Nicole Ralston on the Costa 2-Fly

Before I headed out fishing, I had a chance to talk to Nicole Ralston of Costa Del Mar about Costa Del Mar’s 2-Fly tournament. The event is part of the 2010 Teva Mountain Games and will be held on Saturday and Sunday June 5 and 6 in Vail, Colorado and sounds like a fantastic time.

The event is open to 80 anglers. Saturday morning will consist of a skills competition focused on accuracy and target casting. Saturday afternoon will be more casting competition to narrow the field down to the top 8 men and 2 women.

On Sunday, the finalists will compete for a grand prize of $1,000. According to Costa, “The Finals will consist of a timed float trip on a yet-to-be-named river with two competitors per boat, five boats total. Anglers will be able to use two fly patterns and winners will be awarded based on quantity or size of their catch. The location will be determined based on river conditions and announced the morning of the competition.”

Besides the 2-fly event, the Teva Mountain games will feature live music from Julian Marley and a film festival featuring, among others, the very cool film Currents of Belize.

Nicole also said that Abbie Mairin and Lincoln Westby, both featured in the Currents of Belize film, are slated to compete in the competition this year. This should be an interesting competition for them since they are used to fly fishing in the salt waters of Belize.

Unfortunately I’m tied-up with a work commitment during this weekend, but it’s definitely worth a trip to Colorado for this event if you can make.

Jonesin' For the Pull Part 3

Yesterday taught us a lesson. Fish hard until you go home because the best fish of the day can come in the last five minutes of the day. Besides, it could be 30 minutes or 30 seconds before you see your next fish. You have to stay at it.

Stanley had his tea and he was ready. We headed out in the truck with the Dolphin skiff in tow. We went to the same launch site and headed out.

My dad started fishing with Stan Man and I headed out on a different course. After about 15 minutes, I spotted 3 bones coming at me but they refused the fly. I noticed that my dad and Stan Man weren’t casting, which means they weren’t seeing fish either. The spot looked fishy and we saw feeding spots where bones had been feeding recently, but no fish.

We met up and headed out again to another flat. This time I was more confident. I had seen three fish and the wind was down. Again, dad and Stan Man headed out and I took a path along the mangroves. Sure enough, 5 minutes after getting into position, I saw a bone. I made my cast, stripped once, and fish on.

This was an important fish for me because although he wasn’t huge, it was the first bone I saw, cast to, and caught by myself. That’s a good feeling.

I continued hunting the bones down the mangrove shoreline when I heard a splash in the next cove or creek. I waded slowly and surely focusing on where I heard the noise. Sure enough, tailing bonefish right around the corner where I heard the noise and where I thought I would find fish. I cast once, stripped, and set the hook. Fish on!

The rest of the morning went this way. I caught four bones total and had blew about three more shots. But I had my confidence.

We then found a creek where the tide was going out and had a chance to walk in looking for fish leaving the flat for deeper water. This time Stan Man came with me. We found a single working his way right toward us. I made the cast and hooked what would be my biggest bone of the trip. A 7 ½ lbs. fish that made a screaming run tearing line and then backing off my reel. By this point, I was able to switch to my 8 weight because the wind was down. This means I was fishing my Tibor so I could hear that famous Tibor "song."

Not soon after landing and releasing the fish, a five foot shark was making his way up the channel right toward Stan Man and I. “Don’t move,” said Stan Man. I stood still and thought the fish would swim between Stan and I when Stan suddenly stomped his foot about two feet from the shark.

The shark darted off. I looked at Stan Man. “Nurse shark,” I asked. “No mon. Dat’s a blacktip. Dems a mean shark mon.”

I nabbed one more bone that day for a total of six fish. Dad ended up with five plus a really nice one he caught with Stan Man.

Epilogue

What a great trip! The wind the first two days made the fishing really tough. But what we lacked in numbers, we made up for with big fish. I also feel like I learned a lot about the bonefish game. Wading with Stan Man allowed me to start seeing fish myself and to learn how to play the fish and make the hook-up.

Even better, I had a great trip with my dad and we had a lot of fun together.

And yes, as I write this, I’m jonesin’ to catch another bonefish. As I rode home from work today on the bus, I couldn’t help but think about the grey ghost hiding next to the mangrove and making a cast, one strip, and the set followed by that famous bonefish pull which will show you your backing.

The fisherman in the airport was right. “They just don’t understand these fish at home.”

Jonesin’ For the Pull: Grand Bahamas Bonefishing Report 2010

Introduction

Perhaps the best way to describe bonefishing is how it was described to me by a fellow angler that I ran into waiting for my flight home at Grand Bahamas airport. “People at home just don’t understand it,” he said. He was referring to the whole bonefish experience. The hunt, the take, the pull, the fight, and the release. “I don’t even want to go fishing when I get home,” he added. “It’s just not the same.” This is coming from a guy who gets to do a lot of sight casting to redfish in Texas.

