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All the other stuff — No Comments
11
Jun 11

Game Mechanics and Fly Fishing

So, I wouldn’t have know this if I hadn’t started a job at a software startup recently, but it turns out game mechanics are all the rage.  I don’t mean game mechanics in games, I mean the mechanics of games applied to products or life.

It recently occurred to me that fly fishing has a bunch of very, very compelling game mechanics inherent in it.  Let me explain.

A game I’ve played a bit (although not recently) is Fall Out.  I was pretty much addicted to Fallout 3.  In the game the character starts off with a bat and a BB gun and is shooting things like giant cockroaches.  You are pretty weak at that point and this is actually a challenge.  As you master each weapon and grow in strength something strange happens.  Your opposition gets stronger and stronger.  You get bigger guns and the monsters get bigger and bigger.  As you get stronger you end up finding more difficult challenges.  If you got stronger and more powerful and the opposition stayed weak… well… it wouldn’t be much fun.  That the game keeps pace with you is vital to the game continuing to be fun.

You can draw a pretty clear comparison to fly fishing.  You start off just hoping not to hook yourself.  Then you catch one.  Then you catch a few.  Then you become the master of your little creek or pond and you try bigger waters.  Those bigger waters are tough and you start learning them and once you have mastered them, you start looking to find other species.  Maybe you move from trout to bass to stripers and then you go find some bonefish somewhere and then you start thinking about tarpon and once you’ve landed a 100 pounder you start thinking about permit and then you start looking at flat spring creeks or Mongolian taiman or whatever.

There is always some bit of growth to be had, always some challenge that will actually be a challenge for you.  You are never done, you are just on a path.

If you rocked your little creek and never ventured beyond it, it would lose its appeal.  You’d get tired of it.  You’d move on.  You’d take up golf.

Right now… I’m kind of stuck on the bonefish part.  There’s enough to keep me busy there for a long, long time.

photo credit - Andrew Bennett

Conservation / Locations — No Comments
07
Jun 11

Capt. Obvious says “Bonefishing Important to the Bahamian Economy”

Yeah, I could have guessed that part, really.  I’d put it down as “Obvious” that bonefishing is important to the Bahamas… the number, $140M, is a pretty important part of the Bahamian economy, with a GDP of $7.23B US.

“…the Coastal Awareness Committee continues to stress the need for Bonefish protection in The Bahamas, pointing out that Bonefishing contributes more approximately $140 million to the economy.”

via thebahamasweekly.com – Bonefishing Important to the Bahamian Economy.

Bonefishing is important… that’s good folks are paying attention to that so they can keep the Bahamas beautiful for generations to come.

Bahamas... I miss you.

All the other stuff — No Comments
04
Jun 11

To the ends of the earth for this? Almost … – The Boston Globe

I really, really, really want to be on a flat right now.  Instead, I’m in the office (on Saturday morning) and despite it being June, it is raining outside.  Oh bonefish… I miss you.

GREEN TURTLE CAY — “Two fish, 90 feet out. Two o’clock . . . 80 feet . . . 70. Go! Go!’’

I followed Ricky Sawyer’s directions. He was my fly-fishing guide and knows the waters around the cay better than anyone. With a shaking hand I swung progressively larger loops of fat fly line into the air, feeding it out to get my fly closer to the elusive bonefish, our targeted species.

via To the ends of the earth for this? Almost … – The Boston Globe.

Locations — No Comments
03
Jun 11

Cuba… one the list

Cuba looks nice.  It looks really nice.  I’d like to go there, and some day, maybe I will.

One guy who just got back is Jim Klug (Yellow Dog Fly Fishing and Confluence Films) and he posted up some photos at his photography site.  You should spend some time there, really.

That looks nice... really nice.

Cigar anyone?

All the other stuff / Locations — No Comments
01
Jun 11

Flatswalker, Tarpon, Keys

More tarponish postings, this time from Flatswalker, who is always good for a read.

Day I: Late start, low tide, breezy. Oceanside: small groups, singles, and doubles. Second cast: hooked up! Jump, jump. Sweeeet. Drag singing. Fish off. “Uhhhh… popped ‘im off.” Nope: reel in to find the backing broke! Motored around searching for a #10 yellow line zipping through the water but was forced to admit both the fish, line, leader and fly were gone forever.

via Flatswalker: SaltWater Fly Fishing Guide Blog – Flatswalker.

 

 

Conservation / Tactics — No Comments
27
May 11

Chico doing it right at MidCurrent

With some practice and experience, all the questions and answers will become second nature so that you are simply “doing” as much as thinking about what you are doing. And when you finally slip your hand over that big fat bonefish, the feeling of accomplishment is great. After taking a few thousand bonefish myself over many years, I still don’t take any part of the pursuit for granted.

via “Close to the Bone” | MidCurrent.

 

This photo was in a post about bonefishing written by good ole’ Chico.  I’m glad (and I bet Aaron is glad) that when it came time to select a photo of Chico with a bonefish they picked this one… the fish in the water, the release likely to be a good one, the fish probably surviving.

Conservation — 2 Comments
25
May 11

OK, some of my own good C&R Bonefish Pics

I didn’t start out too good.  The first success I had was with a guide that either didn’t know, or didn’t practice good C&R. The results were lots of grip & grin shots with the fish out of the water for way, way too long.

Since then, I’ve read, I’ve listened and I’ve learned. The general math looks like this… (- air exposure) + (- handling) = Good Release

Here’s me putting that into practice…

A nice shot from Cameron at FIBFest II with Andros South

Ok… so, not everyone has a professional photographer as totally awesome as Cameron hanging out with you all day, so, here are others.

Tom Larimer took this pic.

A pic I took down in Belize

Another pic from Belize with El Pescador.

A DIY Bone from Grand Bahama.

Conservation — 1 Comment
24
May 11

Some Good Bonefish Pics That Are Also Good C&R

Here are some examples of pictures of bonefish that were also pretty good for the bonefish.

Minimize Air Exposure.  Minimize Handling.

Here's Aaron himself. The fish is in the water. That's good.

Another good pic from Aaron, this one underwater. Underwater cameras are coming WAY down in price. Pick one up.

A nice fish and not a lot of air exposure. A+

 

Three pretty good examples of getting the picture and doing so in a way that the fish is less likely to get munched upon.

Conservation — 2 Comments
23
May 11

Bonefish Handling Week – From the Pro

Alright, I told Aaron Adams that I’d make this week’s posts all about handling bonefish correctly… so… that’s what I’m going to do.  Monday to Friday will be dedicated to showing fish being handled and released well.

As far as the catching part goes, just fish as heavy a tippet as you can and have enough drag to make progress in getting the fish in.  Don’t overplay the fish… that’s a pretty easy concept.

In terms of the release portion of the issue goes you just have to be aware that every little bit longer you keep the fish out of the water increases the likelihood that it will get munched on when it is released.  These aren’t trout.  Just because it swims away doesn’t mean everything is OK.  If it swims away, but is tired… well… the odds that a cuda or shark will eat it go up a fair bit.

Here’s Dr. Adams…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfbGI3DuFrI

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