Locations

Locations — 8 Comments
21
Sep 09

The South African Bonefish Mystery

Two world records come not from the Keys or Andros, but South Africa. I’ve read plenty of reports of 20 pound bonefish taken one place or another, usually written about on message boards without useful things like first-hand accounts or pictures (and none of them widely accepted as truth). However, the IGFA recognizes the largest all-tackle bonefish as coming from South Africa and weighing in around 19 pounds (1962). Yes… 19 pounds… that kind of bends the mind a bit. My largest is 7.5 pounds and I was pretty frigging impressed with power plant that thing had under the hood. I can’t really comprehend a 19 pound fish… the run… the weight. Another fish of 17 pounds was taken from roughly the same area in 1976. Still a monster.

The biggest fly caught bone seems to still be a 15 pound 8 ounce bone caught in Key Biscayne (FL) in 1997. If this has changed, I don’t know about it, but, the amount of things I don’t know could fill countless volumes.

In a few dedicated hours of searching the web for fly fishing (or any fishing) operations around where those fish were taken and I simply couldn’t find one (not one that has a web address anyway). In an email with Aaron Adams from the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, he said that not much is really known about the S. African bones. They don’t really know exactly which species of bone is down there, the studies have not been conducted and the money to conduct those studies has not landed on their doorstep.

The area (Zululand) may be difficult for fly anglers due to very high tides. The other issue is security, as in there isn’t much of it and wealthy western types make nice targets.

There do appear to be other nice species there… like GT’s… Kosi Bay seems like the place to head for those and I’m guessing this would be where you’d look for those toddler sized bonefish. Before you rush out there, however, check out these fishing reports. The word that comes to mind isn’t “excellent,” but more like “sucky.”

There do seem to some bonefishing opportunities in Mozambique. Looks like a nice place, really.

Mozambique… I’d bet there are some bones here.

Mozambique seems to offer more for the fly angler and doesn’t seem to have the… um… security issues that others have mentioned about S. Africa.

Now, I’d add that I don’t really know what the situation is like in S. Africa. I went to Sarajevo in 1997 and people were suggesting I needed to pack heat… I didn’t (didn’t try to smuggle a gun in and didn’t need it).

So… for me, it all seems like a bit of a mystery. The world’s TWO largest bonefish coming from a place that isn’t targeted for bonefish in any meaningful way. Doesn’t it make you wonder a bit?

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13
Sep 09

Seychelles Bonefish Vid

A short video, post fight, nice big-ish bonefish from the Seychelles. I’d like to go there some day.

The Seychelles on the cheap goes something like this… go to your local beach and start swimming… eventually you’ll either reach the Seychelles or die, and if you die, were good in your life and love bonefish, you may just go to bonefish heaven… the Seychelles. See… cheap.

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11
Sep 09

Marathon International Bonefish Tournament

I’m a West Coaster… so, I’m a little uneasy at the idea of a tournament when it comes to fly fishing… for me that’s still something that bass folks do while trout fly anglers, like myself, go about our business in solitude all River-Runs-Through-It and whatnot. The Marathon International Bonefish Tournament (MIBT) turns 50 this year and starts soonish (Sept. 17-20). It’s a three day tournament, costs $1,000 and the winners get to see Megan Fox naked… ok, I made that last part up. They have long since dropped the Miss Bonefish crown to acknowledge the fact that women are competent anglers in their own rights… so, good on ya MIBT.

MIBT has old timey cred

While tournament play doesn’t really set my reel a cranking, this seems like a pretty interesting event. It’s got the history, it is a no-kill format, allows un-guided teams… doesn’t sound so bad. I have heard there are other tournaments down in the Keys and places beyond and I’ve never paid much attention. I won’t be flying down and plopping down my $1,000, but part of me (specifically, the part without $1,000) will be wishing I was on the deck off a skiff getting skunked with a guide berating me for my incompetence. Instead, I’ll spend the 19th flying from Boston to SFO with my toddler sans my wife. Should be pure joy.

Fish Tails / Locations — 6 Comments
09
Sep 09

New Caledonia Bonefish Beasts

There is a place that is slowly becoming synonymous with really big bonefish. The rumors are of an average size of 7 pounds with double digit fish a regular sight. It seems to be similar to Hawaii in that what the fish have in size, they lack in numbers. Despite being in the middle of nowhere (unless you live there, in which case you are just in the middle of whatever you are doing), the place doesn’t have Christmas Island numbers… but it has size… big ole bones… the tackle busting kind. This place is called New Caledonia.

Closer to Australia than to Hawaii (by a long, long way), New Caledonia sits in the South Pacific and looks to be a pretty interesting place. The lux lodges are not around just yet… as one report said, this is not a place for folks that need hand holding. The action isn’t hot and hectic, it is measured and tense… eyes looking for those truly large fish.

