Locations

Locations — 3 Comments
28
Aug 09

Vieques Bonefish

Vieques, Puerto Rico… yes, the place we used to drop bombs on… turns out, might have some pretty interesting fishing too.  Vieques has several things going for it… first, it’s a US Territory, so travel is a little less complicated.  Second, you can actually camp there (although I’ve read not to leave anything in your tent when you leave for the day).  Third, and most importantly, there are bonefish there.  How many?  How big?  How hard/easy?  I have no frigging idea… but they are there.

There are a couple of guides that work the island… one of them has a blog (The Vieques Angler), which I read.

I found a story (in the NYT, of all places) about bones on Vieques and wrote the author.  He said that there were flats you could walk out on, and that for around $15 a day you could even rent a kayak that would get you to other, more promising flats.  This makes the island a good possible DIY/Self Guided location.

This is another trip that has some real potential to come in under that magical $1,000 threshold that makes it easier to negotiate on the home-front.

Vieques… looks nice.

Fish Tails / Locations — 2 Comments
25
Aug 09

Charlie + Bones + Video = Ruling

Flatswalker.com has a great video from a trip to go see Big Charlie Neymour.  It’s a good little clip to get your heart racing and get you imagining yourself in a  fierce wind casting to massive bones.

Check out the video here… couldn’t get the embed to work.

Locations — No Comments
25
Aug 09

The Math of a Bonefishing Trip – Part 2

I am not at that point in my life where I book a stay at a lodge.  My trips are going to be mostly un-guided, DIY, cheap digs, cheap beer kinds of adventures.  Cost is the key factor for me and when you look at cost, the single greatest factor comes down to the essential element of travel.  Airfare.

Looking at likely bonefishing locations for a Spring of 2010 trip, here are the high points of what I’m seeing…

  • Hawaii is just expensive to get to… with Honolulu hitting $657 and Kauai at $755, it remains more expensive to get to these beautiful places than  it really seems like it should.
  • The cheapest flight from SFO is, of course, going to be to Miami ($265), but everyone I talk to says the DIY plan for the Keys is also a CNAW (Catch Nothing All Week) plan… and,  not having DONE it, I can’t say if that is truth or a pack of filthy, dirty lies.
  • Cancun… attractive at $296, although it seems the popular bonefishing is farther south of that resort mecca.
  • Freeport, Grand Bahama hits a bit of a sweet spot… airfare is $382, which isn’t so bad… cheap digs are available and there are at least a few places for the DIY guy/gal to at least spot a fish.  Guides also don’t run the $800 for a full day that seems to happen at least a few other spots.
  • When you start looking at other places… Marsh Harbor, Providenciales, Treasure Cay, Deadman’s Cay, you find the price tag with numbers from $600 to $750.
Locations — No Comments
25
Aug 09

Providenciales Fly Fishing (self guided) Video

There is a wealth of vids on YouTube for the bonefish fan.  I like this one because it was self-guided and the guy drops a bunch of info.

For those of you who don’t know much (or anything) about Providenciales, it’s an island in the Turks and Caicos.

The island has direct flights from some US Carriers (American, Delta, US Airways).  This is important since it means you might be able to get here on frequent flier miles.

Low end digs at Comfort Suites looks to set you back about $138 a night during the Spring, which is general high season for Bones.

As usual, the flight is the budget killer for the Sub-$1,000 Bonefish Trip… from SFO it will cost about $750, from Boston about $550 (that’s why the frequent flier  miles is a good thing to keep in mind).  CheapCaribbean.com thinks they can get you there and get you lodging for about $1,350.

There are guides on the island… first guy who popped up on Google made that self-guided option look really good.  I have no idea what this guy’s or the island’s economics look like, but a full day of bonefishing with Capt. Darin will set you back $800 (pre-tip).  While this may be totally and outrageously unfair, I’m going to call that Nucking Futs.

Fish Tails / Locations — No Comments
24
Aug 09

Happy Holidays Island (ya know… gotta be PC)

Christmas Island is, by all accounts, a really amazing place.

I found this report about a Xmas Island trip… http://tiny.cc/9JuD7

Christmas Island is a place that has everything the bonefishing angler could really want… mainly just a ton of bones with the possibility of a GT thrown in.  However… there are drawbacks… like the 2 days it takes to get there, the charter flight required to get there and cost… yeah, it always comes down to cost for me.  It’s spendy.  If I sold my daughter I could probably do it, but, I’m mighty fond of her.  The girl may only be 2.5, but can already identify a bonefish, tarpon, rooster fish and trout.  She has recently been asking me to tell her fish stories… so… I can’t really sell her off… no one else would listen to my fish stories.

If you make it there, take some pictures, let me know how it went and I’ll throw up a story about it so I can live vicariously through your experience.

Locations — 2 Comments
21
Aug 09

The quest… bones under $1K

I recently stumbled (and by stumbled I mean “found after searching for hours”) upon what sounded like my ideal trip for Bahamas Bonefish.  The island is Mayaguana, toward the tail end of the Bahamas.  The lodge, if it could be called that, doesn’t offer anything fancy.  Fancy would be code for “guide.”  They give you a place to lay your head, food and a canoe and point you toward a likely place.  I like the DIY mentality, mostly because it conforms nicely to my NEM (Not Enough Money) financial philosophy.

I could hardly wait to get to the bit where my dreams of a bonefishing trip for under $1,000 would spring from my overactive imagination and into my future reality.  The pricetag for a week of bed, grub and people propelled floatation… $1,495 a week… airfare not included.

Really?

Thusly, the search goes on.

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