I feel some fly tying coming on...

It's been awhile since I've been fly fishing, but I haven't stopped looking at all the different flies out there. In fact, a lot of shoreline fishermen out here on Oahu actually use flies on whipping rigs and try to catch the same quarry a fly fisherman would target - just using spinning gear. I recently bought some weighted and unweighted heads to tie some papio flies, but I keep getting drawn back to the Orvis Website because of the names people assign to the flies they tie (and Orvis picks up as a distributor; I say Orvis Website because they are really good at marketing, but others do it as well). So besides the papio flies, these are some that I'll be trying to replicate in the near future - I'm thinking bonefish enticers instead of carp or big trout as these were originally conceived to catch. These are Martinez's Frankenstein Sculpin in tan and green This is a Mini Frankenstein Sculpin And my favorite name - the "Southern Culture on the Fly - Sick Little Monkey" I've come up with some cool names for flies I tie (if I may say so myself - just do a search on older posts on this blog that have to do with fly tying), but Sick Little Monkey has got to be one of my favorites. And I am a sucker for all things Southern (seeing as I grew up in Northern Florida and I speak fluent Redneck).

Not a Fluke - Site Fished Bonefish 8/2/2015

For Sunday, I decided to head back to the Ewa side of the flat and see if I could coax some of those snobby bonefish into a game of tug. I had tied up an Orange Nom Nom Mantis fly using lead dumbbell weight and rusty dubbing to simulate the mantis shrimp I've seen while wading on calm wind days. I also tied up a tan version with a striped rabbit fur tail and tan maribou to cover the white leather on the underside of the rabbit strip. I had the tan one on the line to start with, and I got lots of interest from the first few bones I saw, but none sealed the deal. I brought out the Helios and the Hatch 7+ that I had used last time. I ended up seeing some really big milkfish and a medium sized blacktip shark cruising around, but they didn't show interest in the tan nom nom fly. At that point I figured I should change out the tan fly for the Orange Nom Nom - if you ain't catching, you need to change it up. With that fly swap, everything changed. This first one was hooked out at 35' - I saw it change direction and hover over the place where I thought the fly was, strip set and it took off like a funny car at the gun. This one went back and forth three times well into the backing before calling it quits. The hook was set in it's tongue. Nice fish and I was stoked to the core! After that I went out to the drop off figuring I'd try my luck with this fly on some papio. Nothing - so I started back towards the mangrove stand (I wanted to see if there were any oama - baby goatfish - hanging around). I ended up seeing a bunch more bonefish hanging around drifting with the current, so I thought 'what the heck - might as well keep swinging the fly". I'm glad I did. I had seen a fish moving towards me, so I cast out 15 degrees over from it a well forward - maybe a 25' cast. I striped in all the slack line and made the fly move just a bit to get the fish to notice it. Before I could do anything else, a second fish I did not see before had pounced on the fly and was wrestling to keep it from the first fish. I did a slight strip set and I felt the weight of the fish. It didn't know it was hooked until I started moving - it saw me and took off. On the third run it had found a rock sticking out of the water and was trying to wrap the line around it to get a leverage point to break off. I managed to get the line out from under the rock and the fish tired out shortly after. I was close enough to an old piece of debris to place the gopro on for some in fight shots. I saw several more o'io but never lined up nicely for a clean shot. I'll stick with the two solid fish I was privileged to have hooked up with and call it one of the better days I've had out on this side of the flat. Even though I've caught three o'io now in a relatively short period of time, I do not consider myself a guru on the topic. This is just the beginning of the next chapter in trying to better understand this fishery.

FINALLY!!!!!

It only took me seven months to do it, but I finally brought a Hawaiian Bonefish to hand!!!!!! I used a mantis shrimp fly I tied a while back and blind casted at another part of the Hickam Flat. The bonefish inhaled the fly - I had to use forceps to pull the fly out! It made three runs - the first two taking me into the backing. This fish totally reminded me that I love catching bonefish on the fly!!! I can honestly say this was the best day of fishing I've had out here! I also had a papio, but it shook off the Enrico Puglisi micro crab fly. And I caught a humuhumunukunukuapuaa using the same mantis fly that the oio (bonefish) took. I have been telling myself that once I caught an oio on the fly, that I would be free to start fishing other spots. I do think I'll still fish Hickam a lot - I need to make sure this was not a fluke. GREAT DAY!!!

