Fish Tails

Fish Tails — 1 Comment
26
Apr 10

I always confuse striper with stripper…

This sort of confusion is bad when writing to my wife about my fishing, although it has never been a problem until today, when I caught my first striper, even though I was fishing for Surf Perch.

Went out with Derek to try Surf Perch for the first time and we managed just one fish… my striper. This was not a “big” fish… this was what I think they call a schoolie, but still, it is my first striper.

Turns out fly fishing in the surf near Santa Cruz is kind of crazy… just one big set of waves after another all starting out higher than your head. There is a small window between sets for things like casting/fishing before the next wall of water comes and tries to slap you in the nads.

This is not the quiet solitude of the flats or the rugged wilderness of my trout streams. One must be aware of joggers, dogs and beach strollers who want to do nothing more than stop and watch you cast… stand right behind you while you throw a T-300 with a couple of weighted flies. I guess you don’t really understand the danger unless you’ve had a few weighted flies bounced off your cranium (or stick in it).

Derek, trying not to die.

My first striper and my first surf fly fishing catch.

(the fish buried its tail in sand, by the way)

I’ll be back and I’ll be reading up because it is clear I have A LOT left to learn.

Fish Tails — 5 Comments
19
Apr 10

Golden Ghost

I walked out on the flat and inadvertently spooked a couple of fish, the swirl of mud and wake heading away from me were pretty classic bonefishing. Even more classic bonefishing were the tails… dozens and dozens of them waving away all over the flat.

The weather was perfect… mid-70’s, clear, slight chop on the water. The water was less than ideal… murky and full of bits of weed and grass pushed to the far end of the reservoir by the wind.

Wait… did he just say “reservoir?” What is he talking about?

Switch “Gray” to “Gold” and you are on the right track. Carp. On the fly.

Today it happened.

I’ve tried a few times over the years, but it has never come together for me… until today.

I was amazed to see carp tailing, but tailing they were. The carp were sucker-mouthed tight up against clumps of grass and other plants about 12″-24″ deep. I don’t know what they were eating, but it was right on those plants. I couldn’t get a fly in-between the plants and the fish so I just had to stand there, tails wagging all around me, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do.

I saw one fish crusing toward me. I had about a foot of fly line out and simply extended my rod and drop the fly (orange half-back) right in front of the fish. I saw it look up and inhale the fly. I set the hook and was tight to the carp.

Now… here is where I have to make a comparison… folks have told me for some time that carp are like bonefish, that they make sizzling runs. Maybe this carp had a full belly or stayed up late the night before, but it didn’t really run. If I loosened the drag it would take line off, but anything resembling a moderate drag and the fish wouldn’t take an inch of line.

It was a big, big fish… a beast by most standards. I didn’t have a scale, but I think the fish was about 15 pounds.

Carp #1

I caught a second fish, smaller… maybe 10. The second act was similar to the first.

Carp #2

So, Carp are now officially in the book. They are 5-15 minutes from the house and will surely be targeted again and soon-ish.

There are some things that are similar to bones… shallow water, sight fishing, tailing behavior. However, the strength of the fish is really more weight than the explosive power of the Gray Ghost.

I’ll take the Golden Ghost. It is exciting and interesting fishing, but I still wish I was on Andros.

Tag Ends – 4-18-10

Some bits and pieces from around the web.

A REALLY good interview with Dr. Aaron Adams on the Fishing Jones blog.
An interview with… wait for it… wait for it… ME on the A Bad Backcast blog.
Skinny Water Culture 2nd Annual Tarpon Season Kick-off (or, yet another reason I wish I lived in FL), via This is Fly Daily.

Fish Tails / Locations — 2 Comments
18
Apr 10

Bonefish Grill Goes Bonefishing

I guess Jim Curci started “Bonefish Grill,” a place I’ve never been to being a West Coaster. I found this little video of Jim going out in Florida for bonefish. Now, Jim isn’t a fly angler, but he is pretty good when it comes to naming restaurants.

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17
Apr 10

MT Bonefish

That’s not Mount Bonefish, but Montana… as in some Montanans go bonefishing. Now, it is April and here in the Bay Area tonight it will be down in the 50’s. In Bozeman it will get down to 39. Folks in Montana have excellent trout fishing and really, really long winters. Therefore, I can understand why those rugged folks from Montana might, in a moment of divine weakness, look to the Caribbean for a little get-away.

