Locations

Locations — 4 Comments
28
Dec 09

Dominican Republic Bonefish… where are you?

Well, if you look at where the Dominican Republic is, you might assume that bonefish and other in-shore species might be in the offing. If you KNOW there are bonefish and other in-shore species in the DR… well… you aren’t telling anyone. From trip reports I’ve found, the DR looks like a skip. Might be a pretty place, but doesn’t seem to hold much for the in-shore angler.

DR Bonefish Fail from Flytalk

DR Bonefish Fail from Reel-Time

Sportsman’s Resource has this to say about the DR:

The Dominican Republic offers the sportfishing enthusiast excellent saltwater fishing. Offshore, the Mona Passage, Caribbean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean offer opportunities for anglers to catch marlin, sailfish, tuna, wahoo, dolphin, kingfish, red snapper, grouper, and more. Inshore, the flats along the beaches of the Dominican Republic are a haven for bonefish, tarpon, and permit.

So… maybe they are there, but the casual observer or family-vacationing angler seems to have a hard time finding them.

Oh Dominican Republic… where are your bonefish?

Why the DR doesn’t seem to have a bonefish in numbers great enough to support a fly fishing foothold is a good question and an open one from what I’ve seen. Poverty can’t really be the answer… bonefish live and flourish in plenty of poor places. So… what is it?

Locations — No Comments
25
Dec 09

Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters = value

Merry Christmas all. I hope you got lots of good bonefishy shwag. If you were really good, maybe you got a Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters trip wrapped up under the tree.

Some of the best values in destination bonefishing these days are being dealt out by Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters. I was looking at their DIY/Hosted options, but couldn’t get the flights to work. They are on my radar for the future.

Here is an update from Vince, owner/operator of Cattaraugus Creek.

The cost of these trips is the same as if you booked them directly with the lodges. The benefits of going with our group and a host:

*If you’re a single angler, we match you up with another angler so you get the double occupancy rate, and save a bunch of $. We do our best to match you up with someone you’ll be compatible with.

*Our host always brings extra gear (rods, reels, flies, leaders, tippet) just in case. You never have to worry about breaking a rod and being unprepared—we’ve got you covered. If you just want to try out new gear, or don’t want to buy that 10 wt just for the trip, you can use ours for the week.

*We provide a complimentary fly box and a good selection of productive flies for the destination you are visiting. Plus, we’ll have extras in case anyone runs out during the week.

*If you want help with your casting, or want to learn some new knots, we’ll help.

*Our host is there to ensure everything goes smoothly, from making sure everyone has the beverage they want in the cooler for lunch to assisting with rigging your rod and being prepared for your day on the flats.

Turneffe flats lodge, Belize

Turneffe Flats Lodge, Belize (February 13-20, 2010)
great couples trip and also for serious anglers–lots of bonefish and permit, with some tarpon, plus lots to do for the non-angler.
7 Nights/6 Days Fishing (Double Occupancy): $3,900./person (these are the 2009 rates!)

Grey’s Point Lodge, Acklins Island, Bahamas (February 13-20, 2010)
an old favorite of ours located directly on bonefish flats, with lots of great bonefishing and beautiful wading flats very close by. $2895/week double occupancy, fully guided, lodging and meals

Gems @ Paradise Lodge, Long Island, Bahamas (March 6-13, 2010) a great value in bonefishing on beautiful Long Island, Bahamas offering superb wading for bones. Brand new lodge right on the water.
$2250/week, double occupancy, fully guided, lodging and meals

Acklins Island, Bahamas hosted DIY trip (March 13-20, 2010) FULL
Hosted do-it-yourself angling in remote location on beautiful Acklins Island-our fourth year here.
$1750/week, includes your oceanfront hotel, all your meals, maps and kayaks

Eleuthera, Bahamas hosted DIY trip (April 17-24, 2010) FULL
Hosted do-it-yourself angling on a quaint island; great for families too–our tenth year here
$1750/week, includes your oceanfront hotel, all your meals, vehicle, maps

Turneffe Flats Lodge, Belize (May 15-22, 2010)returning again when the big tarpon come out in May, along with the usual bones and permit–a great time for a grand slam!

For more information, go to the Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters website.

Locations — No Comments
21
Dec 09

North Andros and good times

Another gem of a trip report from the Dan Blanton Board. This time from North Andros.

The happy couple stayed at Kamalame on North Andros. A very nice looking place way beyond the budget that Bonefish on the Brain has to play with.

Andros, North or South, just looks beautiful, from the air or from you feet.

One or two bonefish live there.

Fiesty

This is where you start to say things like “Just doesn’t get any better than this” even though that was the tag line for Milwaukee’s Best… and let’s face it, just about anything was better than the Beast.

That looks like a good, good day.

The pictures and the report are all from the Glenn that wrote the trip report.

Fish Tails / Locations — No Comments
15
Dec 09

NYT goes bonefishing

Now, the New York Times is a venerable old paper and some of their writers… well… they write very well.

Check it…

People fly to India, stay in a hut for a month. They sail across the Pacific. They camp for weeks in the remotest stretches of northern Maine or build yurts in western Montana or walk the Alaskan bush with binoculars and field guide. They go to Australia. They suffer the hardship of distant travel against the serenity they hope to find when they get where they’re going, and they work hard to earn the money or time that allows them to do it. Run into someone just back from a long sojourn to the outback, tanned and rested and suddenly kind, and odds are he’s either wealthy or Buddhist, a college kid, dreamer or life dropout, sometimes all five.

