I've had a chance to check out a new Web site on Do-It-Yourself flyfishing called DIY Flats Fishing. It's a great site that has a lot of good information about DIY locations in the Bahamas. It also has some great travel checklists out there to get you ready for that next trip.
Flats fishing is a tough game, and DIY on the flats is tough. I always recommend going out with a guide the first time or two to get your fish eye's going and to help you tune-in your game. BUT... many folks want to go out on their own and this site will get you going.
Good luck and more on DIY flats fishing to come.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
New Toys for the Skinny Water
Really excited to try out my new Cliff Bugger Box Jr. and my new Rio Bonefish Fly Line. I've noticed you see a lot of guides using the bugger box. Everyone from the guys on drift boats to Florida Keys guides seem to be using these things. I can't wait to load it up with some Bonefish and Tarpon flies.
I'm also switching over from the SA Mastery Bonefish line to the Rio Bonefish line. Why? It's just time to try something different. SA seems to be headed in the direction of the textured line and I hear mixed reviews on that line. I haven't tried it out yet so I can't say for sure. I like the color and look of Rio and what they've put together.
More to come on the new line.
The Cliff Bugger and the Rio Bonefish line in the Bonefish Flat HQ.
I'm also switching over from the SA Mastery Bonefish line to the Rio Bonefish line. Why? It's just time to try something different. SA seems to be headed in the direction of the textured line and I hear mixed reviews on that line. I haven't tried it out yet so I can't say for sure. I like the color and look of Rio and what they've put together.
More to come on the new line.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Chesapeake Bay Rockin' and Rolling
So I mentioned in my last post that I had a chance to fish the Chesapeake Bay over Christmas.
Man, the Bay can get rough. I usually climb up on the bow and use the fly rod. Try double hauling in this!!
Man, the Bay can get rough. I usually climb up on the bow and use the fly rod. Try double hauling in this!!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Buccaneers and Bones or "Hey, I know that Guide"
So I'm watching the second episode of Buccaneers and Bones and the guide fishing with Tom Brokaw and Bill Klyn looks just like Capt. Perry Demeritte who I've fished with several times out of McLean Town on Grand Bahamas. My dad was watching the same episode and used the DVR to put him in slow motion and sure enough, written on his shirt was Capt. Perry. Glad to see he is still slaying bones in the Bahamas, I had noticed that his Web site now directs you to another outfitter.
Capt. Perry with a little bonefish, we were just getting started!!
Be sure to checkout out Buccaneers and Bones on the Outdoor Channel. It's as good as it has ever been and a great way to dream about the flats on a Saturday morning. And go get um Capt. Perry. The dude will put you on da fish.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2012: The Year of the Fish
Well, 2011 has come and gone. I tried to spare everyone a recap and a "look forward" addition of the Bonefish Flat because I know that was the talk of the web right after the New Year. But alas, it's good for the soul to reflect on the year gone by and what lies ahead.
To put it simply, 2011 was not real fishy. Seemed like mostly a lot of work. The Mrs. and I bought a new house and that seemed to take up most of the year. As a result, my yearly bonefishing trip got put off. You don't realize how much you miss bonefishing until you don't get to go (OK, maybe you do. Maybe we think about it all the time, but that's one for another blog post).
You might remember that I declared 2011 the year of the redfish. Unfortunately, I never got my redfish to hand but that will change. Maybe even this year. My one trip was to the outer banks of North Carolina and apparently there are no redfish there. There may be no fish there, at least none that were eating my flies. I had a good time nonetheless hanging out and spending time with my dad.
I did spend some time around the holidays and got into some trout fishing and some fishing the Chesapeake Bay. I managed to land a Thanksgiving trout on the famous Gunpowder River of Maryland, and that was a good thing. The bay "was angry that day, my friend" and we didn't land any fish. But it's always good to get out on the water.
To put it simply, 2011 was not real fishy. Seemed like mostly a lot of work. The Mrs. and I bought a new house and that seemed to take up most of the year. As a result, my yearly bonefishing trip got put off. You don't realize how much you miss bonefishing until you don't get to go (OK, maybe you do. Maybe we think about it all the time, but that's one for another blog post).
You might remember that I declared 2011 the year of the redfish. Unfortunately, I never got my redfish to hand but that will change. Maybe even this year. My one trip was to the outer banks of North Carolina and apparently there are no redfish there. There may be no fish there, at least none that were eating my flies. I had a good time nonetheless hanging out and spending time with my dad.
Should be Red's in there, right? Wrong.
Pops and I at the OBX.
I did spend some time around the holidays and got into some trout fishing and some fishing the Chesapeake Bay. I managed to land a Thanksgiving trout on the famous Gunpowder River of Maryland, and that was a good thing. The bay "was angry that day, my friend" and we didn't land any fish. But it's always good to get out on the water.
The target ship in the bay.
So what does 2012 have in store for the Bonefish Flat? I have a trip planned to the Keys for Tarpon and whatever else is biting down there. So am I ready to declare 2012 the year of the Tarpon? That didn't work so well with the redfish, so let's just all say that 2012 is the year of the fish, and let's all try to find our way out on the water for a few more trips and a few more trips. I'm also working on a special mystery trip that hopefully will come together soon, so be sure to stay tuned for more on that.
Other than that, I will try to put together another trip down south for redfish with my trusty old kayak. That might have to wait until later in the year.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Pic of the Week
Not salty, but yonder there are the Blue Ridge Mountains behind those barns. Some brookies in dem dere hills.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Thanksgiving Success on the Gunpowder River
It's taken me a while to get around to posting from last week, but I had two great days out on the water. And no, I wasn't on the flats, but on the trout streams. I fished the famous Gunpowder River near Baltimore, Maryland. The Gunpowder is famous for NOT being kind to me. I was about ready to give up on it but the wife let me go up there on Thanksgiving morning before having dinner with some family.
I finally had some success.
I finally had some success.
A respectable Brown from the Gunpowder.
On Saturday, I had a chance to go out again on the South River which is in Greene County, Virginia, near my home town of Culpeper. This is a stocked trout stream that is a "put and take." I have had crap all luck with stocked streams, but for some reason I keep putting myself through the torture of trying to catch a trout on one of these streams. My luck on the South would prove no better this go around. Even though the stream had just been stocked four days before, I didn't see, or spook, a single trout.
I emailed one of my good friends, Tom Sadler who writes the blog Dispatches from the Middle River, and is an all around great fisherman, to get his take on trout streams. He made me feel a lot better confirming my thought that the "locals" tend to fish out and harvest the majority of these trout as soon as they leave the truck. Next time, maybe I'll just go for a hike instead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)