I love bonefish, I think that is pretty clear at this point. I also love the art of bonefish… the art of angling, of fly fishing. I’m always on the lookout for new art (not that I can buy all this stuff, I just like looking at it and knowing that it is out there). Found Fishartist.com today which has some great pics of bonefish and other species. Jeremy Norris (I assume a relative of Chuck) is the artist.
Can’t link to the images, you’ll have to go see them yourself. Good stuff though.
Another vid of bonefishing for Bones in the Bahamas with a houndfish for good measure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo0_IvC3QBg&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6
Did you know that Puerto Rico once boasted some of the best bonefish flats in the Caribbean? Ted Williams used to fish there and one flat in particular, La Parguera, was renowned for its gray ghosts.
Times have changed. Puerto Rico is no longer looking after its natural resources as it should… as California, Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia do, as the Bahamas does and as Belize has recently done.
The culprit is the gill net. Unattended, indiscriminate killers of sea life.
Illegal net in Texas
In Florida the gill net ban has been credited with the revival of the snook fishery. In California a gill net ban has been hailed as the key step to restoring White Sea Bass and Halibut. Pretty much every place a ban has been put in place and enforced good things have happened for fisheries and anglers.
As long as the gill nets stay, the bonefish will suffer and the tourist dollars that should go to Puerto Rico will be spread around the Caribbean to other countries.
Darn shame. Some lessons are harder to learn than others. I’m hoping that Puerto Rico can let go of the gill net habit, which would only be a positive for the Puerto Rican fishery and economy.
There has been a lot out there about the cold temps and Florida… here’s a round up:
A 10 pound bonefish from Bermuda… and I don’t think his rod has a fighting butt! I saw someone say this was on the TIF blog, and indeed, it was. The This is Fly Blog is the daily fix for those of us waiting for the full editions of e-zine to come out. Worth a bookmark.
Now this is a beautifully done short of a beautiful sight…
http://vimeo.com/7743532
RA Beattie owns Beattie Outdoor Productions and was featured in the pretty much kick-ass fishing film Drift.
Well, if you look at where the Dominican Republic is, you might assume that bonefish and other in-shore species might be in the offing. If you KNOW there are bonefish and other in-shore species in the DR… well… you aren’t telling anyone. From trip reports I’ve found, the DR looks like a skip. Might be a pretty place, but doesn’t seem to hold much for the in-shore angler.
DR Bonefish Fail from Reel-Time
Sportsman’s Resource has this to say about the DR:
The Dominican Republic offers the sportfishing enthusiast excellent saltwater fishing. Offshore, the Mona Passage, Caribbean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean offer opportunities for anglers to catch marlin, sailfish, tuna, wahoo, dolphin, kingfish, red snapper, grouper, and more. Inshore, the flats along the beaches of the Dominican Republic are a haven for bonefish, tarpon, and permit.
So… maybe they are there, but the casual observer or family-vacationing angler seems to have a hard time finding them.
Oh Dominican Republic… where are your bonefish?
Why the DR doesn’t seem to have a bonefish in numbers great enough to support a fly fishing foothold is a good question and an open one from what I’ve seen. Poverty can’t really be the answer… bonefish live and flourish in plenty of poor places. So… what is it?
Update #1: Pirates are HERE. Just watched the first episode. Love it. Wish it were longer. Wish I was there. Still, love it. Great to see Lefty out there showing Brokaw the ropes. Neat to see a bonefish being tagged. Loved to see Abaco and tails… love the tails. Looking forward to #2.
Original Post
No, not the Seychelles pirates (well, I guess they could be, but that’s not what we’re talking about here). Pirates of the Flats is set to launch on Dec. 27th.
Pirates of the Flats – You Will Be Impressed!
Check out the newest – a slide show and narrative about what the Pirates series is all about. Photos by Val Atkinson, narration by Bill Klyn. Enter the Tin Shed (click on the door) and move over to the box of flies to see the Fishing films. Click on Pirates of the Flats. Here you will find the promotional trailer and the new narrated slide show: http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/tinshed/index.jsp?ln=240
Go straight to the trailer on YouTube: See the new trailer!
A bonefishing show on ESPN2. Love it.
Modern day Pirates, with graphite and camera gear.
Seems a tall order… to get a bonefish for Christmas… but that’s what I got.
Ceramic Beauty
This bonefish was created by Fred Gordon, artist and guide up in Dunsmuir, CA. Fred is as talented on the river as he is in the studio.
About a decade ago I was just really getting into fly fishing. My dad had a day scheduled with Fred for closing day on the McCloud for what promised to be a great father-son trip. Unfortunately, my dad then fell off a ladder and broke all sorts of bones that would be needed for a day on the water. Fred and I went out by ourselves. It was a magical day. Fred taught me how to tight-line nymph, a technique that is deadly in the free-stone, pocket-water rivers of Northern CA. I had 20-25 fish that day, including a couple browns around 20″. It was a day that changed my life. Before that day, fly fishing was a lot of fun. After that day, fly fishing was an obsession.
We have three of Fred’s trout on our wall and now, a bonefish.
Merry Christmas all.
Have you ever said to yourself “Man, I’d tie a Gotcha but it is just too hard!”
Yeah, me either.
Still, time is wasted as you switch between different materials and the single material fly is a cinch to tie.
Enter the Sweet Ernie. Found in the e-pages (i-pages if you are reading this on a mac) of Fly Fishing in Saltwaters, the Sweet Earnie is hook, eyes, thread and single material.
http://www.flyfishinsalt.com
Photo grace a Fly Fishing in Salt Waters.
