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Fish Tails — 9 Comments
18
Apr 12

My half bonefish from Cuba

I had something happen in Cuba that I’ve never had happen before. I know it happens and it has happened plenty of times to plenty of people.  I had a bonefish bit in half on the line by a barracuda.

I didn’t see the cuda around before I hooked the fish. I didn’t think the bonefish was acting weird or wild before the fish hit. I had the bone on and then, all of a sudden, the cuda was there, chewing on the bonefish.  When I pulled in the fish, I was left with the front 1/3 or so of the bonefish.

I got to hold it him my hand and look it in the eye.

It was a weird moment. It underscored that this is a blood sport, even when we don’t intend it to be.

Thanks for the pull. Sorry it didn't work out.

Gear — 5 Comments
17
Apr 12

What I got right about gear for Cuba

While I got a few things wrong, I did make some good decisions and had some of the right stuff with me.

Flies:

  • Having some of the super hair chartreuse flies for cudas was a really good call.
  • I had enough Gotchas in different sizes that I could have fished for bones for another three weeks.
  • The tarpon bunnies were good patterns and if I had them in a 3/0 I would likely have been feeding tarpon with them.

Leaders:

  • The leaders I tied were effective and worked for bonefish and for tarpon.  The 80 pound shock tippet was perfect on even the big fish and the bimini twists I tied didn’t fail.  I didn’t have a single leader fail or a single knot fail.

Reels:

  • The reels I primarily used were the Ross F1 for the 8 wt, the Orvis Mirage for the 10 wt and the Redington Delta for the 11. I had along a Ross CLA and a Ross Momentum, but they had on specific lines that didn’t get selected by the guides.

Lines:

  • The textured saltwater line for the 8 was a great line.
  • The Orvis line was different… it sounded like a textured line and it cast very well.
  • I cast a Rio clear sink tip for the 11 and the guides liked it, preferring it to the full floating line each time.

Rods:

  • Both of the 8 weights were lovely rods. The Sage One is light and responsive and did all I asked of it. The prototype was just as lovely and I’d be glad to have either one as my go-to 8.
  • The 10, the Orvis Helios was a great rod. I’ve had that one before and I really like it.  It might have been a little heavy for Permit, but it would have worked well for that and it was a good rod to have rigged for barracuda.
  • The 11 Redington… it was heavy, but when it came time to do the business it got it done. That feels like a pretty important thing to judge by.

Something right got me that fish.

Locations — 8 Comments
07
Apr 12

Arrival at the Tortuga

I’m here… finally.  The night in Cuba got off to a late start. Things don’t move quickly in Cuba and it didn’t help that Jim got held up because he “had a lot of camera equipment.”

We know now a bit about the nightlife in Cuba… which is a bit insane.  We rode is some vintage American made cars for taxis and basically stayed up all night and got on the bus at 4:30. I passed out in the lobby and missed the sing along, which I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

A 3 hour bus ride and a 3 hour boat ride and we got here.  Quick lunch and off to the skiffs.

I landed 2 bones and a cuda in the abbreviated day.  Soooo nice to be out on the water again.

Avalon Guide Ti Ti had sharp eyes, spotting every fish before I did and spotting some I never saw.

Two tarpon passed by while I was releasing the second bone.

Pics to follow at some point. The internet is pretty slow, so I’ll do what I can.

Gear — 3 Comments
04
Apr 12

Packing is Done – The Reels are Rigged

What is going to get packed is packed. The rest of the time before I take off is really just moving from one place to another. The trip is more or less set in motion.

The last reels arrived a couple days ago and yesterday was supposed to be the day that I got backing put on all those reels.  Then… call from my daughter’s school that she was sick. So, I scavenged. I managed to pull backing off a few of the reels staying home and am now fully set.  Here’s the reel list…

For the 8’s (Sage One, Mystery Prototype)

  • Orvis Mirage
  • Ross F1

For the 10 (Orvis Helios)

  • Ross Momentum
  • Ross CLA
  • Orvis Mirage

For the 11 (Redington Predator)

  • Redington Delta

The lines are a mix of Orvis, Rio and SA lines and for the tarpon rods (the 10 and 11) I have both floating and either clear int. sink tips or full clear int. sinks as well.

I’m feeling fairly well equipped. In fact, I may be over-equipped and I’ll have to consciously switch reels and rods from time to time to make sure I get some time with different rigs.

Four rods. Six reels. Seven spools/seven lines.

I’ll be carrying on the rods and the reels and I’ll be hoping the rest of my stuff makes it there.

Tomorrow morning I get on a flight for the first leg of the journey.  I’ll meet up with the others down in Mexico tomorrow night and from there, the adventure begins.

Gear — 5 Comments
01
Apr 12

Leaders and Leaders

I actually didn’t tie a single fly today.  I feel like that’s a step in the right direction.  Instead, I tied up some leaders.

I’m not buying a single leader for Cuba. I’m tying all of them… the bonefish leaders and the tarpon leaders.

I’m trying bonefish leaders that are about 9 feet, 40 pound butt down to 15 pound fluoro.

For the tarpon I’m trying 9 footers, 40 pound butt down to 50 or 80 pound shock.

The general formula is 4′ of 40#, 2′ of 30#, 2′ of 20# and then either the shock tippet on a bimini or the 15# tippet.

I’ve used this formula before and haven’t had any issues with it. I like it because it is simple. I like simple. Simple is better than, well, not simple, which I kind of hate.

So… any fatal mistakes I’m making?

Locations — 1 Comment
31
Mar 12

Really sooon…

Yup… this time next week…

All the other stuff — No Comments
25
Mar 12

Tory does some casting

Pointed out by Davin at Flatswalker… Knowledge.

Of course, Tory is a guide at Andros South. I know that beach. The Slack Tide bar is about 40 feet to the right of the camera. Love that place.

Locations — 1 Comment
19
Mar 12

Tom Goes to Andros South

Last year I had the privilege to be part of FIBFest at Andros South.  Along on that trip was Tom Larimer.

Looks like Tom just made it back.  He took a hosted trip to Andros South and despite some less-than-ideal weather, they had a good time.

I envy him for getting back there… for hanging out at the Slack Tide Bar and chatting with the guides on the ride out to the West Side.  Of course, I can’t complain. I’m headed to Cuba here in about 2.5 weeks with Yellow Dog and that does not suck.

One of the things about fly fishing that I love is that you both get to see new and wonderful places and you also get to develop some “home water.”  For trout I have home water on the Upper Sac and McCloud.  For Carp I have Calero. For bonefish I don’t have a place that I know well, a place I keep coming back to.  I’d love to have South Andros be that place, but that seems financially and logistically out of the question.  Glad that Tom is getting a feel for South Andros and maybe beyond swinging for steelhead in Oregon he’s getting a sense of the moods of Andros.

Locations — 3 Comments
18
Mar 12

Bonefish Flat goes to Long Island

The Bonefish Flat recently went to Long Island to the Long Island Bonefishing Lodge.

The Long Island Bonefish Lodge is a whole new bonefishing experience that I think those who have some experience under their belt would enjoy.  The lodge itself is located on what must be a hundred square miles of pristine bonefish flats.  It consists of three duplex style cottages that can hold eight anglers.  The main lodge is where you eat and stock up on Kalik at the end of the day. 

The Bonefish Flat walking a Long Island Flat.

Tactics — 2 Comments
17
Mar 12

Flatswalker does the Double Haul

Davin over at Flatswalker not only has a pretty fantastic blog (one of my consistent favorites), but he also has some knowledge to drop.

Pretty cool.

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