another odd bird who chases fish.

Bahamas

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I have lived in Miami for 34 years and have never been to the Bahamas. We are going to spend a week on Long Island, Bahamas with friends in the end of April. Yay for retirement!

Of course I have been thinking of bonefish. “Ghosts of the flats” are so ubiquitous and celebrated in the Bahamas that they are depicted on Bahamian currency.

I have caught a few bonefish around here, but most on spinning gear rather than fly. I’d rather catch one fish on the fly rod than five on a spinning rod. That’s about my rate for bonefish thus far.

To fly fish for bonefish in the Bahamas, the standard advice includes the same three components:
1) a rod and fly line that can cast into a stiff wind.
2) the ability to cast accurately into a stiff wind.
3) assorted flies that appeal to local bonefish.

A rod for the wind.
9-weight fly rods are basic wind-casting fare, ideally 4-piece for air travel. After a few weeks of looking, I found a suitable used 9wt advertised online, a 4-piece Sage X. Add money and stir. I already had the right line and reel for it. My light skeleton fares best casting rods 7wt and lighter, and definitely doesn’t appreciate the higher forces required by the fastest-action fly rods currently in vogue. Sage X is a previous model with more moderate action than Sage’s latest models. I have used the 8wt Sage X for bonefish, snook, juvenile tarpon, and jacks: it loads a titch slower than newer models and takes a little less force to accelerate. I broke my first one, a lovely two-piece given to me by former student Manny Molina, while successfully horsing a Snook away from an incoming Lemon Shark.
Ability.
No substitute for practice. My friend Omar hired a Bahamian fishing guide to pursue bonefish on fly. After Omar missed a few shots, the guide exclaimed “You need more TOW, man!” “What?” “TOW, TOW!” The word “TOW” turned out to be Bahamian guidespeak for “Time On Water”. Having taken up fly fishing only four years ago, I definitely need more TOW, especially on windy days when I am inclined to forgo fly casting in favor of the more forgiving spinning gear. Gray and I will give a talk in Key West next week and plan to stay over in the Lower Keys for a few days with friends Chris & Marcia, who will join us in the Bahamas. It’s supposed to blow a steady 20 mph the whole time we’re there, so Chris and I can practice fly casting into the wind.
“TOW, TOW!”
Flies.
One can buy excellent bonefish flies for $3-10 a pop, but if I can’t be fishing, I like to tie my own flies. It’s fun in small doses and the resulting flies are high quality and adorable to boot. Here’s what I’ve been tying in the odd moments this month when I haven’t felt like doing something more useful to others…