Day 1

My dad and I arrived at Grand Bahamas around 11:30 and rented a car to do a little exploring on our own. The car was a Chinese Cherri which is a total heep and but all we needed to cruise around for a bit. We drove to Fortune Beach and did some wading and exploring. What a beautiful beach.

Fortune Beach is a public beach about 5 or 10 miles from Our Lucaya, where we stayed. I think we ran into about 5 people while walking the beach and wading the crystal clear waters.

We didn’t see any fish, but that was OK. It’s hard to find bonefish on your own and with the tide being out, it’s even harder.

For dinner, we hit the famous Wednesday night fish fry at Smiths Point. Ton’s of locals and tourists mix together for fresh caught snapper, conch fritters, and cold libations. It’s definitely worth checking out as locals fry up the fish on the beach. There’s local music (via a DJ) and dancing.

Day 2

We woke up a bit groggy from the fish fry, but ready to go. We could tell that it was going to be a windy day and that’s not good for fly fishing. A little wind is OK. It can cover up a few mistakes. But a lot of wind makes the water choppy and then, consequently, it’s tough to see the fish.

Captain Perry Demeritte picked us up at Pelican Bay at 7:00. Perry fishes out of McLean’s Town which is a world away from the tourist center of Our Lucaya. The ride out gives you an opportunity to decompress and start thinking about your day.

At the McLean’s town dock, we ran into several other groups of anglers. We also saw lots of locals on their way to Abaco. One local was smoking a Bob Marley behind the entrance to the dock. I’m sure for medicinal purposes.

Perry dropped us off and went to get his boat. He picked us up at the dock and we were off. He was able to fish an area that was a little out of the wind. Fishing first thing in the morning is always tough. The sun isn’t fully up so it’s harder to see the fish. I was first up on the deck and we were on the hunt for a while but Perry finally spotted one and I was able to hook up with a really nice fish. Man is it great to hook into that first bonefish. The reel screaming and fish pulling, I found what I was looking for. The bonefish jones was answered.

We continued the trip and hooked up with several fish. The windy conditions made it tough. There were several fish where I could only get 40 feet out and the fish was at 50. That’s always frustrating.

Later in the day, I had a chance to do some wading and my dad stayed on the boat. Wading for bonefish is a different game. I’ll talk about this a little bit more later.

Needless to say these were the highlights. On the way back to the dock, Perry tried one more flat just outside of McLean’s Town. Unfortunately, the wind was just too tough. Dad and I had each landed about 5 fish which was pretty good considering conditions.

The Bonefish Flat is Back!!

Got in late yesterday afternoon after a great fishing trip. In fact, it was the best trip I've ever had. My dad and I had a chance to fish three days on Grand Bahamas and we caught some truly great fish.

I'm working on a trip report for this week. The fishing was tough. The conditions were really windy and partly cloudy meaning we really earned every fish we caught. The number of fish we caught was down, but the quality was up. I don't think we caught a small bone the entire trip.

It was just great to be fishing with my dad, too. It doesn't get any better than that.

Here's a few pics to hold you over until I get a full report up.

Gone Fishin'

In the airport now en route to Miami. From there, a short hop to Grand Bahamas.

Looks like good weather but a tad windy.

I'll try to post an update or two, but if I can't/don't, everyone have a great week.

Chaos

Here's the seen as I try to get my gear together for the trip.



I'm leaving in just 48 hours. Last night I cleaned 2 fly lines. I always wash mine with Dreft detergent and water, rinse, and then apply Glide.

I had a tough time finding my flats boots, but low and behold they were right where I put them.

Weather is looking bright and sunny. Hopefully the wind will be OK.

Gotta run.

Friday Flats Fiction

As I sit in my chair looking out the window, I wonder about what life is like to be a saltwater fishing guide. Here's a glimpse of my thought:

It's 4:00 PM at night and I just dropped off my clients at the hotel and am trailering my boat back to my house in the keys. I get home and wash the boat and spend some time eating dinner with the kids. Once the kids are in bed, I start working on my gear. I tie up a few tarpon leaders for tomorrow and I get my rods and reels washed with some fresh water. I may even tie up a fresh fly or two. Probably a toad. I'm tired, so I crash.

It's 6:00 AM and I roll out of bed, grab coffee and hop in the car. It's time to do it all over again. As I drive to the launch, I look out the window and see a gorgeous pink sunrise. I'm a little sore from poling the boat into the wind yesterday, but my excitement builds.

I launch the boat and head out to pick up the days clients at the marina. I see myself driving my boat with a big smile on my face. It's 7:00 AM, I'm in a skiff, and I'm going tarpon fishing.

I hope you're going fishing today. Happy weekend from The Bonefish Flat.