy came up to me and asked what was going on. I told him “put your nose down into that. Don’t you know what that is?” There was this big hole of marijuana where the guide had dug down inside to make sure it was all dry. The guy said “I don’t know man. It smells like my kid’s room.” That might be the most memorable thing.
When you are out there, it is the other things in nature, besides the bonefish, that you remember. It’s the 80 gillion little bait-fish jumping out of the water right by your boat and the backdrop is perfect. The more you fish, the more you get them. I’m lucky enough to have seen a lot.
What rod and reel is your go-to right now for bonefish?
Easy question. Winston BIImx and a Nautilus. It’s just an incredible powerhouse, a great rod that lets me deliver flies out at distance. One thing I do that might be different from a lot of the answers you get is that I tend to use a 6 or 7 weight rod. Even when I’m in Andros or the Keys, fishing for larger bonefish, I think it’s the reel. Delivering the fly is important, but once you’ve hooked the fish the reel takes on an awful lot more importance than the rod. There are a lot of good reels out there.
I like Nautilus reels too.
So many of these reels are so much better than what you need, but I say “So what?” I don’t fill my nose with coke for pleasure. I spend my money on things that give me real pleasure and equipment is part of it. I like the Hatch. I love these Nautilus reels. Flawless.
People make a big deal about weight, but you aren’t making a thousand casts. Weight isn’t important. You need an incredibly reliable drag with enough capacity.
Thanks Mike.
