26
Oct 09

Bonefish: A Fishing Odyssey – A Review

Ever since I read my first bonefish related article from Charles Rangeley-Wilson and found  out he had a movie  about bonefish, I’ve been waiting for it to come out in a US-compatible format.

Bonefish: A Fishing Odyssey is now available.  I got my copy from Hatches.  Today when my daughter went down for nap and my wife went shopping, I popped it in.

I love it.  I would probably love just about anything bonefish related, but this is a very human bonefishing experience.  Charles is not some ubber angler pounding out impossible casts, full of confidence who catches fish at will.  Charles had tough days… he has poor weather… he takes a mail boat from Nassau to Andros… he tries to do it himself.  I like his style.  He rides a bike (no fancy rental cars here).  He doesn’t get hosted by expensive lodges.  He does it like I might do it.  He’s a fellow bonefish addict and I feel his frustration, his anticipation and his joy.

I like this movie.  It brought me to the Bahamas (where I’ll be headed on my own come January).  It made me grin from ear to ear.

The price seems a bit high… $25 is more than I’m used to paying for a video, although, with a 2.5 year old, I’m mostly buying animated movies from Pixar or Disney, so maybe I’m out of touch.

If you are a fellow bonefish addict, you may just appreciate what Charles has put together here.

Charles avec bone

Charles avec bone

 


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.”

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.