Envy

I was going to call this post Jealousy, but that's not a really good word.  I'm not sure envy is any better, but when I think of jealousy, I think of wanting what someone else has and wishing they didn't have it.  When I think of envy, I think I wish I had that, but good for them for having it.

I'm envious of Bjorn over at Bonefish on the Brain.  He is getting ready to go to Cuba on what is going to be a fantastic expedition.  He's going as part of a group led by Yellow Dog Flyfishing. On his blog, he's been busy getting rods, reels, and flies ready to go.

Bjorn's Tying Flies from Bonefish on the Brain

For my last trip I must have tied 30 new flies.  I used three.

Bjorn, two things:
1.  Bonefish on the Brain and The Bonefish Flat MUST get together sometime to go bonefishing.
2.  Have the trip of a lifetime.  We are all anxiously awaiting the reports.

Girls Guide to Bonefishing

I came across this blog posting by Maria Rodale on the Huffington Post detailing a beginners trip bonefishing.  By day, Ms. Rodale is Chairman and CEO of the largest independent publisher in America.

This posting is a great read because it's a very different perspective on chasing the gray ghost.  She had a younger daughter along so it was neat to get a parents perspective on flats fishing.  Her desire to go flats fishing was born from, you guessed it, a Garden and Gun article on bonefishing.

Photo from Rodale's blog.

Check it out here.

Ted "Tibor" Juracsik in the New Garden & Gun

Garden & Gun is one of the best magazines out there.  It's one of about three that I really regularly read.  No it's not all fly fishing, but it tends to have a good amount of fly fishing in it along with other southern fried fun.  So it was a good thing when I opened up the mailbox today to find the April/May 2012 edition (I also got my credit card bill, so this helped to take some of the sting out of that).

April/May 2012 edition of Garden & Gun

The latest issue has a big spread on Ted Juracsik.  You might know Mr. Juracsik better by his nickname "Tibor," as in Tibor reels.  I know I did a post a few weeks ago about simplicity, but I'm a big time sucker for fly reels.  I marvel at how a reel with a good drag can stop a bonefish racing like a car that just robbed a bank.  Tibor, in my opinion, is the best reel out there. Besides being an absolute thing of beauty, it has a cork drag that stops a fish and Tibor has more world records than any other fly reel.  I've found that all the old Florida salts prefer the cork drag, so that's what I'm going to stick with.

What a story.

The story in Garden & Gun reads like a great cold war thriller.  Juracsik was a Hungarian refugee who was forced to flee his country to America.  He's a genuine American success story and built a successful business from the ground up. One thing that is troubling in the article is when Jurascik mentions he tried to create a trout reel for under $150.  He said he basically couldn't do it because of competition from Chinese manufacturers.

The writing in Garden & Gun is really top notch.  David DiBenedetto is the Editor and Chief and he wrote On the Run about the stripped bass migration on the East Coast.  It's a fantastic read.

Crack Da' Conch

While it's always important to practice good catch and release methods with bonefish, permit, and tarpon, I'm not going to release conch.  This marine gastropod molluscs is actually in the snail family and is the second most popular snail to eat after escargot.

Oh, conch, how do I love thee?  Let Bubba count the ways: conch fritters, conch salad, cracked conch...I'm not sure what else there is, but I would try it.  Have you ever wondered how you get these critters to come out of there shells?

I got to try my hand at it and it took me quite a bit longer than Leonardo here.

Deeter's Playing the Breeze

Great article on Midcurrent from Kirk Deeter here about casting in the wind.  This article is great for two reasons:

1.   I've decided that fly fishing on the flats is always windy.  You know those pictures of a slick as glass flat you see in the magazines?  They don't exist.  Wind is tough, but it covers up mistakes so learn to live with it and you'll catch more fish.

2.  You might be saying, "Man this guy sure griped a lot about the wind on his last trip."  See, it wasn't just me who said it was windy.

Little windy out there, dog.

Long Island Bonefishing Report March 4-9, 2012

I travelled to Long Island, Bahamas on March 4-9 as part of a writer’s week hosted by the Long Island Bonefish Lodge.  The conditions were tough, but my new friend Glenn Pittard from Midcurrent had the best perspective on the elements.  He said,

Travelling anglers have to play the hand they are dealt.  If you’re fishing at home and the weather is bad, you can go fishing another day.  When you’ve travelled and have a set time to fish, you have to go fishing.

Long Island, Bahamas.