It does not have to be this way. Not if you follow the bonefish, not if you come to Lovely Bay, to this long, desolate sandbar at the southeastern end of the Bahamian archipelago to walk the flats of Acklins Bight with fly rod, concentration and hope. Not if you’re game and have a few days. You won’t need more than that.

Now, that is just beautifully written. Doesn’t it just make you want to go cast a fly to a cruising bonefish?

Sam Sifton is the author. Check out the full story here.

Sam is fishing with Fidel on Acklins… hardly the first time I’ve read or heard that name. Makes me very much want to head there and learn at the foot of Fidel. www.acklins.com

True... true.

Locations — No Comments
09
Dec 09

20 pound bonefish from Dubai??? WTF?

Credit worries about Dubia have driven the British Pound to it’s lowest level in recent times… or, that’s the headline I just saw. That’s probably important in some way to lots and lots of people. I am not one of those people.

What does interest me about Dubia is the rumor of a 20 pound bonefish being caught there a few years back. See… now THAT I find real interesting.

Here is an account of the big, bad bonefish.

Of course, rumors of 20 pounders surface here and there… read a back-and-forth from Hawaii about a rumored 20 pounder made into fish cakes. Heard rumors of massive bonefish spotted but not caught in New Caledonia. Florida posts a LOT of the line class bonefish records. The current record fish comes from South Africa and it probably was not a total aberration. So, there are plenty of places out there that could post that elusive 20 pounder.

But Dubia? Land of the artificial islands and monster/silly towers of metal and glass? Really?

I wonder if you can spot bonefish from that.

I guess the answer is… maybe.

Ocean Active offers some fly fishing charters. I have no idea who they are.

Locations — No Comments
07
Dec 09

Cozumel Bonefishing – Oregon perspective

The Caddis Fly Shop in Eugene, Oregon… sounds like a nice,wet, cool place to be from. Turns out November is a slow month at the shop and it also turns out that the owner headed to Playa Del Carmen for a family trip. From there, a ferry ride to Cozumel and, to his surprise, some good fishing.

Now, this is one of those things that folks with families should keep in mind… you very well may find yourself in Cancun or Playa Del Carmen on some family vacation. You may, in the midst of packing for this family vacation wonder “should I bring my rod along?”

“Yes” is the answer. This also turns out to be the answer if you are headed to Hawaii (minus Maui), Vallarta (although not for bones) or many, many other places. Bring the rod. Bring the rod. Say it with me, “Bring the rod.”

Here’s why…

A Caddis Fly Shop Cozumel Bonefish, with permission from The Caddis Fly Shop

Fish Tails / Locations — 1 Comment
03
Dec 09

The bad with the good

For two days I went out and turned up zeros. The mud flowing from the river was visible, clearly, from the 4th floor deck. Darn rain. Today I went out anyway… back to the river mouth.

It was EPIC. The gulls and pelicanos were crashing bait and the fishing was amazing. I must have landed 30-40 fish, mostly Jack Crevalle. This was on my 8/9 Albright with a 7 wt. sink tip… trying to improvise. I had my 7 wt. with a clear sink on the shore. I had many fish on back to back casts. It was just a crazy, crazy day of fishing. I was out for three hours, longer than I was supposed to be fishing. I was bringing some fish back for some of the guys working at the resort and when I had “enough” I headed back.

Went to grab that back up rod… missing… stolen, really. Well… the fishing will remain amazing, but my estimation of the local fisherman took a bit of a nosedive. Probably not fair, but, the wound is fresh.

About a 2 pound Jack Crevalle (aka Toro), last fish of a great day of fishing.

I guess the bright side is that I get to do some rod shopping now. This will be my Christmas present from my wife. I’ll probably try to fill the gap I have in my rod selection with a solid and pure 8 weight, since I have another 7, although it is a 2 piece and not a 4.

UPDATE: Went out the next day, my last fishing day of the trip. The fishing was almost as good although the biggest fish was a bit smaller. I have bruises on the right side of my ribcage from the fighting butt. Those are good bruises to have. Caught five species of fish. I had some really good fishing down from the beach with one big fish and lots and lots of smaller fish. I do have a strange rash now on my legs that I’m about 95% certain is from the river water, but hey… again… gotta take the bad with the good.

Fish Species caught on this trip:

Locations — No Comments
28
Nov 09

Los Roques Report (no, not mine)

What’s it like to fish Los Roques? I have no frigging idea. Well, I have an IDEA, I just have no experience to speak of. So, read this guy’s experience.

Fish Tails / Locations — 2 Comments
25
Nov 09

Turks and Caicos Bonefish Heaven

A great story from the Island life blog MyTurksAndCaicosBlog.com featuring some great fishing and nice pics.

One of the bones caught and released that day.

The MyTurksAndCaicosBlog.com has some good stories on it… little bits of the island lifestyle. It’s on my RSS feed for that bit of the tropical.

Locations — 1 Comment
22
Nov 09

Kalua Bonefish

I love Kalua Pig… I like Hawaii and I love bonefish… so, it is only natural that I’d love Coach Duff‘s 11 pound Hawaiian bonefish. Read his story here.

: Hawaiian Pig = Kalua Pig

So, to wrap up…

Kalua Pig = Ruling
Hawaii = Ruling
Bonefish = Ruling
Duff’s 11 pounder = Totally Ruling

There, that should make it all perfectly clear.

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