Just a thought… so eloquently expressed by author Thomas McGuane:
“We have reached the time in the life of the planet and humanities demands upon it when every fisherman will have to be a river keeper, a steward of marine shallows and a watchman on the high seas.”
Just give some thought about how those words apply to you. A good first step would be to support the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
Now, I don’t know much about flats boats, but I know that I enjoy being on the bow of a flats boat more than just about anywhere else in the world. I had a group come up on Facebook for Scout Boats and when I looked at the one flats boat they listed, the 170 Costa, I saw under options that they list a Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited Edition.
BONE FISH & TARPON UNLIMITED EDITION
• Pacific Blue Hull Sides
• Special Graphics
• Stu Apte Shallow Water Special Package
• Battery Charger
• Bay Star Hydraulic Steering
Who knew? Well, someone knew, obviously.
The 170 Costa
For those of you who don’t know, Buff’s are fantastic… forget the floppy hats that can’t stand up to a breeze, now you can wear your favorite baseball cap out on the flat with your Buff to keep you sunburn and skin cancer free.
Buff now has a Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Buff so you can fish for bonefish and support bonefish conservation all at the same time… and let’s face it… you probably need a little good Karma boost for all that bad stuff you did when you were young and obnoxious.
Just don't wear this into your local bank.
Just how cold was that recent cold snap and what did it mean for the fish?
Well, Aaron Adams was in Abaco trying to work with guides on bonefish tagging as part of his work with the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. When it’s 57, it turns out even Dr. Adams has a hard time finding fish. He also related that the lack of heating, while normally not an issue in the Bahamas, IS an issue when its 53 at night.
@flatsdoctor: I’m in Abaco, at the film site for Pirates of the Flats – Abaco Lodge. It’s too cold to fish – 57deg, high winds, no fish.
Out looking for dead bonefish for BTT, it turns out, was Captain Dave, the guide who writes the Guilttrip25 blog (of which I just became aware). Turns out it was cold enough to kill bonefish as Captain Dave found a few.
Hell’s Bay makes some good looking boats. I’m sure they are impressive. What if you could get a Waterman (a $33,000 boat) for $100? That would be kind of kick ass, no?
Well… you can… if you are the lucky winner of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust’s Sweepstakes. Basically, if you are a first-time member and join at the $100 level, you get put in the drawing. If you are a renewing member and come in at $250 or higher, you are in the drawing.
In addition to the big prize, there are a monthly drawings for gear from companies like Sage, Orvis, Tibor, Redington, Penn and Temple Fork Outfitters.
So… join, now. That’s some mighty good shwag and if you are reading this, BTT is probably an organization that should be getting your support.
OK… you have a tagged bonefish. Congrats. Now what?
The good folk at the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust are likely working with the folks that put those tags there and this is what they say:
If you catch a tagged bonefish, we encourage you to report the catch along with the following helpful information:
Location: as specifically as possible
Fish Size: (length – nose to tail fork)
Date Caught:
Tag removed or still in place:
Please contact us either by phone or email to report a catch – 239-283-1622 or info@tarbone.org
There ya go. Now you know.
tagged bonefish from Aaron Adams
Photo courtesy of Aaron Adams.
Aaron Adams recently tweeted his favorite bonefish gear. This is the guy who runs the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. This is the guy who contributed to Chico’s bonefish book and who has written several of his very own.
The skinny…
@flatsdoctor: Favorite bonefish gear: St. Croix Legend Elite, 8wt; Lamson 3.0 reel; Cortland bonefish floating line; flies-big ugly, bastard crab, gotcha
Good to know what someone like Dr. Adams is throwing and what he’s throwing with. For that insight, you should all become members of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.
My old fishing hat has gone missing. I loved that hat. I wore it all the time. It had started as a deep, forest green hat from one of my favorite companies, Patagonia. It fit well. It had stains on its stains and it was faded to a lovely light and dusty green. I even took a picture of that hat.
Oh hat... I miss you.
I have considered calling the police, since I fear foul play may have been involved.
So, I’ve been in the market for a new hat. With the arrival of Buffs, we can now wear caps on the flats/fishing in general without concern about catching cancer along with our fish. My people, we don’t tan.
I have found my new cap and it came in the mail today… the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust cap is now mine… to be seen on a flat nowhere near much of anything in 2010.
Cool cap for a good cause
BTT now has Pirates of the Flats and after seeing episode one with that fishing fashion icon Tom Brokaw sporting this same cap, I’m glad I got in early before the rush.
This is Fly is a great e-mag focused two things… fly fishing and not being all stuffy. They do a great job on both fronts.
While checking out their latest issue (#20), I saw an article from one of my fav’s, Aaron Adams, Executive Director of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. In the article, Aaron is hopping from Florida over to the Bahamas for some epic fishing while pondering why more folks aren’t pissed off that Florida bonefishing has declined significantly since the days of Ted Williams.
Those that know (I don’t, by the way) will tell you that there are fewer fish around, all the dumb ones have left and the game is just harder than it used to be and harder than it really should be.
There are remedies, actions that could be taken if enough people raised their voices to be heard by those in the places of power, but nothing will happen if more folks don’t get barking mad.
Where I live, in California, we may be seeing the last of once mighty salmon runs. One of my favorites places on earth, the McCloud River, once had a salmon run estimated at one million fish, but now sits behind Shasta Dam, while the Klamath River is at 20% of it’s historic numbers and they will likely disappear all together by the time the dams are taken out… in, maybe, 2025 or so. Our the concrete symbols of progress have proven to be be destroyer of species, towns, industries and native peoples.
Let’s learn our lessons. Let’s start speaking up and try to at least keep what we have now and maybe even see it improve a bit. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Think about the day when bonefishing in Florida used to be like the video below, get angry about what has been lost, and write a big, fat check to the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust so they can do what needs to be done.
Here’s how ya do it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfbGI3DuFrI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1
This, of course, is not how most bonefish ARE handled, but maybe your next bonefish, or my next bonefish will be.