This group from MT. heads to Belize, Turneffe Flats Lodge where the weather is warm and the fishing is good. This trip was their fifth year in a row.

I don’t know at what point I get to head to a place like Turneffe Flats every year. I don’t think that life is about to start any time soon.

I'd like to go here.

Fish Tails / Locations — 2 Comments
08
Apr 10

Hooked on the Fly visits Black Fly Bonefish Club

Bonefish on TV… I like it. Wait… I have cable and not satellite… so I don’t get to see this show? WTF? Well, you privileged bastidos who get to watch Hooked on the Fly will soon get to see the Black Fly Bonefish Club out on Abaco.

On the Black Fish blog, you can read how things are going…

That day, as Clint pulled away from the dock he pointed the bow of the skiff not in the usual direction leading to the nearby flats, but toward the deep blue water instead. Not long underway, they came upon a rare sighting of a whale enjoying the day by lolling at the surface. After a brief time of whale watching they moved on to find a promising weed line and in short order had two nice mahi mahi in the fish box tagged for the evening meal. Making the run back to the flats they were rewarded with a hour of tailing bonefish before calling it a day.

Sounds like a pretty nice day.

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06
Apr 10

Interview with Brian Gies of Fly Water Travel

Brian Gies is the business manager and CFO at Fly Water Travel, a company located in Ashland, Oregon, that sends anglers out all over the world for life changing angling experiences. As a kid I used to go to Ashland for their fantastic Shakespeare Festival, little did I know the city was also the gateway to Argentina, Mongolia and Christmas Island.

The subject of this interview was about Christmas Island, one of those “ultimate” destinations.

Merry Christmas indeed.

Flywater Travel offers trips to Christmas Island. Christmas is one of those places that is seen as an ultimate destination. What is it that makes Christmas Island so special?

The answer sounds a bit cliché but besides that fact that year in and year out the place just flat out produces some of the most consistent flats fishing anywhere in the world, it is the people. Of all the destinations we sent people Christmas Island ranks number one in client response about the guides, lodging staff. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the people of the island are truly kind generous people who are easy to laugh and eager to help.

What are the challenges that a place like Christmas Island presents that you might not encounter other places?

The bottom line is this is a tiny island in the middle of the pacific so just getting basic goods and services there can be a challenge. The accommodations and meals anglers receive are nothing to write home about but they are far above what the vast majority of the islanders have. Imagine this: At least once or twice a year this island runs out of rice and sugar. Out….Totally.

Xmas GT

I’ve heard that netting has been impacting bonefish. How is the state of the fishery there?

Over the years netting as well as angler pressure has impacted the fishing. To be honest you would be hard pressed to confirm which has been harder. Over the years the island has been almost loved to death with as many as 50 + anglers on the flats a week. The flats can handle a lot of pressure but this number of anglers and a growing island population was starting to take a toll.

However, as of late there have been two major developments. First, just over a year ago the government passed a regulation that prohibits netting bonefish in the lagoon. Second for the past year and a half the charter flight to the island has only had the capacity to take 18 people a week to and from the island. The result has been truly spectacular fishing. I honestly think if we can keep the numbers of anglers to a minimum(Max 30 a week) and the island can keep the nets out of the lagoon the place will keep on producing great fishing long into the future.

What can one expect in terms of weather and wind in a place like Christmas Island?

Air temperatures are usually in the upper 80’s to low 90’s and water temperatures average 75°. Wind is typically constant between 5-10mph.

What are the unique gear considerations for Christmas?

Gear is quite typical of other flats destinations. 7 or 8wt rods for bonefish and 12wt for giant trevally. The big thing is that as it is 100% wade fishing good flats boots are a must.

If you had to bring one bonefish fly for Xmas, what would that be?

No doubt it would be a orange Christmas Island special size #6

What does a good day’s fishing on Xmas look like?

A good day means different things to different people and numbers of fishing landed is often just one piece of the pie. For the average angler on Christmas it would be learning the subtleties of casting in the wind on the flats, learning how to strip set on a bonefish, learning how to cast to a tailing vs a cruising fish, catching between 10 and 20 bonefish that average 3 lbs, getting one or two shots at trevally, and having a great conversations with the guides in between the fishing.

