11
Feb 11

The Freeport News – Gill nets concern West End fishermen

If it isn’t guides getting fired, it is gill nets wiping out fish populations… Grand Bahama seems to have a number of things working against it these days.  Thomas Rolle is quoted below.

“I know that one time ago there were maybe one or two guys netting but now it’s out of control now. We have about 15, 16 or 17 boats – they’re netting the same areas every day and we’re in trouble now but before long there isn’t going to be anything there,” he lamented.

via The Freeport News – Gill nets concern West End fishermen.

Nets are bad for bonefish, and, oddly enough, bad for fisherman since they wipe out damn near everything they come into contact with.


10
Feb 11

Essential Saltwater Items by Orvis

[Editor’s Note: Our friend Conway Bowman has a new book out, The Orvis Guide to Beginning Saltwater Fly Fishing, which is full of great information, tips, and tactics. Here’s an excerpt, in which he discusses the essential gear for any saltwater fly-fishing trip. The man spends hundreds of days on the water every year, and a few of his suggestions may surprise you.]

via Essential-Saltwater-Items.

I thought this was an interesting list of stuff and since, really, I’m at the bottom part of the learning curve, it is always interesting to hear from the pro’s about what they choose to take with them on the water.

There might be a few tweaks for bonefish anglers, primarily, you shouldn’t take the Boga grip out on the water with you.  Bogas and Bones don’t mix.   Maybe they are for cuda’s and that I can certainly understand.

The list would certainly be different if you were wading all day.  Not enough room for all that stuff when you are on foot all day and there wasn’t mention of anything to put on your inner thighs when they start to chafe (what, am I the only one who has had that happen?).


09
Feb 11

TheFin.com: Andros

The Fin just got back from a few days in Andros… yeah… Andros.  He put up one heck of a report about it with lots of nuggets of information.  Check it out.

Day 2: On day 2 we all agreed that we would try the famous West side of Andros in hopes of not only finding lots of bonefish, but big ones.

via TheFin.com: Andros Island Fishing & Trip Report – Andros Island Bonefish Club.


08
Feb 11

This post is not about Sara Palin

No, really… it isn’t.  Bonefishing isn’t a political thing and conservation isn’t a political thing.  I hope you all send a little bit of that little bit of money you have floating around at the end of the month to help the folks who are working to make sure there are bonefish left for us to play with.

These days, for the 2/3 of readers who are from the US, conservation is a political hot button issue… which, I’m going to say, is stupid.  The fish aren’t red or blue (ya know, unless they are actually red or blue).  The Endangers Species Act and the Clean Water Act were signed by… get ready for it… Richard Nixon.  Yeah… that Richard Nixon.  Tricky Dick could see the value of conservation.  So, be a Dick and embrace conservation.

The best way you can do that, if you want to protect Bonefish, is to give to the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

There are other groups… the Turneffe Atoll Trust is new and promising.  Down there in Belize is also Green Reef.

yeah... what he said.


07
Feb 11

Let’s see some feesh, bonefeesh that is.

OK, so, back in December I had several dozen flies land in my lap… well, they came in a box really, probably best they didn’t actually land IN my lap… barbs and all.

Anyway, I got a bunch of flies and I’ve been pondering a good way to distribute them to folks… good folks like you… you are good folk, aren’t you?  Sure you are.

I’m figuring I’ll do a photo contest and that contest will be done on Facebook, as it’s the easiest way to get folks to upload their own photos.  Upload a photo and whoever has the most “likes” at the end of February will get four dozen flies.

Go here to the FB page.

That there is a lot of flies... a LOT of flies.

So, put up some fish and let’s have some fun.

If you are not on Facebook… wow… how are you not on Facebook!?  Send me a pic and I’ll try and get it up in there.


06
Feb 11

Bonefish Art by Stan Harmon

I found this yesterday on-line… I like it… I like it very much.

Nice Stan... very nice.

The artist is Stan Harmon and you can find more of his art on his site.  The site says you should call for the price of the above bit of artistic awesomeness.  Given the beauty and subject matter, I’m going to guess that it is worth $3B… maybe more.


05
Feb 11

Things

OK… things…

Looks like things are maybe not so bleak in Aitutaki and I hope that is the conclusion I’ll have when things are all rolled out…

Bjorn hi

There are detailed criteria, weightings and conditions outlined in the regulations. Much of the vetting and decision making will be the responsibility of the bonefish management committee, including what limits to put on the number of guides (the number recommended was 5). Obviously the regulations  weren’t designed to fit around individuals or the bonefish association but if applied properly it can lead to a fair and sustainable industry for the guides.

The core requirements for guides are (1) CI Boat Master Certificate, (2) Red Cross First Aid Certificate and (3) CI Tourism Accreditation. MMR has funded all these courses and others e.g. guide fishing training and small business management, although just 2 persons have completed the requirements so far.

Regards, Ben

There remain some questions about who exactly is on the committee and how they get there… but, this is a start.

Another thing… I like art… at least when it comes to fishing/fish art.  I’m still wondering how I feel about Bonefish Gyotaku for which, I think, the bonefish likely gave its life.  You can buy this on Etsy.

Bonefish as art

Another thing… speaking of fishing art… there is a new member to my little family… a Lamson Lightspeed 4… destined to tangle with cuda’s and I hope some tarpon, Dorado and other beeg fish swimming out in the ocean.

Isn't she beautiful? Pretty girl.

