Florida | Bonefish on the Brain

My Florida Relative Grand Slam

I didn’t get a grand slam in Florida. I wasn’t close. However, in a certain light (a very dim and creative light) I did. You just have to look a bit further up the family tree and it all makes a certain amount of self-serving sense.

First off, I caught a bonefish. It was the only bonefish caught on the whole trip and that was largely because I was just about the only one who fished for them and I got a lot lucky.

This monster bone was caught blind casting. Yup. Blind Casting.

The bonefish

Next we come to the Permit. Now… Permit are in the family “Carangidae.” As it happens, I caught a member of that same family… a Lookdown. I also caught a small Jack which I didn’t get a picture of. So, I didn’t get a Permit, but I did catch a relative o the Permit, so, if you round up, well, I practically caught a Permit. Right?

The Permit Relative

That brings us to the Tarpon. Tarpon are from the Order “Elopiformes.” You know what else is in that order? Ladyfish. You know who has two thumbs and caught a Ladyfish? Yup, you guessed it. This guy! So, being creative, you can start to see things in a certain way, if you know what I mean.

The almost Tarpon.

Is Order too far removed? Well, I did catch this guy earlier in the day as well with guide Derek Rust.

So, you can clearly now see how, with just a bit of Big Bank accounting you can move some numbers from column A to column B and then, Grand Slam.

It was remarkably easy. All I needed to do to get a Grand Slam in FL was to think Out of the Box a bit.

#Winning.

Locations — 6 Comments
28
Jul 13

Day saver

Adrienne Comeau and I met (literally, for the first time) at the airport and then we drove straight to the water. There we met Martin, who was waiting to show us his home water, Biscayne Bay. We strung up in the parking lot and then got on the boat. Shortly thereafter we broke Martin’s trolling motor, and I have to say, I’m amazed at how well Martin took it. Adrienne and I didn’t break it so much as it was broken, but I might not have been as well composed as Martin was.

We headed out.

I was really taken by how close this was to Miami, which we caught glimpses of. What a resource to have right there, so close to such an urban center. From listening to most of Carl Hiaasen’s books on my work commute I even recognized most of the names Martin mentioned as we sped out in search of bonefish.

Adrienne, in the rain.

We arrived at the desired flat and then had a nice, long shower. Basically, it rained. Hard. Adrienne was up on deck first and she actually did get at least one cast in at a Biscayne bonefish, but the shots were hard to come by in the darkness.

After a while I got up on deck, but the weather was bad and the shots were all used up.

There was a Day Saver though. That Day Saver was called Barracuda.

That is me… happy.

We caught a few and saw a lot and I was happy with that. I know you don’t go out and just stick a few Biscayne bones on demand. You need things to fall into place. You don’t need everything to break your way, but you need a majority. We were not there on that day and I was pretty pleased to end up with a nice cuda.

Barracuda are fun. They fight hard. They are super aggressive. They have “nasty, big, pointy teeth.” That sounds pretty good to me.

We visited Biscayne Bay. We got soaked. We enjoyed Martin’s love for his home water. We spanked a few Barracuda.

Martin, on the platform, showing us a place he loves.

All in all… a lovey day.

Locations — 1 Comment
27
Jul 13

The weather

Did I mention the weather was less than ideal on that Florida trip?

This site is going to keep some of those FL memories. I’ll post in both places.

rain

Locations — 2 Comments
20
Jun 13

Fishing with Martin

The first day we fished in Florida Adrienne and I were out with Martin Carranza out on the waters of Biscayne Bay.

It looked like this…

That dark stuff eventually came to visit us.

Today I got a picture of what fishing there might be like when the lights are on.

Yeah… Nice.

I’d like another shot at it!

All the other stuff / Locations — No Comments
19
Jun 13

Chris, a SUP and a Bonefish

Chris gets after it. He’s one of the Skinny Water Culture guys and a passionate Heat fan (so he’s happy today) and he’s been getting after it in a big way.

He’s recently been hitting the water on his stand up paddleboard and he’s been doing pretty damn well on it.

I’ll bet that was nice.

Conservation — 4 Comments
14
Jun 13

Well done Florida

FWC UNANIMOUSLY VOTES TO MAKE BONEFISH AND TARPON CATCH AND RELEASE IN FLORIDA!

We are pleased to inform you that at their Wednesday meeting in Lakeland, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), unanimously approved new regulations to make tarpon and bonefish catch-and-release-only fisheries, making Florida the first State to do so. The deliberations by Commission members were brief and entirely supportive. Commissioner Brian Yablonski said, “this is the most significant thing we can do for tarpon.” Following their favorable ruling, Chairman Kenneth Wright added, “there will be a chapter written in a book about what this commission did today.”

