This story came up in my Google alert last week.Bonefishing: Yeah, So, Not That Hard
It is over on Hatch Magazine’s blog. Here’s a taste.
Am I saying that it is untrue that catching some bonefish requires you to be able to drop a 70 or 80 foot cast on a dinner plate? No. I’m saying that catching many a bonefish doesn’t. I’ve caught bonefish at 60 feet while fighting a nasty crosswind but I’ve also caught bonefish with a roll cast at 15 feet.
The point is simple and one I agree with. You don’t need to be an expert to catch a bonefish and you shouldn’t hold off on doing it just because you can’t drop a 70′ cast in a coffee cup in a 20 mph wind.
True.
The piece says you don’t need to perfect your double haul, but then, later, goes on to admit that working on your casting is a pretty good idea. And it is. Don’t travel all the way to catch a bonefish without at least spending a little time on that cast. That just doesn’t make sense.
Can you catch a bonefish with no double haul? Yes. Yes you can. However… the guide will have many, many more shots at fish requiring some form of double haul. You probably don’t want to travel 2,000 miles just to throw into muds all day.
- Oh… that’s not good.
It is OK if you aren’t great with your double haul, but at least try. Sucking at something is the first step in becoming good at it, but you don’t get better without putting in time.
There are certainly some easy bonefish a good guide can find for you. The other side of that is a bad guide might not be able to find you any fish, easy or hard.
Here’s the part of this I really agree with… if you want to catch a bonefish (and you should, it is awesome), go and do it. Book the flight, get the guide, and get after it.
- Casting… work on it.
PS – Here’s the thing… a double haul will make you a better trout fisherman, better bass fisherman, better carp fisherman, better angler. You should learn that skill regardless of what you fish for.
Also, while we are at it… learn to spey cast. A spey cast, even a single handed spey cast, will make you a better angler. It isn’t just for steelhead. I’m not saying it is for bonefish, but it is a solid skill to put in your tool box.