I’ve never caught a big cuda.  I hope to change that in March down at Andros South and that is the reel I’ll have on… well… a rod to be named later.


03
Feb 11

Life is good – A photo-journey through the world of bonefishing – Global FlyFisher

I like pictures… I like bonefish… I like the Caribbean.  So… it stands to reason that I LOVE pictures of bonefish in the Caribbean.  I found this “A photo-journey through the world of bonefishing.”  Yeah.  I like it.

The flats create an amazing and fascinating world. These areas of seemingly endless shallow water, which are still so abundant with food for the bonefish.

via Life is good – A photo-journey through the world of bonefishing – Global FlyFisher.


02
Feb 11

Going to Andros

Yeah… I’m not ready for Hollywood, but these little videos are fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6o6vd2bbmY?fs=1&hl=en_US


01
Feb 11

Interview with John Pinto, Mayaguana, Bahamas.

Maybe you’ve heard of Mayaguana, maybe you haven’t.  It’s in the Bahamas but without the acclaim of Andros or the population of Grand Bahama.  It hasn’t been on the TV like Abaco and doesn’t have the DIY repuation of Eleuthra.  The place only has something like 312 people living there, but what it does have is some pretty intriguing bonefishing.  You, a canoe and some double digit bonefish.  Sound interesting?  If it does, you might want to talk to John Pinto who has been fishing there for about 13 years.  I sent John some questions about fishing there and about the bullet that Mayaguana appears to have dodged.  Here are his responses.

John, Mayaguana seems, for me at least, really far away and very hard to get to.  What is the reality of getting to and from Mayaguana and why should the bonefish angler put Mayaguana on their list of places to check out?

Mayaguana is easy to get to/from.  Bahamasair offers three scheduled flights per week (M-W-F) from Nassau to Great Inagua/Mayaguana.  There is a large Morton Salt operation on Great Inagua therefore the American executives need to fly back and forth on a regular basis so Bahamasair looks after that flight.  There will be forty passengers on the flight and 33 get off/on at Great Inagua.  The 7 who get off at Mayaguana is usually my group of anglers.

Mayaguana offers the best wade fishing opportunity for really large bonefish.  It remains the closest thing to real “virgin fishing” left in the Bahamas.  Stalking ten pound tailing bonefish is typically Mayaguanian fishing.  We do it by wading or by canoe.

Is there a fish from Mayaguana that stands out in your memory?

I had an angler from Bakersfield, California there one time and his dream was to catch a tailing bonefish.  He had a week of mishaps, had everything go wrong and I began to think he simply had a black cloud over his head.  He and I went out one morning way before sun-up, the flat was like an oil slick and there were tailing/cruising fish everywhere.  We stopped the canoe and got out, he grabbed his rod, turned around and there was a tailing fish working right to us.  I held the canoe, we knelt down and I told him to put the fly in front of the fish.  By this time the fish had closed to about twenty feet and I’m screaming for him to cast.  From a kneeling position he basically cast nothing but leader, the fly plopped down in front of the oncoming fish and he inhaled it.  This seven pound fish did everything as advertised, made two great runs and really put on a show before surrendering.  I remember this fish because I have never seen an angler so happy about his first bonefish.  At least seventy-five photos then followed the successful landing.

With so few people around, is there anyone on Mayaguana you don’t know?

I’ve been traveling to Mayaguana for over thirteen years now.  I make it a point to meet and greet everyone and like to think I know most of the inhabitants.  I support the island the best I can and I’ll still run into somebody at an island event, gathering or fund raiser who I truly don’t know and they’ll say, “Hi John.  How’s the bonefishin’?”

How often do you run out of Kalik on the island (now that may be the most important question of all!)?

In thirteen years we ran out of Kalik just once.  The mail boat had broken down and the island was rapidly running out of everything including every brand of beer.  Kalik is by far the most popular beer and is my favorite beer in the Bahamas.

There's John with a Mayaguana Bone.

I saw you mention the halting of the Mayaguana Development project.  Over-development seems to be the major threat facing Bahamian Bones these days. Outline what that project would have meant for Mayaguana.

I think the development would have changed the entire face of Mayaguana.  There are not that many Bahamians on Mayaguana to begin with and they could conceivably become outnumbered by white Americans and Europeans in a short time.  The development claimed it would create jobs for the Mayaguanians but I question what kind of jobs and how many.  I think there would have definitely become a major caste system on the island between the locals and the landed gentry had the development been completed as planned.  I was also concerned about the increased number of people who would have built homes there near the beaches and bonefishing areas.  My greatest fear was finding the children of these new islanders racing around Curtis Creek on jet skis and altering the behavioral patterns of the bonefish.

What’s your go-to rod/reel for bonefish these days?

I prefer a 9-ft 8-wt 4-pc Stealth Bomber fly rod which are distributed throughout South Africa by David Levene Agencies.  I use a Bauer M4 fly reel and Sci Angler fly lines.

Is there something you’ve seen on Mayaguana that you haven’t seen anywhere else?

Yes, the behavior of the bonefish in Curtis Creek on  Mayaguana.  Very large bonefish (10 to 12 pounders) will enter the creek system or hang over through the tide change and lay in the seams of the channels perfectly still.  I know this because we almost canoe over them before they spook and scare the hell out of us.  Over the years I know where these “lies” are and carefully work my way to them look for just a glint of a tail or fin.  Very strange behavior that I have not found on any other island.  Makes for some very challenging fishing.

Thanks John… sounds very, very interesting.