I arrived on Sunday, March 4 to weather that was postcard perfect.  Hot sun and a cool breeze spelled a great week ahead.  Several of us even did some bonefishing on the flats near the lodge.  Sitting on a plane for a few hours coupled with the thought that bonefish are swimming outside your front door calls people like us to ation.  We really didn’t know the tides so we wanted to scout the area.  I was thinking, “How cool would it be to leave Washington, D.C. in the morning and catch a Long Island Bonefish before dinner?”

Bonefishing before dinner.

March 5

I woke up early with great expectations. From my bed I looked out the window for more of those postcard skies.  Instead, wind gusts made the palm trees sway back and forth against the gray sky. My first bonefishing trip looked like this and I knew it didn’t look good, but I also came to fish and didn’t plan on wasting a minute worrying about weather.  It would clear up and blow out, right?  I got my flats gear on, slathered up the sunscreen, and met my fellow comrades around 6:00 for a cup-of-joe.

In the lodge, Pinky informed the group that the wind was going to be blowing steady all day and that it was going to do so until Thursday.  My optimism told me that a cold front would only last a day or so and that today might be tough, but I had plenty of time.  We ate breakfast and walked out to the boats where we split up, braved the elements, and went bonefishing. 

Once out on the flat, I quickly saw a fish. But… my quarry swam upwind into what felt like a 20 mph wind.  I took a shot but the wind grabbed my line and pulled the fly way off target, and the fish spooked.  Even though I missed, I still felt confident because I was seeing fish.  If you’ve done this before, you know that’s not always easy. 

My boat had two fellow anglers.  Pinky, our guide, waded with me while Rod Hamilton (DIY Flats Fishing) and Don Causey (Angling Report) waded together. 

Pinky quickly spotted another fish for me, but he was headed away from me. I paused hoping he would come back.  But as bonefish will do, he slowly worked his way away from me up the shoreline.  With no real shot, that was the last fish I would see that day.  The clouds continued to role in and the wind picked up.  By the end of the day, we were facing 30 mph winds.


Rod spotted a fish early for Don which lead to a good hookup.  Back at the lodge, a few guys had caught fish but most of us were left with anticipation for tomorrow.  

March 6

Woke up again to gray skies and more wind.  (Are you getting the pattern yet?)  Today, Pinky had a new plan. We headed south by way of a van with a trailer full of kayaks to fish more secluded and protected flats.

The area we were fishing was really an elaborate maze of canals, roads, and flats that had been used as part of an aquaculture endeavor.  The plan was to raise red drum and shrimp and use them for food.  The project didn’t work out, but instead resulted in an area with protected bonefish flats and canals full of baby tarpon.

One spot held rolling baby tarpon of a decent size.  Several of us made a few casts at the tarpon, but nothing bit. A couple of us made our way around the canal that eventually flowed to the beach.  The beach was beautiful and just like you imagine in those commercials you see all winter, but still the wind howled. 

Beach on Long Island.  Notice the gray sky.

We headed back to the canals where a few of the guys had luck with some juvenile tarpon next to an old lock.  A perfect way to save an otherwise fishless day.  And, now I can say I’m a tarpon fisherman, right?  I will say that for such small fish, these little tarpon still jumped three feet out of the air when hooked.  This is a really neat thing to see. 

Don't Laugh.  In 30 year's he'll be a monster.

The day was tough and the wind kept up along with occasional rain.  We fished until about 3:00 and headed back to the lodge.

March 7

Today the sun was out, but the wind still blew at strong clip.  I was optimistic.  Wind, rain, and clouds are next to impossible.  But a little sun, I thought, just might save the day.  We started the day by fishing a few new flats near the lodge while the rest of the group travelled back to the flats we fished the day before. I had two days left so I wanted to be on more traditional bonefish flats as much as possible.  I figured that by staying close, it would give me more fish-time which might increase my odds. When I say new flats, there are literally countless flats in the Deadman’s Cay area, so you could fish here a month and never be in the same place.

Around mid-morning I waded a flat near the lodge that was divided by a creek flowing onto the bigger flat. I finally saw a bonefish moving my way.  I made a cast and watched him charge my fly.  Strip…strip…and game on.  The fish made a great run and I fought him quickly and landed my bonefish.  We continued fishing, but the wind was a constant 20-25 mph.  It was darn tough to see anything.

Me and my bonefish.

Around 4:00 the conditions were just too tough.  We called it a day and headed back to the lodge for conch fritters and cold Kalik.  Finally I had a fish story to tell. 