Trigger... crazy looking Christmas fish

Thanks Brian. Hope to see you in Christmas some day.

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02
Apr 10

Flatswalker Vid

The Flatswalker blog is one of my favorites. I was happy to see a new post pop up on my RSS feed from Davin and this time, it was a video.

“Flatswalker’s Journal, March 2010. We descend into paradise to look for the Grey Fox, but we also find a wolf…”

So… go check it out.

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26
Mar 10

Another TIF Bonefish Gem

TIF = This is Fly… a great e-zine full of fly fishy goodness.

One story that has stuck in the dark recesses of my brain was a story by Kevin Perry called Ninjas and a Saltwater Dragon. The trip was to Los Roques, a brothers and wives fly fishing trip.

Of the fishing Kevin said:

It’s bonefishing is notorious for both quantity and quality but ends up on more people’s to do lists than on their biography.

I love that line. That line has driven me on a bit towards my own personal pursuit of bonefish/saltwater flyfishing. I like the idea of moving the stuff that is really important from the to-do to the biography.

Hope you enjoy it.

Fish Tails — 1 Comment
10
Mar 10

Interview with This is Fly Editor, Paris Fleezanis

This is Fly is known to pretty much anyone in their 20’s or 30’s who puts in more than 20 days a year with a fly rod in their hand. One of the guys behind TIF is editor Paris Fleezanis. Here are a few questions and some great replies from Paris.

I'm guessing Seychelles with the GT stick.

Paris, This is Fly has become the gold standard for fly fishing e-zines. What do you think has made it so widely embraced?

Thanks for the compliment I appreciate it. When readers write in and say they love the magazine it charges me to make each issue better and better. I started fly fishing in 2007 and became absolutely fanatical about saltwater fly fishing. I searched for information and media about the sport and culture but I couldn’t find the type of material that I craved. I’ve always related to the skate, surf and snowboard culture and was searching for a similar progressive voice. I think This is Fly filled a void that was missing in the industry. Most importantly I feel it speaks to a wider demographic and even attracts non-anglers and introduces them to the sport.

One of your TIF bonefishing stories had a line that went something like “…bonefishing is something that shows up on more “To Do” lists than obituaries.” That prompted me to get out and make my own bonefishing experience happen. Do you have a favorite story about bones from TIF (beyond your own)?

I enjoyed Coach Duff’s recent story in issue 22. Duffer is intense and takes his hunting very seriously. I love that type of focus and passion especially since the fish he’s targeting are monsters. It was also great to see that you can catch big bones in populated areas in front of hotels and condos on the beach.

Zee Bone

The fisherman’s lament is “So much water, so little time.” What are some of the places high on your list for future trips?

In the last 3 years I have covered the globe pretty well and hit most of the popular bonefish destinations. I have been fortunate enough to visit most of the Bahamas, Mexico, Florida, Kiribati and the Seychelles. I’m heading to Los Roques this month and excited to experience that fishery. It will be bizarre to see bones crashing the surface eating minnows. Future trips that I’m hoping to take are Hawaii, St Brandon’s Mauritius and western Australia. These places hold huge fish.

From your recent trip to North Andros, did you have one fly that was a clear winner?

The cold front we experienced on our recent trip to Kamalame Cay made the fish very peculiar. We had to down-size our patterns and ended up fishing gotchas and pink puffs. My favorite fly right now is Borski’s fur shrimp. I fish Grand Bahama often and have had awesome results. Others would be McKnight’s Crimp and a Bonefish Deep Minnow.

When I think of bonefishing I also think of Kalik and cracked conch. What non-fishing image do you associate with stalking bones on the flats?

A slower pace and lifestyle. I live in New York City and the pace is both invigorating and exhausting. The pace keeps you alive and sharp but you do need a break. Everyone is frantically headed somewhere and that focus can wear you down. I cherish each trip that I take when I can escape my rigorous cycle.

You have a go-to rod/reel?

G Loomis GLX 8wt and Abel 7-8 QC, the ultimate bonefish outfit.

Just your typical New Yorker.

Thanks Paris. Keep up the good work.

Bonefish on the Brain Bonefish and all that relates (maybe a bit about tarpon too).