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Conservation — 5 Comments
23
Apr 12

My own picture taking

I’ve noticed a real trend in my own picture taking when it comes to bonefish.

My first bonefish pics were pretty much the standard bearer for what not to do.  Long air exposure, excessive handling.  Those fish probably didn’t do well.

Yeah... I cringe a bit seeing these pictures.

I didn’t know better and the guide on that particular trip didn’t seem concerned in the slightest. It was kind of a big #fail, even if I didn’t know it yet.

The next trip (same island, different guide) was a big change. I knew better and I was glad to see the guide knew better too.  Captain Perry was my guide and he was very, very vigilant when it came to handling of fish.  The whole day with him we didn’t take a single fish out of the water for pictures.

My last trip to Cuba I found that I was often foregoing the photo-op.  Maybe I’d take a pic of the fish underwater, but often times I would just let them go at the side of the boat and not even snap a single picture. The pics aren’t too glamorous, but I’ve found I’m a bit less concerned about that now.  I do like having a nice photo and I have a few, but I don’t need a hero shot with every fish, or even most of them.

Let those fish swim.

Maybe not the sexiest pic.

Here’s advice from BTT about how to handle a bonefish and how to practice good C&R.

http://youtu.be/SfbGI3DuFrI

 

Locations — No Comments
21
Apr 12

Bonefish Goodness from Deneki and Catch

Couldn’t pass up pointing you good, bonefish loving peeps to Deneki and their Catch magazine post.

Brian O’Keefe and Todd Moen from Catch Magazine joined us at Andros South last month, and today we get to share some of their work!

Check it out.

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 — 2 Comments
08
Apr 12

Awesome day in the garden of the queen

We started off today getting an unexpected shot at a nice permit… a black tale sticking up through the wave about 40 feet away. I made the cast, had a follow and a little jack grabbed the fly before Mr. Permit could.

After that I broke off a bone, lost one in the mangroves and was starting to get a little frustrated.  Then… the day turned around. My boat-mate, Charlie, caught his first fly caught bone, then his second and third. We found a school of bones that just wouldn’t spook and we caught bone after bone.

Then, we went looking for tarpon. We found them. We fished a deep cut with sooooo much life, it was just amazing.  There were jacks busting bait and tarpon rolling and cudas crushing little bait fish. It was happening all around us and it was awe inspiring. Felt like being transported back in time to some virgin bit of paradise.

I had a tarpon eat my black death bunny about 20 feet off the boat. I was sure I had a good hook set on him, but he spit the hook on the first jump. I was shaken… literally. Took me a few minutes to get composed (but it was the kind of being ruffled with a big smile on my face).   Had a second shot and a good hoot set. The fish took off and then jumped (caught on camera, I’ll get it up when I can) and then came off.  I even jumped a third tarpon. A nice tarpon.  Maybe 60 pounds.  Awesome.

It was just a fantastic, wonderful day with Avalon guide TiTi and boat-mate Charlie. I caught somewhere around 5-7 bones, three snappers, a horse eyed jack (15 pounds) and jumped three nice tarpon.

We’ve even seen Franco this evening, the saltwater croc that hangs around the houseboat.

One of the most enjoyable days I’ve had on the water.

 

Yes... it is as awesome as it looks here.

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.

Locations — 1 Comment
05
Apr 12

The Journey Begins… kind of.

You hear about all those tornadoes in the Dallas area?  Yeah, me too. I was flying through Dallas but figured a) American would let me know well in advance if there was a problem and b) They’d probably clear the planes quickly to fly again.

a – fail

b- not so much

Somehow, it is all going to work out.  I’m now going through Chicago, where I get to sleep on the floor tonight, and tomorrow I’ll arrive in Cancun at 11:25.  I need to meet the crew at the Cancun airport at noon.  So… see? It all works out.

Other good news is that my bag is 48.5 pounds (a whole pound and a half to spare!).  All my reels are in that bag, so that’s good.

If my luggage doesn’t make it, I’ll at least have the rods and reels.  Beyond that I’ll be a bit screwed, but, that’s just a part of travel and life and at some point you have to be optimistic.

Life’s an adventure.

I think I'll take earthquakes over these things.

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…

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