Bruce Chard is a flats guide of some reputation (the good kind from what I gather). He teaches a bonefishing school in connection with Deneki Outdoors, so he has some bonefishy knowledge to drop. Deneki recently tweeted a link to Bruce’s gear… all the way down to the knots.
I don’t know Bruce, but I think we’d get along. His rod is a Ross Worldwide Essence FW 7wt. That’s a $220 rod. The Sage Xi3 may be a hell of a rod, but at $695 it is also spendy. Now, we usually associate Ross with reels, but they entered the rod business a few years ago and their rods have been scoring pretty well by “those that know.” Ross is also “Made in the USA,” which makes them a rare bird indeed these days.
Bruce also prefers the non-slip loop knot as his tippet-to-fly knot. I just learned the knot and used it to catch a few fish out of the Truckee River throwing streamers last weekend. Pretty easy knot and one I know I should have been using for ages.
Having filled my flats fly box to capacity with Gotcha’s, I have started looking into other flies I should be bringing along. I read an article by Craig Matthews (the article was on www.flyfisherman.com, but is only available on the cached view from Google) where he was talking about the stomach contents of those unfortunate bonefish that, while on the line of an angler, become half landed fish and half ‘cuda or shark snack. Turns out those fish mostly have their stomachs with them when reeled in and those stomachs, almost always, have crabs in them.
Davin recommended Merkins or Rag Crab patterns. I found a great tutorial for the Merkin from Quest Outdoors.
Merkin from Quest Outdoors
Now, that’s a good looking bug, er, crustacean.
Here’s a YouTube tutorial…
My fishing buddy Shane recommended a Merkin or Velcro Crab. Velcro? That sounded pretty interesting. Fly Anglers Online has a great tutorial on the Velcro Crab.
That’s a good looking crab!
I was looking around for tan velcro, but I see that this is actually tied with white velcro and colored. So, I’ll be heading back to Walmart tomorrow.
UPDATE: I went to Walmart and picked up 15′ of white velcro and a set of Caribbean Color (I’m not making that part up) Sharpies. Here is my first attempt… I think I’m going to enjoy this pattern… at least how it looks, we’ll see if the bonefish enjoy it as well.
UPDATE #2: This fly has the tendency to spin on the hook, but I’ve come up with a solution that seems to help. I simply tied one or two sets of the plastic eyes on the back of the hook before putting the Velcro on. Those T’ed the hook and made it pretty much impossible for the fly to spin. You could also use a short section of cut wire (think paper clip) (That was a dumb idea… would rust quickly… don’t do that). Superglue added just before you close the Velcro sandwich also seems to help a lot. I’ve also switched the colors of the crabs to more of a gray. After looking at some pictures of swimming crabs (in Dick Brown’s bonefishing book), it is seems they really aren’t brown.
UPDATE #3: I threw a couple of these into water and found two things… 1. they didn’t sink well unless totally soaked, and 2. it was 50/50 for them landing correctly (point up). I talked with Shane about this and he, of course, had the solution… trim the fuzzy velcro on the bottom of the fly. The fuzz catches air and makes it not sink well, but if you trim that on the bottom… well… it will land correctly. He also crushes lead barbell eyes and puts them in the pattern… have not done that yet, but that would work too.
UPDATE #4: I’ve taken to putting some UV Knot Sense (or the Rio product, which is pretty much the same thing) on all the bits and pieces (legs, eyes, pincers) and putting the UV lamp on it before superglueing it closed. This seems to be increasing the durability of the fly.
My first Velcro Crab.
While searching the tubes of the internets for crab flies I ran into this…
It’s crab… tied with… crab.
That has to be the crabbiest looking fly I’ve ever seen. The main reason for that would be that it is tied with… crab. Some really good looking crabs (including the crab crab) on StripersOnline here.
I’ll be tying up some crabs in the weeks to come. I hope the cast of The Deadliest Catch doesn’t knock the door down.
In my eternal search for bonefish content, I stumbled upon an article in Field & Stream about bonefish lodges by John Merwin. Now, John Merwin likely knows a thing or two about angling, as the list of books attributed to the name would imply.
The places he lists are probably fantastic. Most are probably still in business (this was from 2006, so, ya never know). That said, a couple lines from the article stuck in my craw and annoyed me to no end (well, not to NO end, but ya know… just to be dramatic).
Unless you’re a well-traveled Bahamas veteran, there are two rules to follow. First, go to a well-established lodge. Second, use a reputable U.S. sporting-travel agency to make your bookings.