Seems in 2007 a group of anglers that included Charles Rangeley-Wilson (one of our bonefish addict faves) and Peter Morse hit the island in search of some of the giants. They both have write ups about this trip.

The price on offer… big bones.

Peter Morse describes the trip…

As always the weather in New Cal makes it a challenge, this is not the place for anyone who needs to have their hand held, you require a level of experience that at the least means choosing flies, tying knots, and making decisions. The fish aren’t particularly spooky most of the time, but seeing them, and dealing with the wind and cloud becomes a test of patience and skill. This is not a place for Christmas island cricket score numbers, it’s a place for quality, a few very, very, good fish that will really last in your memory.

Certainly sounds like an interesting place, not a place I’m ready for, but something to aspire to. Charles uses a bit more style in his article from Gray’s Sporting Journal…

What little I’d discovered about bonefish in New Caledonia told me only two things: that they are very hard to find, and that if you find one, it will be very, very large. It’s the latter more than the former that dragged me here. There are many species of bonefish worldwide—Morsie gave us an expert tutorial in this—but while the physical differences may be subtle, all bonefish are paranoid, skittish, morphing ghosts that mess with your mind, your eyesight, and your sanity. And in New Caledonia, so the international fish-whispering goes, these fish become truly massive. The biggest rush, the biggest wave.

I found a report at Fishing International that said this of the fish and fish size…

We weighed all our fish using a “Bocagrip”* and we released fish from 6 up to 10 pounds. Both of us saw larger fish that were out of reach. I estimate the largest fish I saw at about 15+ pounds, but it is difficult to be certain. The average size of the fish we released was 6.5 to 7 pounds. It was obvious that there are some very large fish around. How large? Our guide Antoine landed a 9 kgs. (19.80 pounds) fish using bait, the week before we got there. Can you take them with a fly rod? Claude Nickrass’s party from France hooked and lost some of these large fish in December 2000 using a fly rod. The next world record bonefish could certainly be caught in New Caledonia.

OK… that sounds pretty interesting, no? Even if I could catch a 19 pound bonefish in New Caledonia, I won’t be going any time soon. See, a quick look at Kayak.com for flights puts a price tag for a flight from SFO to New Caledonia at about $2,750. The trip there is about 24 hours, the journey back is about 30… 30 hours… like, over a day. Now, I’m not accustomed to travel to Australia or Singapore, so that sort of travel is enough to make me think “Andros has some big bones too… Hawaii has big bones and air conditioning!”

Still… New Caledonia sounds like a fascinating place… a place where “Elk outnumber inhabitants” and 19 pound bonefish have been caught (even if on bait). The next world record just might come from this little chain of islands in the South Pacific. Watch this space!

*Bocagrips are generally discouraged for handling bonefish. Don’t do it.

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07
Sep 09

Bonefish on a Shoestring a la Charles

Found a great little article in The Field (a British sporting mag). The cliff note version of the article is this… cheap bonefish. The author is a Brit, which makes me like him just for the high probability we could talk soccer/football (oh Newcastle, hope you make it back on the bounce). The article is great, the writing is grand and the author seems like a guy you’d like to cast a line with.

This particular angler is Charles Rangeley-Wilson, an angler and writer of some reputation and maybe even a bit of fame over there in England (maybe even other places, as far as I know). Awfully British of him to go by Charles… no Charlie, no Chuck… but Brits are Brits and he even packed chocolate biscuits with him on a shoestring trans-Atlantic bonefish expedition… something here about “you can take the angler out of Briton but you can’t take the Briton out of the angler.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8u9bygLV50&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6

Turns out Charles has an addiction I can sympathize with…

All the time-bomb tension of the previous few seconds, the held breath, the frozen body, the eyes straining for information, is suddenly released when a bonefish takes. I doubt there is anything else in sport to rival that uncoiling rush. It’s like a drug and I for one am addicted to it. (from The Field article linked above)

Charles with a bonefish

Charles has made a movie about his obsession called “Bonefish: A Fishing Odyssey.” Now, I’d like to see this movie… I’d like to see it very much. However, still stinging from the American Revolution, the dvd is not yet for sale in an American-friendly dvd format (although this is coming, and coming soon, as I understand it). Keep an eye out for it, or, just check here and I’ll let you know when you too can get your copy.

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06
Sep 09

That looks fun: Belize Bonefishing (DIY??)

Belize… a magical land of lots and lots of bonefish and lodges that are all shiny and wonderful. Seems the lodge game is the current approved route, as opposed to DIY. The Ledger.com ran a story about heading down to Belize that was a decent read. Find it here. The way the guide and client are not on the same page about the stripping speed made me think of Shane Kohlbeck‘s article here a couple weeks ago.