Observation Time on the Flats (that's what I'm calling it because the catching sucked)

I fished the low tide on Hickam Flats on Sunday. I started out casting bait (ika strips) and caught a few good sized papio and another lizardfish (they must be getting active ahead of spawning season - whatever reason, I'm catching more lizardfish). I ran out of bait and the water was still low, so I transitioned to targeting the bonefish. I used a bucktail jig and practiced overshooting the fish, retrieving the lure into sight range of the fish, and waiting for a response. I got several of the bones to turn and take interest, but I think they were intimidated by the size of the 1/2 ounce jig. Most of the interactions took place less than 40' away - all within fly casting range. I had my 8 weight in the truck, but figured I'd just study the fish behavior and not try to hook one. These fish certainly are keeping fishing interesting (frustrating, obsessive - fill in an appropriate word here).

Spam and Eggs Varient

The original "Spam and Eggs" fly was pumped out by Coach Duff - a guide out here on Oahu. It was built to mimic the mantis shrimp that live on the flats out here. Here's my version of the Spam and Eggs tied up for skinnier water. Of note I tied the egg sack on the bottom side of the fly - that is not what is done on the original. With the weed guard, hopefully I can strip it through the rocks and gravel without it getting hung up. This is the first time I've used EP fibers - they are really stiff and like to stay clumped together. Good stuff for use on the tail. Now all that remains to be seen is how the bonefish like this fly.

Reduced Entry Noise Ammunition

I tied up some flies this week that I'll use over the next couple of days. These were tied with three principles: to make as little splash as possible when entering super skinny water, to prevent the hangups in the rocks/gravel when stripping, and to mimic the mantis shrimp on the flat. We'll see how the fish like them - I'd eat these...

Knocking Off The Bucket List Occupants

This weekend was a low-count, high-impact weekend of fishing. On Saturday, I went out twice. First I went out on Saturday morning with an 8 weight fiberglass flyrod - the Epic 888. I overlined it with a 9 weight RIO Bonefish Quickshooter. Nice casting rod, but I didn't get the chance to wrestle any fish with it (darn finicky bonefish!). I took a break and ran some errands (like laundry). In between cycles I lined up the 888 with an 8 weight RIO Bonefish Quickshooter and that line cast even nicer. I love Epic rods because they make casting more fun. Who doesn't like seeing nicely shaped loops flying through the air and unfurling gently out 60' away??? I went back out in the afternoon, but took a spinning setup instead - the Fenwick 9'0" moderate power, fast action 2-piece rod and the Penn Spinfisher V 3500. I specifically went out to catch a barracuda (maybe 'the' barracuda) that has been taking my lures/flies. I tied on about 2" of "Tyger Wire" as a bite tippet with an albright knot and a 3 turn clinch at the lure (brass 1/12 ounce Kastmaster). I nailed this guy!!! Finally!!!! So I got one of the last two fish off my Hickam bucket list. Then on Sunday morning I went back out with the spinning gear and used a completely different tactic - a bucktail jig - a big one to mimic a fat mantis shrimp. I even thought about tying on an abrasion leader knowing the bonefish get big. I'm glad I did because I did hook solidly into a big bone while blind casting at a point (that was the other chance in tactics - stop sight casting - which goes against the grain I developed flyfishing). As soon as I got a hookup, the fish took off stripping line off the reel for 20 seconds straight! I tightened down on a the drag a bit more and it finally stopped. I reeled it in (heavy bend in the rod the entire time) and I got the fish to a poles length away when the knot holding the jig gave. What a fight!!!! I think I'll up the flurocarbon tippet to 25 pound test to make sure I can get the fish to hand. I didn't get any pictures of the fish but it was a big one. I did take pictures of the flat with the sun out - and some bones cruising the deeper channels - but on second look, I couldn't find the fish in the photos. I had polarized amber lenses on and the camera didn't. So I knocked off the two last fish on my Hickam bucket list - but these were had on spinning gear and I still have to do the same on the fly. But for now I can start exploring other spots without feeling like I got beat by the fish at Hickam.

