Dolphin's on the Flat

It's early in the morning, the sun is just coming up. You back your skiff off the trailer as your best fishing buddy parks the truck. Soon you're motoring out of the inlet at low speed before turning the corner of the mangrove labryinth and now you're looking at the sun coming up from the ocean. Your hat is pulled down low and your Costa's are on, so when you pull up your sun mask, you now look like a full out bandit. You look over at your buddy and see his smile through the mask. Ready, you ask. Ready, he replies. You firmly hit the gas and in no time the skiff is up on plane heading out to your favorite flat to catch a big tarpon.

I don't have a boat...yet. But as you can tell, its definitely something I dream about. I've added Dolphin Skiff's to the gear section here because I've fished out of several of their boats and their reputation is flawless. Maybe there is a Dolphin in my future sometime.

Oldie, but goodie!

Simplicity

It's been a slow couple of months here on the Bonefish Flat and I'm sorry that I haven't gotten much new content out. As you get older, moving isn't about throwing a bed, dresser, and TV (and your fly gear) into the back of your truck and just going. Add in two kids and a wife and it's an all consuming thing.

Consequently, I haven't been fishing much. I have found a local pond in my new community and it's stocked with bass and sunfish. I've had the kids out several times and we've had some good success with the Zebco.





Last night I finally snuck out with my old 7 wt. and caught two good size sunfish on poppers right at dark.







View of the new "flat."

I am excited because now I have a garage and can keep my 7 wt. strung up with a box of poppers ready to go. This is fishing in it's most simple form. Grab the rod, throw it into the back of the truck, drive five minutes and go fishing.

So I'm finally trying to get back into my grove to do some fishing and write some blogs. As I was thinking about what to write last night, it occurred to me that for the last several years my New Years resolution has been to fish more. Each year I've failed miserably. So maybe I've turned a corner here and can get back on track.

The Traveling Fisherman

Why do so many of us like to travel "just" to go fishing? I live outside D.C., and it's not enough for me to pull a shad out of the Potomac, a smallie out of the Rappahanock, or a brookie out of the Rapidan. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy fishing for all these fish and do so every chance I get. But still I sit around dreaming of my next trip to the flats for bonefish. Currently I'm thinking about a redfishing trip to Charleston.

But it's not just me. Chances are if you are reading this you don't get to fish for your favorite fish species after work. Most of us don't live in the keys or right on the coast with a dock and a flats skiff in the backyard. Even guys who live in Miami or the keys travel to the Bahamas for more shots at bonefish.

Most of us take great joy in planning the details of our next trip. I know I do anyway. Right now I'm researching redfish flies and their recipes online, calling fly shops in Charleston, and consulting the great oracle better known as google for every bit of information I can get about how to score a red on fly. It's becoming an obsession. And you know, I think my general attitude on life is better when I've got a fishing trip planned.

So why aren't we content with that bass out of the local pond? Because they don't pull like a bonefish, that's why. On my last trip to the Bahamas, which seems like forever ago now, I met a fisherman from Texas who best summed it up. "They just don't understand," he said referring to people who have never had a bonefish tear off line in a violent burst of speed as the fish flees for it's life.

Steelheader's have a saying, "The swing is the thing, but the tug is the drug." They've got it right. The ferocious run of bright chrome must be similar to the bonefish.

So maybe that's why we travel, because the "tug is the drug." Maybe we travel because it gives us something to think about during the work week. Or maybe we are just seeking the next adventure to a new, unknown destination.

Whatever it is, we all will keep on traveling in search of bluer waters and bigger fish.

FIB Fest 2011

Deneki Fly Fishing lodges, which owns and operates four fishing lodges across the world, is currently holding the Fishing Industry Bloggers (FIB, pretty fitting acronym for a bunch of fisherman, huh!!) festival at its property on Andros Island in the Bahamas. It looks to be a great event with several of the leading fly fishing bloggers getting together to fish, chat, and post all of the excitement on twitter, facebook, and yes, the good ole' blog. 

