There are a few places this happens. The best known is probably Robbie’s in the Keys. It also happens at the Sunset Lagoon café in San Pedro, Belize. I guess it also happens at Rum Runners in St. Croix in the USVI.
The USVI is not a bonefish destination, although they are there in limited numbers. If you find yourself out there, think tarpon instead.
Maybe you have heard of Mike Savlen, maybe you haven’t. You probably HAVE seen his work before. He is an artist and a damn fine one at that. Not only does he do paintings of all manner of fish from bonefish to tarpon, rooster fish, marlin, dorado, steelhead and stripers, he’ll paint YOUR fish… he offers a “Bragging Rights Portraits” which just look cooler than is reasonable.
I saw today that Mike recently went after bonefish with a fly for the first time. This amazes me because I love his paintings of bonefish which would lead me to believe he’s caught millions of them and is on a first name basis with the large majority of them. His first trip didn’t go well from a catching perspective, but the fishing was great.
He was in the US Virgin Islands, long known for the near total destruction of their bonefish fishery due to netting and habitat loss. Still, some fish are there and it is pretty with a backdrop of forested hills that you don’t get in the Bahamas.
Although I was told not to expect too much, I had packed my fly rod and felt it would be completely disrespectful if I simply left it in the case the whole trip.
