On Friday January 19th I got on the flats from 16 H to 18 H 30 and the tide was just starting to “downstream.” The sun was already low making it fairly difficult to spot the Bonefish. I started walking to a part of the flats that often holds Permit. The wind was very calm. As I arrived at the spot, I spotted a permit cruising opposite of me with very low profile, no tail or V on the surface. I tried my luck with a first cast but was unsuccessful. As I was preparing to make a second cast the Permit disappeared into a depression on the flat and I never saw the fish again. I decided to stay on the flat for a bit, waiting for another fish to show. A Half an hour pass and nothing. No tailing, no nervous water and no tell tale V wakes on the surface. I headed to shallower water. This would enable me to reveal some tailing bones or any suspect activity in the water. Now, it was 17h30, the tide had only dropped a little and the visibility declined again. My last hope was that one of those Gray Ghosts would do me a favor and show a tail. There, Nervous water! I cast, strip, strip he missed. I only saw the tail of the bone as reached deeper water and he was gone!. Now it is 18 H and my luck had really gone away and time had passed without me even knowing. In half an hour it would really be night time. I took off my polarized lenses as it was too dark for being useful. I walked down the flat following the tide for a last time before getting in the car for the drive back home. I was disappointed and thought that it was just not meant to be and luck was not on my side today. It was 18H15 and I was 5 minutes from where my car was parked when I saw a beautiful tail appear 15 yards ahead of me. The tail had a nice contrast with the water. It would cut through the water, stop, and wiggle. It seemed like a happy eating bone. I thought to myself, “great, he is eating and happy maybe it will be easier?” I was alone and this was certainly my last shot at some luck for this day. I load the rod, throw 1 false cast and drop the fly. Gosh! Too much on the right, he won’t see it. I cast again, the fly made a soft landing right on his nose. Strip, strip…bonefish on! The fish is strong and rips through the water. My fly rod has a good bend in it and line is peeling off my reel and my reel is screaming. I was into my backing in a fraction of a second. One coral reef in this part of the flat and he passed behind it. My backing gets hung up on the coral and the bone still running. I quickly reach the coral reef to untangled the backing and the bonefish is still on. I see scattering water on my right almost hundred yards away. I put as much pressure as I can on the fish and managed to get him back closer to me. He feels it and runs a second time not as long as the first blistering run but still strong and long. I was mid-thigh deep in the water which let him use all his power against me. Again some minutes of head banging, he tried every bonefish trick in the book to escape the hook. I grab him with the boga, he is massive, and the numbers on the scale don’t lie. A 6.750 pound bonefish! Two pictures and the “beast” was once gain in her element. Night was upon me and this fly fishing session was closed until tomorrow. I had two and half terrific hours of bonefishing.Sun set fly fishing sessions are my favorite hours to fish for the bonefish. Their tails appear in contrast to the water and their tales are a beautiful addition to the colorful evening skies. The wind is almost zero and the timing factor is playing against me. I am sure you can understand why I love the moments of bonefishing time so much.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Great story Alexis. You make me jealous!
yup — i am with steelie on this one … “jealous” is a very good way to describe the way i feel when i look at the picture … … a very far cry from any picture i could post from maine at this point in time …. yesterday … portland maine hit a record low of -15 degrees farengheit …
i like how you fly fish for the bonefish on foot …. that sounds like fun to me … awesome fish tale alexis … can’t wait for the day that we can write one together and do a video from guadeloupe .. and i can be holding up a bonefish like that! … i’d like to catch one on foot .. that sounds awesome …
Yeah Jeremy I agree. I have always had an extended intrest in wade fishing on the flats. Seems like it would make me feel more “in touch” with the water and fish. Nothing is really artificial, its very natural. I spent two days wade fishing in Islamorada and it was awesome.
foot fishing for shallow water species is amazing specialy for bones and permits, the approach, the crouch style when bones are sight and the heron act in all way to approach and presents flies. No later than yesterday, I gone fishing and took a bone just 4 yards of me with a 1/0 flie a brown shrimp. The bone seen me but I didn’t moved and just jerk the tip of the rod to drop the flie to the leader lenght. two strip a stop and i clearly see the pick up like never in 4 foot of water. a 5/6 pounder. really fun and most of them still have not seen a flie. Hope too I’ll have the pleasure to receive you here, sharing fish tales and see you enjoy as much as me the Guadeloupean uneducate fish 🙂
Steelie 😉 you got the flats and saltwater sickness now since your Islamorada trip and I’ll see you in a fish tale with a bone or permit a time or another. Hang on!
Tight lines
Water Friendly
Alexis