Learn more about the event and participants, including our friend Bjorn over at bonefishonthebrain.com, here

  The FIB Fest office for the next week. 

Bonefishonthebrain pointed out this great bonefish photo from one of the participants blogs, MichaelGracie.com so be sure to check it out.  It'll give you a good laugh. 

It sounds like the folks are catching lots of bonefish and are in possession of plenty of cold Kalik so unless you're on the flats this week, lets sit back and live vicariously through the Fibbers. 

Stop Eating Wild Steelhead

What do Steelhead, the fish of a thousand casts have to do with the bonefish flat?  Remember, the flat is about all things salty and steelhead spend most of their lives at sea getting bigger.  Unfortunately, these great fish are in trouble.

I came across this site, called Stop Eating Wild Steelhead.  I really like the premise of the group.  It's a grassroots blog that started out as a Facebook site.  They have grown into a site that reports restaurants and stores that sell wild Steelhead.

I'm a big fan of true grassroots movements because I've seen the impact that they can have on our society.  Laws get changed, attitudes get changed when small groups of people who care get involved.

And why shouldn't you eat wild Steelhead?  Numbers of wild Steelhead are down dramatically and more research is needed to determine appropriate take limits.  According to the Web site:

In most rivers up and down the west coast, steelhead are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. On a few remaining rivers where they have not yet been listed, wild steelhead continue to be harvested even though these rivers are not meeting their escapement goals. No matter what marketing hype you may read, these fish are not of a self-sustaining population and we cannot afford to lose any more of them from our rivers.

We need science-based management for these fish.  And we need to stop selling the last of this valuable resource in fish markets and restaurants.  An effective means of doing so is to inform consumers so that they can make an educated decision to not purchase wild steelhead.

So check out the blog and stop eating wild Steelhead.  

Required Reading: Deneki's Bonefishing 101

A couple of weeks ago our friends at Deneki Outdoors put together a bonefishing 101 guide.  I get questions from time to time about how to go about fishing for my favorite fish and this guide is a great starting point. 

You can get it here.

I've finally gotten around to reading it and it does a great job laying the foundation for your next bonefish trip.  If you've been bonefishing before, this is a great refresher before you go on your next trip.  If you've never been on the flats before, this will get you ready with the basics of how to spot fish, casting, and what to expect. 

The flats can be a hectic place and one thing I learned from my days playing golf is to have one swing thought.  For the flats, it would be one fly thought.  Like golf, fly fishing has a lot of different moving parts when you are actually casting.  Flats fishing multiplies these things because you've got fish moving quickly, usually a very stiff wind in your face, and a guide behind you urging you on.  Trying to keep all the components of a perfect cast in your head can get confusing.  This is where keeping one thought in your head, your "fly thought," will help you better present the fly to the fish.  Bonefishing 101 gives you several good places to start for a fly thought and it will help you fish better. 

Monday Odds n' Ends

If you haven't checked out the latest online edition of Catch Magazine, then you've got to take a break today and give it a look.  The cover has an amazing shot of tarpon full out doing it's thing.  Also, Brian O'Keefe has a fabulous photo essay of, you guessed it, bonefishing in the Joulters which is located on Andros Island in the Bahamas.

You can always go to Catch Magazine in the links section of the Bonefish Flat.

And speaking of magazines, The Drake finally has a new issue out so be sure to head to your local fly shop or book store and pick up a copy.  My Drake ritual was to go to the Borders near my office and pick up a copy, but it recently closed down so I'll have to come up with a new way to get the magazine.  Maybe I'll just subscribe.

Finally, I'm starting to put together my summer trip for redfish.  I'm thinking of taking my kayak down to North or South Carolina and going after reds sometime probably in June.  If you have any suggestions on locations, tactics, or flies, shoot me an email at bonefishflat@gmail.com.  I'd love to hear from you.

Otherwise, I've been listening to the Itinerant Angler redfish podcast and checking out Capt. Seth Vernon's Web site here to get schooled on the finer points of catching a red.