Welcome to The Bonefish Flat

There's a stiff wind in your face as you squint in the sun trying to see what the guide sees. "Bonefish at 12 o'clock about 90 feet, do you see it, mon?" You don't and keep squinting, your hat pulled low to keep the sun out of your eyes. "Bonefish at 11 o'clock 70 feet out. Come on man, do you see it?" As the guide is calmly shifting the skiff into position, this time you spot the fish, "I got, it," you reply.

"OK, Mon, Bonefish 50 feet at 10 o'clock. Cast when you're ready."

Cast when you're ready. And with that you drop your fly, roll out a cast, false cast once, and then...

Welcome to the bonefish flat.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Dem Bones Ain't Cheap

...But, they do provide a significnt boost to the economy. My friend Tom Sadler over at Dispatches from the Middle River is trying to spread the word about how much we anglers spend on the outdoors and therefore how important it is to protect it. A new report out by the Outdoor Industry Association estimates that each year the outdoor industry:

  • Creates 6.1 million jobs
  • Generates $646 billion in consumer spending (talk about a stimulus)
  • Generates $39.9 billion in federal taxes
  • Generates 39.7 billion in state taxes.
Go ahead, you know you "need" a new one.
To make the case here for The Bonefish Flat, think about what you're going to drop on your next trip to the flats. $500 a day for a guide. $350 for a plane ticket. $150 a night for a hotel. I'm not even going to guess your bar tab and I'm sure not going to post how much you spent on your new Scott S4S with the Tibor reel with the engraved bonefish (because bling is important on the flats).

All that adds up to the fact that we anglers spend a heck of a lot on the sport we love. It would only make sense for the government to pass laws that provide us with both access to good fishing and good conservation laws to ensure there are fish to catch.

 

Posted by at 3:43 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)