OK, I don’t seem to have any sound on this, but, it is still awesome.
Andros South. I miss this place very, very badly.
05
Aug 11
Prospects
Well, loyal readers… I have to say that it may be a great long time before I make it out on the flats again.
It seems while I have had a great deal of luck and success in my life, it has not extended over to the institution of marriage. It also seems that the big D is a lot less lucrative that it appears to be in movies an on TV. Finances are going to be rather… um… “constrained” for the next while and that makes even airfare to some place that would likely have me come to fish for free still about one plane ticket too expensive.
So, I’m going to need to rely on you… you lucky bastards that are going to be wetting a line in the next 8-12 months. Send me your photos, tell me your stories and let’s pool our collective experiences to keep this blog a bit more personal than just links to and about the elusive and beautiful bonefish.
You can always reach me at bonefishonthebrain@gmail.com.
I look forward to your stories.
I will also accept plane tickets to places that would have me come and fish for free. 😉
04
Aug 11
I could never be mad at you, Google Alerts
If it weren’t for the good folks over at Google, I likely would never have found this story from the Malaysia Star. The location is the Maldives and, as it turns out, there are indeed bonefish there.
Now… I may disagree with a few things… like:
Known to exist in only a few places in the world, the hunt for this species is simply exclusive.
(They’ve been caught from Long Beach to Hawaii to most of the South Pacific, South Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and there are rumored to be a few in the Caribbean, to name a few places they might be found. However, there remain none in Kansas.).
I agree with others…
But fishing for bones is not so easy.
A different perspective from a different part of the world.
03
Aug 11
Bonefish Flat interviews Aaron Adams
The Bonefish Flat recently ran an interview with Aaron Adams… one of my favorite guys. Aaron, of course, is the Director for the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, a fine organization you should all be supporting (yes, I’m looking at YOU… that is… if you don’t already).
You can also read my interview of Aaron here.
Aaron is amazing in that he is a very busy guy, but seems to always make time for questions. He’s super accessible and easy to talk to… just don’t expect him to divulge any secret places!
02
Aug 11
Fishing Jones and the Keys
I made a few blind casts and hooked a nine-inch barracuda. I pulled it in by hand and green shards of bucktail from the abused clouser stuck to its skin and my fingers.
Isn’t that a great image. Don’t you just see that when you read those words. Yeah… I do too.
Read this great little piece by Fishing Jones.
Fishing Jones was one of the earliest fishing blogs. An east coaster with a penchant for stripers and a way with the written word, his is the kind of blog that you wish were updated every day, just so you could have something quality to look forward to.
I feel much the same way about Flatswalker, who also really has the ability to turn a phrase and put you there, out on the water in the middle of no where with a rod in your hand, even when you are stuck in the largely (although not totally) bonefish devoid state of California.
If you like Pete’s writing and want to see more of it… you can check out The Blitz (via Moldy Chum).
01
Aug 11
Something has to be done
Every year there is a new threat… usually several. They have the potential to obliterate that beautiful flat, flatten that idyllic beach shack and really jack up your vacation.
Yes… I’m talking about Hurricanes. I think this has gone on long enough (since the beginning of time is really, really long time). I hereby call upon the UN, the Trilateral Commission, the Free Masons and Oprah (and maybe Apple) to confront this problem and put the resources needed toward ending this scourge (my money is on Oprah).
Stay safe out there all you island folks. I’ll be thinking of you as we head into the Fall with the swirling bastards coming your way (and hopefully missing by a wide, wide margin).
31
Jul 11
Shark Week – The Lemon
So, it is Shark Week. In honor of Shark Week, I thought I’d post up something about my good friend from South Andros, the Lemon Shark. I hung out with a lot of Lemons in Andros. They were everywhere.
Bastard of the flats... the Lemon.
I'm pretty sure this one was a Lemon too, although this was Grand Bahama, a year earlier.
Overview – Lemon sharks may dive up to 1,300 feet when searching for food, but usually they are found near shore areas at depths closer to 295 feet. Their unusual coloration sets them apart from most other sharks. “Lemon” refers to their light brown, yellow-tinged skin. It provides good camouflage for the sharks, which like to rest over the sandy bottoms of shallow water regions. From a distance, it is hard to tell where the sand ends and the shark begins. One clue might be the presence of small reef fishes, such as wrasses, which gather around this shark to pick off parasites from its gills and skin. This species is most commonly found in the Caribbean, but it also exists in the western and eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific from southern Baja California to Ecuador.