March 8

Final day and the sun was out again.  The weather seemed like we might get a break.  Three of us headed out early with Leonardo, dubbed D-Cap by Tom Bie of the Drake, to try and catch a good tide.  You have to be careful with nicknames in the Bahamas.  They tend to stick around.  Just ask Pinky. 

It turned out that the tides weren’t quite right and we ended up on a flat at high tide.  In this case it meant the fish were smack in the middle of the mangroves.  And then, of course, clouds moved in and out and a rain cloud came up. 

My rain jacket was in the boat where I’m sure it kept the boat really dry.  Myself, on the other hand, got soaked without it.  To think, I almost left that jacket at home.  Let that be a lesson for you all!

D-Cap moved us around to another flat where we saw nothing happening.  This flat was spectacularly beautiful but with the consistency of quicksand.  Each step sucked your leg down to the knee.  It would have been perfect for a super skinny Hell’s Bay skiff.  But alas, we slogged and didn’t see any fish.  Then it started raining so we headed to the boat and headed out.  

This time D-Cap wanted to make a side trip.  “We need conch for dinner so I’m gonna go dive for conch in the ocean.”  I’m a huge fan of conch, and the fishing just wasn’t happening, so it was really cool to actually go get our conch.  D-Cap dived for the conch and we ended up grabbing a few out of shallow water. 

Leonardo "D-Cap" diving for conch.

Don with a big conch.  You gonna eat that?

We tried another flat but the wind was an honest 30 mph.  In addition, the blowing wind all week had churned up the flats from gin clear to more of a turquoise cloud.  We weren’t going to catch anything, so it was time to head to the lodge and crack the conch.  D-Cap schooled me in the fine art of conch cracking and then was kind enough to make conch salad.  Man, that stuff is so good.  Washed down with a cold Kalik, it saved the day. 

Finished product.  Conch Salad

Conclusion:

The fishing was as tough as you’ll ever see during writer’s week.  One member of our group fished the week before and did catch a lot of fish.  I strongly believe that the flat’s of Deadman’s Cay are full of bonefish.  I also believe that our weather was out of the norm.  Although I would recommend going in April, May, or June.  

I play the percentages, and Long Island is far enough South that cold fronts are not usual.  Unfortunately, the weather this week just "blew" so we had to make the best of it. 

Long Island Bonefishing Club offers a unique lodge experience.  If you have a few trips under your belt, it’s a good way to save a few dollars and to elevate your bonefishing game.  Catching a bone while wading that you’ve spotted on your own is the next level in bonefishing. Long Island Bonefishing can help make this challenge a reality.  They help take the guesswork out of tides and provide boats to move you around the flats.  A task virtually impossible without local knowledge (and a boat). 

The food at the lodge and the accommodations are top notch.  In fact, I haven’t eaten that well for a whole week in a while. 

A big thank you to Nevin “Pinky” Knowles for hosting the trip and a big thank you to Rod Hamilton of DIY Flats Fishing for organizing the group and including me.  Even though the fishing was tough, the trip was truly memorable. 

Salty Shores Bahamas Bonefishing Video: Deadman's Cay Bonefish

My trip report will be out tomorrow.  For now, here is a cool video from Sam Root of Salty Shores.  Sam was one of the anglers on the trip to Long Island Bonefish Club.

Check out this video he took of one of the guys landing a bonefish.

Kirk Deeter's Take on Bahamas Bonefishing

Kirk Deeter was one of the other guys on the trip to Long Island, Bahamas to explore the DIY bonefishing at the Long Island Bonefishing Lodge.  He writes for Field and Stream and is the new Editor for Trout Magazine.

He's also an all around great guy and I hope our path's cross again some day.

Here is his take on the trip to Deadman's Cay.

I just returned from a remarkable bonefishing trip in the Bahamas--Long Island, to be specific. It's a stripped-down, do-it-yourself deal, involving big bonefish (a 5-pounder won't bat an eye), unspoiled flats that most people don't have the stamina to walk across in a week, let alone fully explore (I'm talking miles and miles of knee-deep water), great food and wonderful cultural experiences.

This is authentic island fishing. You feel your blood pressure drop the minute you get off the plane, and it doesn't tick up a blip until the moment you see a big tailer cruising your way. Check out longislandbonefishinglodge.com for more details on this upstart operation, run by Nevin "Pinky" Knowles, his brother Leo, and sister, Darlene.

Picture from Fly Talk, found here.

