Let the Games Begin or Gone Fishing

I'll try to put up a few posts this week. I'm off and on my way to writer's week at the Long Island Bonefish Lodge. It should be a great week of bonefishing.

I'm at the airport now en route to Nassau. Apparently it is spring break so, in a strange twist of events, I'm actually raising the median age of the passengers on this flight by what 15 years.

Stay tuned for some posts this week!

Bonefish Travel Series: Simplicity

On a previous trip, I wrote a travel series prepping for my trip.  I shared various gear and equipment that I use including some of my favorite things.  This time, its been a little bit more difficult to write about gear.  I feel like this time around, I pretty much have what I need and have had it for some time.  This trip has been more about getting old gear up to speed.  Some fresh new Rio Bonefish lines, in an 8 wt and 9 wt on my reels.  A couple new flats shirts so I look like I know what I'm doing.  Finally, a few new leaders, but not a lot of new gear.

I debated getting a new pair of fancy flats boots, and even tried on a pair.  But they felt a bit heavy to me so I'm going to stick with my old Orvis pair.  I think in a perfect world, we could wade barefoot for bonefish.  But the risk of stepping on something sharp like coral or an urchin, or even a stingray, makes a wading boot necessary.

Flies won't be in short supply.  I love to tie and saltwater flies are a lot of fun to create.  They are bigger of course, and use a lot of psychedelic colors which help me picture Margaritaville even if I'm not there.

Here's the goods.  Ready to go.  

I still have some favorite gear.  I wouldn't be caught dead on the flats without my Costa 580's.  And I prefer the smooth cork drag of my Tibor and Abel to that of the new fancy space-age stuff. Gotta have a camera and my little Olympus 850 waterproof has held up pretty good.  I also highly recommend the Orvis carry-it-all .  I've had good results with it.

Who wouldn't want a new fly rod?  Each year one of the companies comes out with a better rod.  I guess this year Sage has the "One."  I still have my eye on an 8 wt Scott S4S, but will probably wait a bit longer to pick one up.  It's a great stick and probably worth the price, but it still costs a pretty penny.

My interview with Brian O'Keefe was pretty inspiring.  He's long been a fly fishing hero of mine, so when I had the chance to interview him, I was a bit nervous because what if he didn't live up to the hype?   But he did and was super cool.  He also seems to have a great philosophy on fishing trips, which is more about enjoying the ride than overloading on gear.

So that's what I'm going to focus on for this travel series.  Me versus the bonefish.  A few days away from the real world to focus on the flats, the bonefish, and the adventure of travel.  Time to enjoy the ride.

Bonefish Travel Series: The Black Fly Buff

The flat's are a hot place.  And when we get a chance to get out there and stalk a few bonefish, it's always fun to wear a buff and look like a bandit.  For my birthday earlier this year, I got a great new buff that will really help me to pull off that "stick um up, bonefish" look.

Vaughn Cochran's Black Fly design is super cool, and makes for a really cool buff.  Can't wait to sport this baby on the flats... or wherever I'm fishing.

The Black Fly Buff

  

The Fly Thought

It's almost go time on The Bonefish Flat.  I'm less than a week away from the sunny Bahamian waters of Long Island.  As I'm preparing for my trip, I was going through some notes earlier today and came across four fly thoughts that I had written down.  

What's a fly thought you ask? I got it from my old days playing golf where you try to boil down all the thoughts and components you might have on your golf swing into one takeaway thought when you are trying to hit the ball.  In saltwater fly fishing, there are lots of things to think about when you're casting to a fish.  Wind. Where is the fish? The backcast. The forward cast. The Double haul. And the list goes on.  Throw a bonefish in front of you and even the best angler can blow a cast with a case of buck fever.  The fly thought boils it all down into one thing to think about to avoid blowing your shot at the fish.

So the fly thoughts I came up with are:

1.  See the Fish -  Keep looking hard for that fish to appear and keep your eyes on him, what he's doing                and where he's going.

2.  Smooth and steady- Take your time and make the cast.

3. Lead the fish - Ask your guide how far to cast in front of the fish.  If you're fishing by yourself, start with about 5 feet.

4. Aim High - Shoot the fly above the water so that it drops softly 

I think for this trip, I'm going to keep it even more simple.  Be the fly, Danny...Na na na na na na na na na!!

Bonefish Travel Series: Fly Time

It's back, folks.  In about two weeks I'm headed to Long Island in the Bahamas to stalk, hunt, and catch my favorite fish, the bonefish.  That means it's time to bring back the bonefish travel series.  I'm going to take a few posts here to let you know how I get ready for a trip.  If you haven't checked out my travel checklist, take a look here.  This list is constantly evolving, so keep an eye on it for updates.  

I've never been to Long Island which is as far south as Cuba, so this will be quite an adventure.  I'm going to be fishing out of a new lodge with several other writers as we get together to fish, share tips, and take part of a new type of fishing adventure.  

Deadman's Cay is where the action will be.

So how am I getting ready for this epic journey?  I've been tying flies like crazy.  Crab's, gotchas, bunny gotchas, a few new inventions which I will reveal after the trip (let's see if they work, first), and variations of all of these are on the menu.  

Gotcha, with a few adjectives, as Brian O'Keefe would say.  

More to come on some of the essential's as I get ready to go fishing.  If you have a piece of gear that is a "must have," drop a comment below.  If you are a company and would like me to write a review, drop me an email at bonefishflat@gmail.com.

Capt. Drew Delashmit in This is Fly

My favorite Florida Keys Captain has an article in the latest issue of This is Fly.  It's all about winter Tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys and catching that first tarpon of the season.  It's good to know that your guide still gets excited about a day off fishing for Tarpon.

Several years ago, Drew guided me to my first (and only) permit on fly.  We haven't fished together in several years, but I'm looking to change that this year.  Hopefully he will put me on my first Tarpon later in the year, but more on that to come.

Me and Capt. Drew and a Marquesa Permit

First, the Bonefish Flat is gonna take a detour down south.  Way south.  To land a few bonefish and shake the shack nasties.

Crabs and Coffee

Worked at the vise last night and came up with a few Merkins and a few of Greg's Flats Flys, with my own twist.




This morning I'm just pondering crabs, bonefish, and my coffee.