30
Jul 11
A vision of the future
I just had a vision… I hope of the future.
I’m walking very slowly on a flat in the Bahamas. The water is a little below mid-calf. I’m trying not to push the water, trying not to make too much noise or push a wave out to alert the bones that we are stalking.
Just ahead of me and off to my right ever so slightly is another angler. She is shorter than I am with a visor and shades, her long hair in a pony tail down to her mid-back. She’s 12 and kitted out for flats fishing. I spot a pod of fish and before I can even point or say “11:00, 50 feet” she has the line moving through the air. She’s a better caster than I am because she never had any bad habits to unlearn.
50 feet of fly line shoot out silently. One twitch and the lead fish charges and tips down. She strip sets, because she is going to be much better at this than I am. She’s tight to the fish and she smiles broadly as the bonefish streaks away, her reel singing the happy anthem of the flats.
This could happen. I’m going to try and get her (now 4) into some trout again next weekend. We’ll see.
That’s a future I could live with.
29
Jul 11
Flatswalker’s Rules
You can’t catch bonefish until you can catch bonefish. It’s a lot like the one hand clapping thing.
via Flatswalker: SaltWater Fly Fishing Guide Blog – Flatswalker.
Flatswalker lays down some rules/guidelines he’s developed over the years. Always a good read. Check it out.
28
Jul 11
Sarah’s first bonefish
Now, Sarah has a leg up on most folks starting out trying to find their own bonefish. Her husband is one of the best anglers I know, my friend Shane. She’s had a pretty good teacher and that can really reduce the learning curve, but it is still an accomplishment to score your first bonefish.
Nice bonefish Sarah!
Here’s Sarah’s story in her own words:
I’ve been on seven bonefishing trips in the last several years. I’m grateful when I realize
that’s twice (oaky maybe 7 times) as may as most anglers dream about…in a lifetime. A
couple of those trips I didn’t even get any follows. During the earlier trips, my husband
and guide, Shane was slowing teaching me the ways of the ghost of the flats. What to
look for, how to spot them, how to cast into the wind, how to clear your line when the
fish takes off, how not to lose a finger while they run…About four years ago (with the
help of husband guide by my side) I was able to spot, cast to, and land my first fish and
then my second the same day. It was a huge accomplishment. And those two bonefish
remain the biggest I’ve landed since then. We weren’t married yet at the time, but I
secretly think that’s when he starting thinking about making me his wife.As any bonefish angler knows, when chasing the elusive flats dweller, Murphy’s Law
truly applies. I’ve done it all wrong, many many times. I’ve seen a large school, gotten
excited only to cast and find out the hard way that my line is wrapped around my foot.
I’ve cast to a bonefish shaped clump of turtle grass only to be frustrated when it didn’t
try to eat my fly. Then, there’s casting in the wind. I’ve stared at objects “that could
be a fish” so long with the hopes of using my jeti mind skills to somehow will it into
becoming a bonefish. Not so much. I’ve made the most beautiful casts only to plop the
tiny fly down on the fish’s head so as to spook him so bad he tells all his buddies to steer
clear of that flat for the rest of the day. I’ve tried to make casts into the wind only to have
my line fall in a jumbled mess a few feet away. I’ve broke fish off because I didn’t “let
him run.” Did I mention the wind? What can go wrong will go wrong when bonefishing.But, once in a great while, the fish gods smile down upon you and everything goes right.
Today was that day. Husband guide dropped me off to walk a flat by myself while he
walked the boat a ways away. He was a good 200 yards away when I spotted 6 fish
coming at me on my right side about 80 feet away. Wind and sun at my back. (“That’s
when all the conditions are right for a good time.” – Alan Jackson) So, my heart starts
thumping and I make my cast…about 50-60 feet. One cast. Three strips. Fish on. Big
smile, giggles out loud. I had done it all…all by myself!! All is right in my little world
today.
