I fished today with the infamous Michael Gracie. I got back to the lodge and went fishing. Then, I went night fishing for tarpon (seen, but not caught).
I’m soaking it all up… I’m sham wowing the experience.
For the big sliver of the fishing I was with MG and guide Ellie. We went to Grassy Creek on the South End and, for the most part, we were out of the boat, on foot. We fished for science today, collecting fin clips for the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.
The fishing was a little slow, but we had a good time. Gracie is a fun fishing partner and he tried to calm my frustrations after I broke off a very nice fish on the last cast of the day. That was 16 pound tippet… first fish I broke off all day.
We had lots of sharks around today… all Lemons and some very interested in us. After clipping one bonefish fin I wiped my hands on my pants and then a little three foot lemon showed up and began circling me. Got to about 2 feet away and I was about to hit it on the nose the the butt of my fly rod, but it then noticed I wasn’t a bonefish and took off.
The last shot of the day was back on the boat with Ellie on the platform. He poled us up this little side channel and I wasn’t sure where he was going. Then, on the right, appeared a nice little flat and on the flat a school of nice fish coming right towards us. I made one, 50′ cast that was just about perfect. The fish ate, but coming toward me, it was hard to set the hook. I did, but found myself spread out and when the fish took off it just separated from the tippet. Fish gone and day over. Still… how Ellie knew just where to take us… that was a special moment… that was local knowledge. That move impressed me a lot. I should have landed that fish. My guess is it was a nice fish… maybe 7, maybe 8, probably not 9, but it was a really nice fish and Ellie… he knew where they were going to be. I love that.
Back at the Lodge I grabbed my rod and went to the jetty in search of the cuda I’ve been stalking for the past few days. He was there and the gurgler pulled him out of hiding and into the open, but he wouldn’t commit. Another shot gone.
When I got back to the lodge from my Cuda hunting I was informed there was a possibility of doing some night tarpon fishing. I jumped at the chance. So, fellow guest Robert and I met guide Sparkles and headed off in the dark to try and find tarpon. We found tarpon, but they wanted nothing to do with us. I managed to catch a Jack and also managed to fall into a hole in the sharp limestone bank of Deep Creek. Nice.
Basically, I’m sucking up every moment of Andros and bonefishing that I can. I am trying to go as hard as I can here because who knows when I’ll get back. I’m pushing it… maybe breaking a little around the edges, but I’m going full tilt and I’m going to run this bad boy right up onto the beach.
Now… the photos from the day…
Guide Ellie pointing out a fish while Gracie tries to remove a hook from his shirt. Priceless!
Gracie with a nice bonefish
One of my bones from today.
An MG bone
Fishing... for SCIENCE! Fin Clips.
Throwing a lot of line withe the Redington in search of Cudas.
Night time fishing Jack. The flies outfished the chum!
