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All the other stuff — No Comments
14
Nov 10

So… if you have a yacht…

If you find yourself with a yacht and you are going to be cruising around the Bahamas and you, ya know, want to go bonefishing, you can get a Skate from Hell’s Bay and just toss it up on deck (carefully, and if there are two of you).

Now… I doubt I’m going to find myself in this particular scenario, but if I did (and I mean in real life, not my very active fantasy life), I very well might get a Skate and pole around some no-name bit of Bahamian goodness.  Doesn’t that sound more awesome than you really have a right to expect?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjUQavWEo7U?fs=1&hl=en_US

Gear — 2 Comments
13
Nov 10

Dark Blue Beauties

The Fed Ex guy kept it late, which made it interesting.  In the end, he made it here about 6:45 PM.  Sure, I don’t leave for Belize for another 6 days, but I really wanted the weekend to do a little casting and it looks like that is going to happen.  The box that arrived this evening was from Bainbridge Island, WA and if you are a fly fisherman that means Sage.  Two brand new Xi3‘s were in the box, a 7 and a 10.  I was a little surprised that the rods were brand new.  These are loaners, after all… I have to send the things back after the trip, so I figured I’d get a rod that had been loaned in the past.  Not so… these were spanking new with that new-rod smell… well… there really wasn’t a smell, but ya know what I mean.

Two beautiful sage sticks

In other news, I’ll actually be bringing along a third rod to demo… this rod will be the Orvis Helios in an 8 weight.  I just did an interview with Steve Hemkens at Orvis for the Blog and he offered to loan me some gear.  Having the 7 and 10 slots filled, I figured it would be better to go with an 8, instead of putting the Helios and Xi3 into some contrived duel.  I am looking forward to doing some test driving in the coming days and putting them through the paces in Belize.

I’m just about done tying flies for the trip… I added another 8 or so flies today to the two crammed bonefish/permit boxes and am at about 148 flies now.  My guess would be I’d use 10.  So… over provisioned a tad, both on the fly front and probably on rods.  Both are good problems to have.

Conservation — 2 Comments
12
Nov 10

I am a poetry fan

It worked wonders on the ladies… up until my wife found all the old poems I had kept from years past… then they went up in smoke in a mysterious fire.

Now, poetry about fish and rivers and lessons learned in pursuit in beautiful places… that’s some good stuff and largely safe from fire.

The Fishing Poet is rocking some new shirts and, classy guy that he is, Matt is using proceeds from those shirts to support a local nonprofit, The Shenandoah Riverkeeper.


Nice threads.

So, get a shirt, support the cause.

Fish Tails — 4 Comments
12
Nov 10

Bones in the Bahamas – YouTube

A little YouTube bonefishing hunt turned up this little video, newly added to interwebs.  This is in the Bahamas somewhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUhxXqi5Io?fs=1&hl=en_US

All the other stuff / Locations — 2 Comments
11
Nov 10

How to get your first bonefish

If you are looking to get into your first bonefish, I have a way you can do it for not much scratch (ya know, relatively speaking).

Step 1. Go to Cheap Caribbean and look at either Nassau or Grand Bahama.

Why?  Well, you can get package deals, including air fare for as low as $300 a person.  Figure it usually costs $350 for air, and you can see the value here.  You might not get the most super awesome hotel, but you’ll get to the Bahamas cheap.  Sure, you can get to Miami pretty cheap too, but the fishing there is tougher and if you are starting out, it is good to have some success on your first outing… ya know… encouragement.

Step 2. Get one day with a guide.

Why?  If you are starting out, it can be really hard to find your own fish.  Bonefish have their own rhythms and their own environment, so, get a guide to smooth out the learning curve a bit.

  • In Grand Bahama, I recommend Captain Perry (although his website is down as I write this, he is still booking trips and you can call him at (242) 353-3301) who I used and who was just a great guide and a good person.
  • In Nassau, which is overall a bit less bonefishy than Grand Bahama, there are still options where the guide can put you in a skiff and get you to some fish.  Aaron Bain with Secret Soul gets some good reviews.

Now,  a day of guiding is going to set you back a pretty penny… about $400, plus tip, but really, you want to catch some fish when you go all that way, so you really should look into it.  It isn’t like fishing the Madison where you know the place is lousy with fish.  If you have DIY inclinations, you can go out on your own for the rest of your trip, like I’ve done a couple times.

Nassau and Grand Bahama are family friendly locations and you could make it a family trip, making it even more doable for the family-bound angler.