Bahamas Bonefishing: Long Island Bonefish Lodge Review

Last week I had the good fortune to participate in writer’s week at the Long Island Bonefish Lodge.  The lodge is located at Deadman’s Cay in the center of Long Island which is located due north of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and just south of Andros Island.  The island itself is about 80 miles long but only four miles at its widest point. 

The Long Island Bonefishing Lodge at Deadman's Cay

The week brought together eight different writers including reps from The Drake, Midcurrent, Field and Stream, Trout Unlimited, Salty Shores, the Angling Report, and DIY Flats Fishing. 

A BIG THANK YOU to our host, Nevin “Pinky” Knowles, brother Leo and sister Darlene (Darlene, I still think about those conch fritters you brought out every day at 5:00).    

Getting to Long Island from the East Coast is fairly easy.  I live in Washington, D.C. and took a direct flight from Reagan to Nassau.  Then it was a quick flight on a local Bahamian airline to Deadman’s Cay.  I left DCA at 8:30 and landed in paradise by 2:00 PM.  I flew Pineapple Air and it worked great.  Southern Air and Bahamas Air also service Deadmans. 

The Long Island Bonefish Lodge is a whole new bonefishing experience that I think those who have some experience under their belt would enjoy.  The lodge itself is located on what must be a hundred square miles of pristine bonefish flats.  It consists of three duplex style cottages that can hold eight anglers.  The main lodge is where you eat and stock up on Kalik at the end of the day. 

The fishing is assisted Do-It-Yourself.  Pinky has three brand new Mitzi Skiffs that take anglers out to productive flats.  The guide will drop the anglers and point them in the right direction where they wade and hunt fish.  Each group has a radio in case the flat is not productive or you have a problem.  You might wade for two hours or four.  The boat then meets you for lunch and takes you to another flat to coincide with tidal changes. 

Mitzi skiff's ready to take you fishing.

To be sure, this isn’t a place to take your first bonefish trip.  Seeing fish, learning how they react to a fly, and how to fight a bonefish are critical skills you need to have before any type of adventure like this.  However, once you feel like you can sight fish yourself, this is a great way to save some money as the prices are a lot less than a traditional lodge experience. 

The great thing about this lodge is that it takes a lot of guesswork out of traditional DIY.  While I can hold my own seeing fish and casting and landing them, understanding the tides on a flat is still really tough for me.  I understand the concepts, but unless you’re there all the time it’s tricky.  It’s also difficult to get to productive flats unless you have a boat.  Long Island Bonefishing Lodge solves these problems by putting the “assist” in DIY. 

Wading the flats. 

In addition to the flats at Deadman’s Cay, the lodge has several protected spots within driving distance that Pinky can transport you too.  They have kayaks, too, that are well suited for anglers to move around on the flats and to wind your way through the mangrove jungles to skinny water where the bonefish live. 

Finally, they offer a more traditional experience of fishing from the boat for an additional charge. 

Duplex style rooms

The lodge itself is a great place. The rooms are not only very clean, they are very comfortable, spacious, and well made.  The food?  Well, I honestly haven’t eaten that well in a long time.  Pinky does the cooking and served up grouper, lobster, hog snapper, and lots of conch.  And everyday at about 4:30 or 5 the conch fritters pour out of the kitchen.  It’s really a thing of beauty.  Lunch is made to order and you eat on the boat.  Breakfast is a hearty egg, bacon, or sausage affair with coffee being served beginning at 6:30. 

If you need a bonefish fix and want a great Out Island experience, there is no better place to head than the Long Island Bonefish Club.  If you go, tell Pinky The Bonefish Flat sent you.  And ask Darlene to send me some conch fritters.  

note:  The trip report will follow, but I wanted to get a lodge review out first.

Trip Report Out Tomorrow

I've been working on this trip from Long Island, Bahamas, but I'm not quite done.

I should have it ready for you tomorrow so you can take a Friday work break to check it out.

In the meantime, enjoy this photo from flats.

The sun is going down on the flat's at Deadman's Cay.

 

Tom Bie is The Drake: Interview with Tom Bie

The Drake is just getting started.- Tom Bie

During writer’s week at Long Island Bonefishing Club, I had the chance to spend some time with The Drake editor Tom Bie and he was kind enough to sit down and do an interview with me. 