So says John, to which I say “Bah!” There are scores of DIY, self-guided folks out there who neither require well-established lodges nor US sporting-travel agencies to make their bookings. If you have the money to do those things, great, it probably would result in a smoother trip more pointed at the heart of success. However, you no more NEED to go to a lodge and pay someone to book the trip than you NEED to bring an $800 rod.
I guess that’s one of my underlying beliefs… it doesn’t take $5K, it doesn’t take a Sage or an Able. Bonefish are within reach if you are OK with a bumpy ride, a lumpy mattress and store bought beer.
Today, I’m fishing… doing something I actually know something about… trout fishing. I’ll be on the Truckee River throwing streamers trying to fool some brown trout.
Booked my trip to Grand Bahama today… January 13-18. Oh… I can almost taste the Kalik.
UPDATE: I’ve now booked my hotel… for $58/night. Used Kayak.com. On the hotel’s website the rate was $89/night. The whole stay will be about $250 for lodging. The countdown is 61 days!
The Fly Fish Chick just got back from three days in the Keys and is considering selling her home to go chase tarpon. Now, she didn’t mention bonefish at all, which leaves me sad, disappointed, weeping tears of regret and sorrow. Sounds like good fishing with so-so catching, but the setting is just amazingly beautiful, if my memories from 1984 are to be trusted (my last trip to the Keys).
Fly Fish Chick chasing Silver Kings
The fact that FFC didn’t chase bonefish and had to settle for tarpon may have something to do with the fact that bonefish are really tough in the Keys (and yes, I am joking about the “had to settle” thing).
I recently posted on a couple of message boards asking for perspectives on Florida bonefishing and here are some of the comments I got:
You can certainly target the bones in the Keys. Lots of tournaments do just that, but combining it with a pursuit of other fish can be more enjoyable and productive. I’d say that bones in most of the Keys are just as tough as permit these days. While you’ll rarely go an entire day without seeing a fish, it certainly is possible to go an entire day or more without seeing an interested fish. I have fished entire days there without a hookup.
I fished the Keys for a week every month for just over 2 years.
I have fished from Biscayne Bay to Key West and have had about 15 different guides. I can’t remember not seeing a bonefish but I have had a good number of days when I have not caught a fish. Having said that, the fish that you do catch can be large. I have caught 6 fish over 12lbs. A good day bonefishing is 2 fish. The fish are very spooky. You need a perfect presentation and even then the fish may not take. There are of course opportunities to catch other fish such as reds, snook, tarpon and permit not to mention Jacks, ladyfish, snapper etc. etc.
I have friends(not FF’s) I usually fish with in the Keys. The one time I got a guide I asked about Bonefish, he had one question, “can you put the fly in the ice chest at 40′ in a 15 knot wind?” If the answer is yes “let’s go” if the answer is no “let’s try something else”.
The advice in a nutshell was this… bonefish in FL are tough. They get fished over a lot and are very selective, although they are big. If you go to Florida to fish, you may catch some bonefish, but other species are more available and can provide an excellent experience.
So, I forgive the Fly Fish Chick for not targeting bonefish. When I finally make it to Florida to fish, I may be looking for poons or cuda, although I’m going to have to get beyond this singular fixation on bonefish first. Maybe my trip coming up this weekend to fish the Truckee River will help.
One of my favorite blogs on the saltwater side of things is Flatswalker.com and the guy who writes that blog also happens to be a guide in the Cayman Islands. Fish Bones is the guide service on their web site I found a good link on a topic I was just thinking about… namely hooks and knots.
I’ve straightened a few trout flies on fish. I’ve broken a few as well. I haven’t done enough saltwater fishing to run into this sort of scenario, so I have to rely on the knowledge of the folks that have. Davin/Windknot seems just that sort.
Financial Times contributor John O’Connor took one for the team and went to the Bahamas in September where he wrote about the decline in tourism, the impact it has had on the local economy of the Bahamas and Nassau, in particular. Amidst talking about unemployment at 20% on Nassau and massive staff cuts at some of those big resort/casino’s, John also found time to go bonefishing with guide Aaron “Big Bone” Bain. John says his skillz leave something to be desired, but that his guide gets him into fish, including an 8 pounder within 1/2 hour. Not bad… not bad at all.
The article is an interesting read for anyone interested in how the Bahamas are weathering the economic storm.
I found the below video from an unrelated bonefishing trip with Aaron Bain.
It is nice to know that quality bones can be caught in Nassau, as it is the easiest island to get to and there are loads and loads of deals for the interested angler these days with low occupancy and lower air fares that have been seen in recent memory.
I quick scan didn’t reveal Aaron Bain’s guide business details.