Bonefish and Tarpon Trust is pleased with the outcome, which not only protects tarpon in Florida waters, but extends catch and release regulations into federal waters off of Florida. BTT also sends heartfelt thanks to members and supporters who made sure their voices were heard throughout this process. Your support made a huge difference, and several commissioners praised the thoughtful and informed letters they received from Bonefish and Tarpon Trust supporters leading up to the meeting. “It took teamwork on many levels to get these new regulations enacted,” said BTT Chairman Tom Davidson, “and we are very thankful for the Commissioners’ forward-thinking actions. These new regulations have brightened the future for Florida’s bonefish and tarpon fisheries.”

The newly adopted regulations include the following provisions:

Eliminating all harvest of tarpon with the exception of the harvest or possession of a single tarpon when in pursuit of an IGFA record and in conjunction with a tarpon tag.
Keeping the tarpon tag price at $50 per tag but limiting them to one tag per person, per year.
Modifying the tarpon tag program, including reporting requirements and shifting the start and end date for when the tarpon tag is valid.
Requiring that tarpon remain in the water and are released near the site of capture.
Discontinuing the bonefish tournament exemption permit that allows tournament anglers to temporarily possess bonefish for transport to a tournament scale (this brings the state in line with similar rules in the National Parks in the Keys).

Thank you to everyone who supported BTT’s efforts and took the time to make phone calls or write letters to the commissioners. Your support and actions helped make these regulations a reality.

Locations — No Comments
13
Jun 13

The view from other eyes

Thought I’d share a few posts about FL from the eyes of some of the other peeps who were there…

Adrienne Comeau writing at The Female Angle.

Matt Smythe (also known as “The Hair”) writing at FishingPoet.

The Hair

Locations — 5 Comments
10
Jun 13

Florida’s memorable moments

I wanted to share a few memorable moments from the FL trip. Every trip has those little nuggets and they are what sticks with us.

The moment, fishing with Martin Carranza (website, blog) and Adrienne in Biscayne Bay that the cuda I had on the line came up to the surface and flared it’s gills like a tarpon. So awesome.
Being on Derek Rust’s (Captderekrust@gmail.com) boat with Davin, telling stories and hearing about Derek’s guiding experiences, and blowing some shots at big tarpon.

Derek and Davin, rocking the Skinny Water Culture

Hearing my rod tip buzz while wading a flat with Matt. Asking Matt if he was buzzing and him confirming it. (Next time, I’m going to GTFO of there instead of staying around, looking for fish)
Seeing my first meatball of tarpon raging down a flat while fishing with Bill Horn and Adrienne. Man… so. many. fish.
Listening to Eric Estrada talk about his permit paintings.

It was a good trip.

Locations — 1 Comment
07
Jun 13

The FL Trip

Purdy

Ya know, by the numbers, the fishing was pretty bad, but I actually had to think about it hard to see that. It didn’t feel unsuccessful. It felt full and hard and fun and fulfilling, even if the tally marks were few and far between.

The weather was such a huge factor in the trip. It was like a goalie, guarding the net. The lights were seldom on. I can’t say the wind was an issue. I think my casting, in general has come a long way in recent years to the point where I don’t think about it (until it all goes wrong, which it did once on this trip). My casting doesn’t make me anxious and I don’t fret about it (again, until it falls apart, but I recover).

But the lights… you need the lights. You can only do so much of staking out the light sand and waiting as dozens and dozens of fish slip by over the grass.

I’ll take the discomfort of the wet, but you need the lights and we just didn’t have enough of it.

In some ways it feels like we missed out, but in others, it feels like it was a perfect trip, because we were there and getting after it and we were wiped out at the end of the day, but not so much that we couldn’t stay up until 2 in the morning and talk it all through.

The fish tally really doesn’t feel like the measure of this trip.

Locations — 1 Comment
06
Jun 13

My Monster Bone from the Keys

I caught the biggest bonefish of the trip. It was all down to skill, really, and I think this fish shows just what an amazing, amazing angler I am. It is like I knew that fish would be there.

Davin, who I was fishing with at the time, was incredulous. He didn’t believe me right away. He had to see it with his own eyes.

Despite all this wild success, I have still maintained my humility, which just goes to show you how stupendously amazing I am. I mean… all this and humility too?

Wow!

MONSTER!

Now, yeah, OK, it does’t look all that huge, but to put that in perspective, this is one of my hands.

The big ones are mine. That puts that fish in perspective.

OK, OK… I didn’t exactly “see” the fish first. I was blind casting over some grass and though I might have a little cuda.

Alright. Fine. I hand-lined it in. It never got on the reel and didn’t take more than 10 feet of line out.

Still, it was the largest bone of the trip.

Yes… it was the only bone of the trip.

Yes… we were mostly fishing for tarpon and reds.

Still… at least I still have the humility.

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

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