bonefishing | Bonefish on the Brain

Locations — No Comments
25
Dec 09

Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters = value

Merry Christmas all. I hope you got lots of good bonefishy shwag. If you were really good, maybe you got a Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters trip wrapped up under the tree.

Some of the best values in destination bonefishing these days are being dealt out by Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters. I was looking at their DIY/Hosted options, but couldn’t get the flights to work. They are on my radar for the future.

Here is an update from Vince, owner/operator of Cattaraugus Creek.

The cost of these trips is the same as if you booked them directly with the lodges. The benefits of going with our group and a host:

*If you’re a single angler, we match you up with another angler so you get the double occupancy rate, and save a bunch of $. We do our best to match you up with someone you’ll be compatible with.

*Our host always brings extra gear (rods, reels, flies, leaders, tippet) just in case. You never have to worry about breaking a rod and being unprepared—we’ve got you covered. If you just want to try out new gear, or don’t want to buy that 10 wt just for the trip, you can use ours for the week.

*We provide a complimentary fly box and a good selection of productive flies for the destination you are visiting. Plus, we’ll have extras in case anyone runs out during the week.

*If you want help with your casting, or want to learn some new knots, we’ll help.

*Our host is there to ensure everything goes smoothly, from making sure everyone has the beverage they want in the cooler for lunch to assisting with rigging your rod and being prepared for your day on the flats.

Turneffe flats lodge, Belize

Turneffe Flats Lodge, Belize (February 13-20, 2010)
great couples trip and also for serious anglers–lots of bonefish and permit, with some tarpon, plus lots to do for the non-angler.
7 Nights/6 Days Fishing (Double Occupancy): $3,900./person (these are the 2009 rates!)

Grey’s Point Lodge, Acklins Island, Bahamas (February 13-20, 2010)
an old favorite of ours located directly on bonefish flats, with lots of great bonefishing and beautiful wading flats very close by. $2895/week double occupancy, fully guided, lodging and meals

Gems @ Paradise Lodge, Long Island, Bahamas (March 6-13, 2010) a great value in bonefishing on beautiful Long Island, Bahamas offering superb wading for bones. Brand new lodge right on the water.
$2250/week, double occupancy, fully guided, lodging and meals

Acklins Island, Bahamas hosted DIY trip (March 13-20, 2010) FULL
Hosted do-it-yourself angling in remote location on beautiful Acklins Island-our fourth year here.
$1750/week, includes your oceanfront hotel, all your meals, maps and kayaks

Eleuthera, Bahamas hosted DIY trip (April 17-24, 2010) FULL
Hosted do-it-yourself angling on a quaint island; great for families too–our tenth year here
$1750/week, includes your oceanfront hotel, all your meals, vehicle, maps

Turneffe Flats Lodge, Belize (May 15-22, 2010)returning again when the big tarpon come out in May, along with the usual bones and permit–a great time for a grand slam!

For more information, go to the Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters website.

Tactics — No Comments
23
Dec 09

Orvis Bonefish Podcast

Orvis does a podcast and this one just happens to be all bonefishy.

Shopping at Orvis is an uneven experience. Some shops know a lot, some have no idea what their own products are. I like the shop in Santana Row in San Jose, and in Palo Alto. In San Jose, there are no more independent fly shops, so Orvis is the only choice. Good thing the San Jose shop seems to have their act together.

All the other stuff — No Comments
22
Dec 09

Field and Stream's 2010 Predictions

Field and Stream is all of a sudden relevant to me. I had no idea.

In their 2010 Fly Fishing Predictions they make a couple of bonefishy calls. Here’s one.

I predict that two major world record marks for fly-caught fish will fall in 2010–redfish, (the fish will be caught in February, in Louisiana), and bonefish, which will be caught off Oahu this summer. I predict that I will also hear about at least 40 obscure “line class” records, e.g. “alligator gar, on the fly, on 4-pound test,” and that I will not stroke the egos of the people who set those silly records by writing about them.

Hawaii certainly does have that potential. That would be exciting.

Here are a few Bonefish on the Brain 2010 Predictions:

As soon as I get back from my January trip to the Bahamas I will begin fantasizing about my next trip.
I will tie at least 600 bonefish flies in 2010. I will be lucky to use 10.
The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust will have a banner year in large part due to the utter and total rulingness of the Pirates of the Flats tv program on ESPN.
My trout fishing days will dwarf my bonefishing days.
I will dream about bonefish at least 3 times.
I will bore at least 40 people to tears with talk of bonefish.

2010 should be an interesting year for sure.

(Field and Stream quote with permission from Field and Stream)

Locations — No Comments
21
Dec 09

North Andros and good times

Another gem of a trip report from the Dan Blanton Board. This time from North Andros.

The happy couple stayed at Kamalame on North Andros. A very nice looking place way beyond the budget that Bonefish on the Brain has to play with.

Andros, North or South, just looks beautiful, from the air or from you feet.

One or two bonefish live there.

Fiesty

This is where you start to say things like “Just doesn’t get any better than this” even though that was the tag line for Milwaukee’s Best… and let’s face it, just about anything was better than the Beast.

That looks like a good, good day.

The pictures and the report are all from the Glenn that wrote the trip report.

Tactics — No Comments
19
Dec 09

Deneki and 5 ways to botch the job

Deneki Outdoors puts out some great blog posts and I’m glad… makes it easy for me!