Here’s a random guy fishing in Belize. His guide is very different from the guide mentioned in the Ledger.com article. Seems like a cool cat, really.

Yeah… the “catch as many as you want” line got me wondering if A) that were true, and B) if this guy was in the sun too much… or C) A little of column A and a little of column B. Having not fished Belize, I’ll have to wait until I make the journey.

DIY may actually be a possibility, upon a little digging. Bite me Belize offers three different options on a sliding scale from Kayak rental to flats wading to skiff fishing. Check out Bite me Belize and you may just be thinking Belize-me! This looks like a really good option and one that I’m certainly going to be checking into.

This could be your Belize Bonefish ride.

Locations — 1 Comment
04
Sep 09

South Andros Bonefishing, Props to the Ladies

I’m father to a little girl… a beautiful little girl. We aren’t having a second. She’s either going to fish, or she isn’t, but I appreciate every female angler out there who makes this world just a bit less of a boy’s club. I love this video because it will be yet another example to my little girl that women can fish (and even OUT-fish). Yeah, the clip is a Simms product, but it still rocks.

She can ID a trout and a bonefish… sometimes Rooster Fish (she called it a chicken fish tonight) and sometimes tarpon. So proud of my little girl. For Father’s Day my wife bought my little girl a 6′ 2 wt. TFO. It has made its maiden voyage. I intend to raise an angler. If, I end up raising the future star Center Back for the US Women’s National Soccer Team, I’ll have to live with that.

Putting her to work!

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03
Sep 09

That looks fun: South Caicos

Came across a message board posting (see it here) for a trip to South Caicos. This Caicos is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Place looks beautiful with just miles and miles of wadable flats with some good looking bonefish.

As with most of these kinds of things, this is not a cheap kind of thrill. The price tag, after airfare and tips is $4,500 or there abouts. This trip is offered by Angling on the Fly. Of course, that trip is about $3,500 too expensive for me at the present time (see, I’m an optimist).

The place is tiny… less than 2000 people live there, which is going to limit your options for DIY in terms of services offered. There is at least one B&B and a few restaurants. There is a general S. Caicos info page here. A search for DIY fishing reports doesn’t turn much up. There is reference to a really large sand flat that’s hard to get to, but beyond that… can’t find much.

Another place for the “That looks fun” file.

S. Caicos Bonefish… yes please.

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29
Aug 09

Coincidental Bonefishing – Hawaii

For me there are family vacation and fishing vacation and the two generally don’t meet, not in the middle or the margins. However, one of the best bonefishing-meets-family vacation possibilities out there comes in the form of Hawaii. Sure, the initial airfare can be steepish, but, if you end up in Oahu or Kauai (or Molokai, the Big Island, etc.) for a week’s worth of family vacation, you might as well look into the fishing… I mean, couldn’t hurt, could it?

Bonefishing in Hawaii… I had been to Kauai two times before I realized there even WAS bonefishing there. Hawaiian sport fishing seems mostly of the deep blue and cooler-filling variety, which has never really been my thing. So, I was surprised to find out that not only are there bonefish in Hawaii, but on average, they are just monster fish.

As with most monster fish… what they have in size they lack in numbers. This isn’t the Bahamas where schools of smaller bones will be cruising… the Aloha bones seem to be freakishly big.

The Coach with an Aloha Bone

If you are familiar with the Islands, you’ll know that there just aren’t a TON of flats in Hawaii, but they are there and where there are flats, there are bonefish.

There are a growing number of guides in the islands. On Kauai there are, or were, two guides. I heard from several folks that only one of them was worth booking, Rob Arita. The other guide came with significant warnings about busted trips and general crappiness (I couldn’t find the other guy’s website, so maybe he gave up). My dad and I fished with Rob and while we didn’t catch any bonefish on our one trip (our first bonefishing of any kind), we did catch a few Bluefin Trevally and what I learned from Rob on that first bonefishing trip has stayed with me and, to a certain extent, filled me with the passion I now have for bonefish.

The day after fishing with Rob I was out on my own and that is when I saw my first bonefish… 7 in all, none under 8 pounds and a couple well, WELL into double digits. I even saw, close to shore, a Mahi Mahi, lit up electric blue in 2 feet of water. Crazy sight.

Rob has teamed up with Coach Duff, who guides out of Oahu and also books Captain Chris Asaro. Duff has the only flats boat on Oahu and seems like a real no-B.S. kind of character. Check out his gallery for some real jaw-dropping bones.

The possibility of adding a day of serious angling for serious fish makes the Aloha Bones one of the best bargains out there.

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29
Aug 09

Kiwi's Crushing Big Bones

Found this little video about some Kiwi’s roaming around French Polynesia… looks very nice, really. Prolly another one of those places I won’t have the fundage or time-age to get to… but I can appreciate that these blokes did and it looks like good times.

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