There… that’s the recipe.  If you fish for steelhead or large trout, you probably have something serviceable in terms of gear.  A 7 weight will work for bonefish and you can even get away with a 6 (ask Rich French).  You may need a new line and you might… might need a new reel, but you can get a reel that will work for under $200.

As I read in This is Fly long ago, and I’m paraphrasing here, “bonefishing shows up on a lot more wish lists than obituaries,” so go out there and get after them.

My first bonefish - go get at 'em

Fish Tails — No Comments
09
Nov 10

Angling Destinations on a DX Trip in the Bahamas

A nice write up by Scott Heywood from Angling Destinations about one of the DX trips in the Bahamas in 2010.  Good stuff.

Going on a fishing trip is more than packing gear and making airline reservations… it is also a process of getting your mind right and managing expectations. I’ve noticed over the years that the anglers that do the best job of this also have the most fun and strangely enough, also catch the most fish. The toughest thing for anglers to accept is that no matter how much you spend on a fishing trip or how grandiose your expectations are, you are not purchasing fish. You’re only buying a seat at the poker table.

via Fly Fishing Montana Brazil Alaska | Bonefishing Bahamas | Angling Destinations.

Cheers

Conservation — No Comments
08
Nov 10

Fall Bonefish Census… not awesome

Well, the numbers are in from the Fall bonefish census and the picture is not rosy.  Numbers are way down.  The Miami Herald (America’s most bonefishy newspaper) break the story.

About 60 guides and anglers who poled across the flats from Biscayne Bay to the Marquesas Keys west of Key West on Oct. 23 counted about 200,000 bonefish — way down from the mean estimate of 339,595 over the past eight years. Ault said the past three fall censuses have been below that mean but not nearly as low as the latest count.

Nice to see Joe Gonzalez getting recognized for the effort he’s put in to helping out…

Some South Florida flats guides — especially Miami captain Joe Gonzalez — have taken up the cause of bonefish research.

Gonzalez, 50, has tagged more bones than any other captain — about 1,700 during the past seven years.

Here are the folks doing the work.

Joe G with a tagged bone. (photo from Sam Root)

Tactics — No Comments
06
Nov 10

Bonefish and Tides, Aaron Adams, Deneki

Aaron Adams did a fantastic bit for Deneki on bonefish and tides over at the Deneki blog.  Check it out.

Aaron Adams is one of the leading authorities on bonefish science. He’s the Director of Operations for Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, one of the organizations out there at the forefront of research on bonefish. Even better, Aaron’s an angler himself, and that means he’s written some great science pieces that can also help you catch fish!

via Bonefish and Tides | Aaron Adams from Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.

Gear — 1 Comment
05
Nov 10

Nautilus NV Ten-Eleven… sweetness

I got the loaner from Nautilus in the mail… what a sweet package to open up.  The NV Ten-Eleven is intended for Tarpon, a species I have never even cast to.  I’ve seen one “in the wild” in a cenote south of Cancun, but I’ve never fished for one… although, if the California Academy of Sciences is game to let me try, I’m up for trying.

The Nautilus NV is just a beautiful piece of fishing hardware… it has a Cork/Carbon Fiber (CCF) drag and is capable of stopping a Super Carrier.

Nautilus NV 10-11

I hope to put this thing to the test on a nice Tarpon down in Belize… that would not suck.

I’ve ordered the Rio Tarpon line with the Camo Tip to go on this bad boy.  I can’t wait to get this bit of fly fishing awesomeness into action.

Conservation / Locations — 7 Comments
04
Nov 10

Dredging Today – Kamalame Cay on Andros

Damn… this doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the goings on at Kamalame Cay on Andros.  Maybe there is more to the story, but it certainly doesn’t sound super fabulous.

An aquatic breeding ground once teeming with marine life that provided food and much-needed cash in a diminished economy, is now barren due to dredging at nearby Kamalame Cay, according to several local fishermen interviewed by The Nassau Guardian.

via Dredging Today – The Bahamas: Residents Concerned About Dredging at Kamalame Cay.

Dredging at Kamalame

Kind of crazy that there even is a “Dredging Today” to find this story in.  I’m sure I benefit from dredging in some ways just like I’m sure I benefit in various ways from clear-cutting and mountain top removal mining, but damn… when folks start talking about dredges on the flats, in the creek mouths… well… it makes me cranky.  That this would happen at a lodge that hosts lots of bonefisherman makes me a bit irate.  Maybe I don’t have the whole picture… and I’d hope I don’t, but this sounds like it kind of sucks.

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