This latest bit of bonefishy wisdom is a list of five things NOT to do, if you want to catch/land bonefish. We like the list.

My bonefish career is short, but I’ve likely done all five already. Can’t wait to invent even more.

Gear — No Comments
17
Dec 09

Getting Geared Up

My Bahamas trip is coming up… well, in a month, but still, I’m gathering the gear I need. I’ve decided what rods and reels I’ll be sporting. Here’s the deets:

Rod #1

8 wt. TFO Clouser 8’9″ 4 pc. – My local fly shop (Off the Hook) is making me a deal on this rod and from the folks I’ve talked to it seems like a really sweet stick. It is intended to throw big bugs and heavy lines, so we’ll see how it does with the Rio Bonefish line I have coming for it. I’ve read that the folks who have used it have not missed those missing 3 inches.
TFO Large Arbor – A sweet, sweet looking reel.
Rio Bonefish Line Bruce Chard Bonefish Line by Teeny– 8 wt – Have not cast this line yet. I was going to fish the Rio line but talked to a guy who had his Rio line basically fall apart on him down in Belize. So, I switched to the Bruce Chard line.

The reel is in the mail

Rod #2

8/9 wt. Albright GP 9′ 4 pc. – I cast this rod a little down in Vallarta, but never with the line/flies that I’d be using on the flats.
Ross CLA 5 – I used this last trip on my 10′ 9wt. Good, solid reel capable of hanging in there with a dream-size bonefish.
Scientific Angler Bonefish Line – 9 wt. – Used this line last year. It feels a little heavy for shallow water situations, but part of that may have been the rod. We’ll see.

proven

Now, I would have also brought my St. Croix Legend Ultra, but it was stolen in Mexico… so… well, that makes it impossible to do that see. I guess I could invent a time machine, but I’m kind of busy raising my daughter and tying flies.

Fish Tails / Locations — No Comments
15
Dec 09

NYT goes bonefishing

Now, the New York Times is a venerable old paper and some of their writers… well… they write very well.

Check it…

People fly to India, stay in a hut for a month. They sail across the Pacific. They camp for weeks in the remotest stretches of northern Maine or build yurts in western Montana or walk the Alaskan bush with binoculars and field guide. They go to Australia. They suffer the hardship of distant travel against the serenity they hope to find when they get where they’re going, and they work hard to earn the money or time that allows them to do it. Run into someone just back from a long sojourn to the outback, tanned and rested and suddenly kind, and odds are he’s either wealthy or Buddhist, a college kid, dreamer or life dropout, sometimes all five.

It does not have to be this way. Not if you follow the bonefish, not if you come to Lovely Bay, to this long, desolate sandbar at the southeastern end of the Bahamian archipelago to walk the flats of Acklins Bight with fly rod, concentration and hope. Not if you’re game and have a few days. You won’t need more than that.

Now, that is just beautifully written. Doesn’t it just make you want to go cast a fly to a cruising bonefish?

Sam Sifton is the author. Check out the full story here.

Sam is fishing with Fidel on Acklins… hardly the first time I’ve read or heard that name. Makes me very much want to head there and learn at the foot of Fidel. www.acklins.com

True... true.

All the other stuff — 3 Comments
13
Dec 09

Why I love bonefishing

I was at one of my Grandmother’s 90’th birthday parties today, my daughter’s great grandmother. Not too surprisingly the topic of bonefish arose. My folks sent out their holiday newsletter that talked about my obsession, among other topics. Aunts and other relations would ask “What is it about bonefish that interests you so?”

Here is my reply:

First of all, bonefish live in beautiful places, places you’d like to be… the Bahamas, Hawaii, the Keys, Belize, Mexico, the South Pacific, the Seychells. Beyond that, the bonefish itself is a fish perfectly suited for its environment. It is elusive. It is fast. It is powerful. It is weary. Maybe most importantly for me, it is different from what I know. It is thrilling to be standing in the water with a rod in my hand not knowing what the hell I’m doing. I’m learning about the fish, where they live, what they eat and why. It is a wonderful thing to be learning.

That’s why I love bonefishing. I’d love to hear from others about why they love bonefish or what element you most enjoy. Please, leave a comment.

Locations — No Comments
09
Dec 09

20 pound bonefish from Dubai??? WTF?

Credit worries about Dubia have driven the British Pound to it’s lowest level in recent times… or, that’s the headline I just saw. That’s probably important in some way to lots and lots of people. I am not one of those people.

What does interest me about Dubia is the rumor of a 20 pound bonefish being caught there a few years back. See… now THAT I find real interesting.

Here is an account of the big, bad bonefish.

Of course, rumors of 20 pounders surface here and there… read a back-and-forth from Hawaii about a rumored 20 pounder made into fish cakes. Heard rumors of massive bonefish spotted but not caught in New Caledonia. Florida posts a LOT of the line class bonefish records. The current record fish comes from South Africa and it probably was not a total aberration. So, there are plenty of places out there that could post that elusive 20 pounder.

But Dubia? Land of the artificial islands and monster/silly towers of metal and glass? Really?

I wonder if you can spot bonefish from that.

I guess the answer is… maybe.

Ocean Active offers some fly fishing charters. I have no idea who they are.

Fish Tails — No Comments
08
Dec 09

A first bonefish

Love seeing someone’s first bonefish…

Bonefish on the Brain Bonefish and all that relates (maybe a bit about tarpon too).

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