Bones at the Hawaii Ocean Expo

Bonefish jaws and some of the foods they eat. The booth was to educate the public about tagging (I signed up for a kit). Crab nuggets and Mantis Shrimp butts are among the carnage in the petri dishes. And check out the teeth on the fish jaws!!! Now I just have to "catch" bonefish... hmmmmmmm....

Hors d'oeuvre

When you think of hors d'oeuvres, you think of a fancy meal. Well - considering the bonefish I've been stalking have snubbed everything I've thrown at them, it has become apparent to me that I have to take it up several levels and bring out the fancy dishes. These fish want to play snobby, I'll lose the redneck and break out the bow tie and toecapped shoes. Behold the "Hor d'oeuvre"!!!! With all the time I've been spending on the flats, I have seen a lot of details that could easily go unnoticed. I've been studying the rocks and what lives on, in and under them and besides the mantis shrimp, these crabs are pretty prevalent. I also tied a "weed guard" on to the fly to prevent the other most frustrating thing on the flats behind the prissy bonefish laughing at you all day long - getting the fly hung up on a rock just as a bonefish is closing in on the fly. We'll see if the bones will eat this crab...

Papio Sunday

I was going to go flyfishing today to test out some flies I just tied up, but I forgot my reel back at the apartment. I had the spinning gear in the trunk, so I went ahead and got wet. The wind was way up so I was probably better off spinning anyways. I was fishing the bottom part of the full moon low tide so I had to walk a ways out to get to knee deep water. Early on I saw this large school of unicornfish (tangs) grazing up on the flats. And I landed this eager bluefin trevally after a few casts. The real fun came when I hooked up with this hefty size papio (relatively speaking from the lot I've been catching). It was an easy 11" from nose to fork - would have been nice fried crisp with just salt and pepper... but better that it swam away to grow a bit bigger, have some babies and fight me again. It was getting those really cool blue spots on its back that the adults have. Such a pretty fish - I also saw several bonefish, but the lead weight at the end of my line didn't help me with stealth... next time (again).

Lots of Activity on the Flats - Part 4

And perhaps the most important post from this series - in the exact middle of this photo is a bonefish - its shadow is diagonal running along a line from the bottom left corner to the top right corner of the photo. I had about five shots at various bonefish - and even got a couple to get close. But as always, no hook ups. At least they didn't run away instantaneously (attributing this to improved stealth and casting). Next time!!!

Recon Mission

I had a few minutes after work to burn - I ended up checking out more spots during the low tide. I drove up to this spot and there were five smaller bonefish tailing in about 4" of water. I think I'm going back this afternoon with a rod and reel....

Sunday Catching - ALMOST!!!

I decided to get schooled again, I mean go flyfishing this morning. Saw lots of life on the flat - urchins (collector/pincushion, ina/rock borer, vana/ouchie pokie), some triangular rocks (large snails), and BONEFISH!!! I saw about 20 in total, but they were big ones and way smart. I did predict correctly where a pack of three would go, and I got one to take the crab fly - but I couldn't get the hook set... Murphy is riding my back.... BUT THIS WAS NOT THE "ALMOST" Oyster party!!! I did get a couple of fish to hand, but not by the hook. This guy looked like it had a bad date with an ulua (giant trevally) - pretty dazed and confused. I just corralled it and picked it up. I think it is an aweoweo (Hawaiian Big Eye), but it was really pale, not red. This one was just plain dead. Ladyfish (big one too). I also saw a few tangs and a couple of boxfish fighting. There was even a guest appearance from a blacktip. Good day on the water (oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARLON!!!!)