In my opinion, The Drake is hand’s down the best fly fishing magazine available today.  If you have been fly fishing for any length of time, your magazine interests will eventually graduate to The Drake.  A lot of magazines focus on the how to.  The Drake assumes you're comfortable with a double haul or a slack line cast and instead of telling you where to go fish or how to fish, it focuses on good writing and top notch storytelling. 

Me and Tom Bie in Long Island, Bahamas

There's a lot to admire about Tom.  It becomes clear quickly that the guy loves to fish.  His passion for fly fishing is truly genuine.  I had a great time talking to him about fly fishing in general and about some of the places he’s travelled to and some of the things he’s done.  Tom has earned his stripes in the fly fishing world.  He started out as a fly fishing guide, began writing in smaller publications, and eventually started The Drake and built it into what we all love today.  The next issue has been finished and I was psyched to get a sneak preview. 

Tom is really in-tune with the fly fishing “world” and one thing I learned from him is how truly small that world is. For example, did you know that Tom officiated the wedding of Travis Rummel (of Felt Sole Media fame) and his wife Melissa at R.A. Beattie’s ranch?  Without going into too many details, he's was very candid with me about the ups and downs of the fly fishing business.  The whole conversation was a fascinating learning experience for me.   

The last few interviews on the Bonefish Flat have allowed me to talk to some people I really admire.  Tom Bie was no exception and this interview did not disappoint. 

When you started The Drake, did you envision it as mainly focused on trout fishing or more of an all inclusive fly fishing magazine (meaning saltwater, too)? 

I didn’t envision it lasting this long.  I really didn’t have a five year plan.  I looked at it as a local publication to start with.  I do think we do a good job of covering saltwater fly fishing.  Maybe 60-40?

What’s your favorite saltwater destination?  Where are you headed next?

Ascension Bay.  I like the variety of species available.  The quality of the guides and the ease of access make it a great destination.  After I leave here I’m headed up to Grand Bahamas for more bonefishing.

Who are some of the people you look up to in the fly fishing world?

David James Duncan. Tom McGuane. The Felt Sole Guys.

Who are your favorite writers?

David James Duncan, Monte Burke, McGuane, Ted Leeson, John Larison, Kirk Deeter.

I know you are heavily involved in the F3T Festival.  What are some of your favorite films?

The Felt Sole guys are putting out amazing stuff.  I also think that the guys from AEG had more talent than people gave them credit for.  Dave Teper for his creative and technical knowledge.  R.A. Beattie has really been a pioneer at the age of 23-24.  I would also say Dave Teper and Will Benson, both together and separately are doing some great stuff. 

Who are the up and coming guys in the world of saltwater fly fishing?  Both writers and fisherman. 

There are a lot of guys in Florida to look out for.  Will Benson, Drew Delashmitt, and David Mangum.  In Louisiana look out for Bryan Carter.  I’d also say Seth Vernon in North Carolina is doing some really cool stuff. 

Are all good writers big boozers?

With a sly grin on his face, he thought about this one for a minute.

I would say no, but there is an obvious connection.

What will The Drake look like in 10 years?

We are going to be more active digitally.  I like print, but for me it’s all about the quality of the writing.  If you think about it, Twitter didn’t even exist five years ago so things are changing fast.  I’d like to think that The Drake is just getting started. 

Do you read a lot of books and magazines outside of fly fishing?

I read the other magazines to check out the competition, but I mostly read things outside of the fly fishing world.  I go to bed every night reading the New Yorker.  I think pound for pound they have some of the most in depth and well written pieces out there.  For business news I read Fast Company.  I read Wired because I like their take on technology. 

You’re fishing Long Island for bonefish and the wind is blowing 30 mph all week.  Would you pick up a spinning rod?

NO!!

A big thank you to Tom for his willingness to sit down with me.  Hopefully our path’s will cross again someday and we can fish together again.  

Back to the Real World

The sun has set on writer's week in Long Island, Bahamas.  The weather was really challenging, to say the least.  In truth, I never really had a day that would produce many bonefish.  I really believe that the fish were there, but the wind never went below 15 mph and most times blew 20-30 mph.

The good news, and it was good news, is that the lodge and the food were outstanding.  The other writers on the trip were some of the top dogs in the fly fishing writer's world and I learned a lot.  I hope I can use it to take this Web site to the next level and to improve my writing in general.  At the very least, I made some great new friends from around the country and around the world.

Sunset on the flats at Deadman's Cay.

I'm working on the trip report now and I also nabbed a really cool interview from my new friend Tom Bie of The Drake magazine.  Look for these two pieces to come this week.  

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.