Black Fly Bonefish Club in Abaco looks like a place I’d like to visit. One of the handful of places that has really embraced social/on-line media, Blackfly also has a blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account… not including Youtube efforts like the one below.
Abaco, the Bahamian island just north east of Grand Bahama, was the site of Pirates of the Flats, so if you’ve watched that (and I have), you have an idea of what the water looks like there. It doesn’t suck.
These shows can be a lot of fun, minus the last hour, which drags on like a 6 hour bit of political theater about health care.
I got up early this morning (this post will show up on Saturday, but I’m writing it on Friday, cause that’s how I roll) at 0-dark-thirty and drove down to Pleasanton for the Fly Fishing Show. Upon opening the crate that housed the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust display, it occurred to me I should have tried it out at home first. Luckily, I got some help from a ladies fly fishing club I was next to. Twenty minutes later and I was sorted.
As the throngs of mostly older men passed by (it was a Friday, a perfect time for men of a certain age to browse the show) I heard lots of interesting bonefish stories.
The one place that was mentioned time and time again was Christmas Island. Tomorrow I have a buddy coming in who will be fresh off the plane from Xmas… can’t wait to hear about it.
Had some good conversations about bonefish, conservation, catch & release fishing and other assorted bits of goodness.
Support Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
Other Stuff:
I think my plans for Belize 2010 are turning into Belize 2011 plans. By that time my money tree should be bearing fruit… that’s what the guy who sold it to me said, anyway.
This has be wondering what it might cost for a little bit of that San Diego bonefish action.
On the Fly isn’t too bad at $450 for about 5-6 hours.
Now, this isn’t flats fishing (see, cause there aren’t any flats). The rods are 6-8’s with shooting heads and the method is the cast/strip/cast/strip method you might use to prospect for small mouth. That doesn’t sound exactly like what the ideal bonefish experience might look like, but it is a good substitute when you live in California and don’t want to spend $800 on a flight somewhere more bonefishey.
There are other outfitters, of course. It looks like Conway Bowman’s outfit does some inshore trips, but I’m hoping I’m misreading the rate, as it would rank up there with the most expensive bonefishing in the world ($787.50 for two???????). Maybe I’m not reading that right… I’m hoping not, as that would be nucking futs, but, there is a lot of nucking futs out there.
Home to the CA bonefish
Costa del Mar makes some sunglasses that are pretty good, from what I understand. They just recently put their weight behind a movie project about Belize, the fly fishing guides who make their living there and the pressures of development. The flick is called “Currents of Belize” and it was made by Bradley Beesley for Costa del Mar.
In the movie Abbie Marin scores a Grand Slam, the only appearance of a bonefish with a much heavier focus on permit in the movie.
The guides shown in the video are from Blue Horizon Lodge and Go Fish Belize.
The rates are pretty good with Go Fish Belize at $300 for a full day of bonefishing.
Costa del Mar is teaming up with the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust to launch a Permit tagging program in Florida to gather more information about Permit. This should be some really important and interesting research and I commend Costa del Mar for stepping up to provide the funds necessary.
Nice little bonefish vid from Long Island. People who don’t bonefish or who don’t like warm, tropical places think Long Island means New York… those are people I pity.
I’ll add that this was a great bonefish release… that’s how the folks over at the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust would draw it up.
I understand that FWC is recommending some further protections for bonefish in Florida. Florida Fly Fishing Magazine recently covered the issue.
Right now, you can’t harvest bonefish in Florida due to the cold snap, the damage that cold snap caused and the temporary protections that were enacted afterwards. If you’d like to see such regulations extended/expanded, check out the Florida Fly Fishing Magazine site for who to contact.
As you might expect, you are encouraged to support the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
Today I got out fishing… no, not bonefishing, but fishing none the less. I am up visiting my folks and that meant that when my daughter went down to take a nap I had grandparents to supervise and a trout stream about 2 minutes away.
The Upper Sacramento is my home water. I grew up in this town, even if I didn’t fish it much as a kid (we were steelhead fisherman more oriented toward the Klamath). Still, I’ve put more hours on this river than any other and that means I still know where to find fish, even in the winter.
A nice looking Upper Sac bow
I got 2 hours… my first 2 hours of 2010 in California… of course, I had 5 days in Grand Bahama already, so, I can’t feel too sorry for myself.
Three fish landed, #16 Bead Head PT was the fly of choice. Saw some #22’s and some #10’s in the air (mostly #22’s). The stones haven’t started to move and the larger bugs, I assume March Browns, weren’t bringing up any noses.
This is still the world I know best. I didn’t second guess my fly selection or my location or my rod/reel/line. I knew it all. That just underscores how much I have to learn about bonefish… how they act, what they eat, when and where to find them.
I may never get to know bonefish or any one location as well as I know this water and these trout. I can try though.
Kauai… love the island, even if there weren’t bonefish there. Had my honeymoon on the island before I discovered bonefish, which was an early key to the marriage lasting longer than the honeymoon.
If you are looking for a place in Kauai that has a very gentle, kid-friendly beach and, just maybe, some frigging monster bonefish… well, this place could do.
The fish aren’t easy and there aren’t a lot of them, but the spot is lovely… don’t know about this EXACT rental, but, ya know… it’s beautiful. Also check out the camp ground.
Nice place
I caught exactly zero bonefish here, by the way. I caught a couple of Bluefin Trevally… they were awesome. I did SEE my first bonefish however, which is the reason I’m kind of crazy for bonefish.
I did see a Mahi Mahi cruising the shallows… it was lit up like Christmas morning… it was 50 feet from the shore. It was uninterested in me or the little shrimp pattern.
The Big Hole Trout blog has had a series of bonefish stories from Andros. This post is about a 15 pounder that didn’t quite make it to the boat.
Imagine a bonefish as big as this burger.
The BigholeTrout blog is put out by Great Divide Outfitters.
Florida Fly Fishing Magazine has some thoughts about the Florida Fish & Wildlife Comission’s decision to grant “Saltwater Game Fish” status to the Bonefish.
Half-way Measures are a Disservice to Bonefish, Sports Anglers
That should give you some idea about how they feel. Read their opinion piece here.
