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!!!

Sometimes All It Takes Is One

I've been working some really long hours lately trying to finish up a proposal. I figured I should decompress a bit and decided I've been cheating for too long on the fishing front (spinning gear with bait). Don't get me wrong - I love catching and the best way to do that is using bait and spinning gear (if you are hitting it from shore). Thursday evening I decided to use the flyrod. I broke out the Orvis Helios and used the RIO Bonefish line spooled up on the Hatch 7+. I tied on an Enrico Puglisi micro crab and waded out around 6pm. I had intended on using this setup to hook into a bonefish, but in the late afternoon light, it is nearly impossible to see those fish. I saw a few tailing, but by the time I made it over to them, I had lost track of their position. The neat thing about the EP micro crab fly is it closely resembles the flats crabs I keep finding in the bellies of the papio I harvest (and I only take ones that get mortally wounded when they get hooked which is rare for me). After a few casts where I increased my stripping speed, I had one on!!! The class of papio I have been catching are all roughly the same size - likely because they were all born the same year. I spoke with some fishermen and read some blogs and people are saying last year there were a ton more papio when compared to the several years before. They attributed that to some changes in the offshore currents and that brought more fish back from their larval/planktonic stage. I'm just glad they're here. Since I've been back on Oahu, I've caught so many of these fish and they've just about doubled in size. The weird thing is they are all the same class - I haven't seen the next group of smaller fish coming through, and it's rare to see bigger ones out here because those are the legal size fish that folks can take, but also those fish start to swim and forage in deeper waters. It'll interesting to see what fish are being caught in the January time frame to see if there is a generation coming up behind these current fish. This fish was the first fish I've caught on the fly out here that took my line all the way out of the stripping basket and I got to bring it in on the reel! Great catch and glad to see it swim off strong! That turned out to be the only fish I caught, but I found myself really trying to cast out well formed loops with more consistency. That's whats awesome about flyfishing - even if you are catching on every cast, you are still casting which in itself can be even more rewarding than bringing in a fish. I won't say I'll only bring out flyrods to go fishing, especially since I do enjoy fishing with spinning gear - but what I will say is everything has it's time and place. Yesterday evening was definitely a fly fishing evening. Also of note, yesterday was the first time I got to use the stripping basket I got to replace the bucket shooter that got stolen with my truck. I got it from the same company that made the bucket shooter - Sea Level Fly Fishing. This one is the Belly Bucket and you can see it is curved to fit the hip. I love the way it kept the line from knotting up. It is a solid piece of gear and the bottom doesn't come out like the bucket shooter's did - so it is a little less portable if you are flying to fishing spots. It does a really great job of helping to manage flyline.

Positive Results on the Rock Resistant Measures

I didn't catch anything with the flies I just tied, but none of them (with the 40# mono twin post weed guards) got hung up on the gravel or the bottom. Weighted with bead chain eyes, the flies did still make a 'plop' when entering the water. The plop was greatly diminished, but still there. It'll be interesting to find out if the reduction is enough to stop spooking the bones. The simple fly without eyes had tons of motion, even when stripped slowly. Crosscut rabbit and marabou... I hope to nail some papio with this fly... Despite the positive results, it still sucks not catching anything. Skunked!!!!

2014 Somerset Fly Fishing Show

I drove up to Somerset, New Jersey today to check out the 2014 Fly Fishing Show. I got to say 'Hi" to my favorite Tenkara rod supplier - Chris Stewart. I was able to try out a couple of his new rods... oh so nice.... (Nissin Air Stage 290 oh boy...) At the Scott rod booth I got to swing the 6533 and 7033 Scott F2 Rods - real smooth. I have thought that I wanted the 6533, but I as I have been investing a lot of time casting (practice and fishing) the Barclay Glass 7'2" 3wt, I think the Barclay is a better rod. I'd need to cast these two (actually three - both of the Scotts and the Barclay) side by side to be sure, but this is my current opinion. On a side note, I have started using a RIO Perception WF3F line with the Barclay and it is an OUTSTANDING caster - I have actually had to learn/watch/improve my casting to fully realize just how well this rod puts fly line on target and how good it feels while doing it. This Perception line is supposed to have 30% less stretch - I could feel the sunnies kissing my flies last weekend and the full flex of a fiberglass rod really plays well with a line that can hold and pull cast energy more efficiently. I am really pleased with this rod/line combination - it is going to take a really good rod to knock this one off the top of my list (and with the recent exposure I've had to other rods, I don't think that rod exists right now - yes folks this is a very strong endorsement). Back to today - It's no secret I enjoy all forms of fishing - and this next company spans the range. Spending time at the St Croix rack confirmed one thing in my mind - the Triumph Ultralight weight and Light weight spinning rods I have are AWESOME. These rods are the one piece versions which are the pinnacle of impulse translation (I can feel the fish strikes really well) - now for the travel version... In an act of self-induced public humiliation, I drooled on myself while checking out the Abel display. The new hemostats are really nice - solves the problems associated with the common hemostat (lock on closure no matter if you got what you wanted or not. They are expensive though - shockingly so. It got the same initial reaction out of me that the nippers did when I first saw them - "dang these are expensive!!!!". But I tell you what - where a $10 nipper consistently failed me (rusting out and dulling in a very short time) the Abels laughed at the elements HA HA HA HA!!! Still - $50 was enough to stop me from committing - but I found a secret weapon to get mine at a very reasonable price (Orvis coupons) and I now enjoy their use any time I am fishing - fresh or salt, fly or spin - they are essential kit. I suspect these hemostats will produce the same response after they land in my hands and are used to pull bent wire out of angry fishy mouths... now I just need a really, really good coupon... I also spent time at the Vedavoo booth (and ordered a new sling pack - yes another, but to quote Scott from Vedavoo, "those other slings/packs are ebay fodder" - I'll post more about this in another post when I get the sling in, but streamlining/modularity/supporting small businesses in America made the difference - anybody want a good deal on a couple of sling packs???); I parked at the Hatch booth where I learned they will be releasing a 2 Plus in the very near future (and I drooled all over myself again), and one other spot that I will focus on in the next post. In closing - it was a long drive through snow and ice, but this trip answered a lot of questions that I had, increased my knowledge base, got me exposed to things I did not have ready access to and was plain fun on an otherwise dreary winters day. Time well spent (the show is on for one more day in Somerset and again in this area in March up at Lancaster - if you were iffy about going, go grab your jacket and car keys and get going)!

Friday Fishing and Paddling at Beaverdam Reservoir

We dropped off the van for maintenance and headed on over to paddle (La) and catch some fish (me and the kids). La paddled the whole lake (seemed like it) and the kids and I saw a good number of various types of fish. I pulled in three sunnies using my Helios 5wt/Hatch 4+/Orvis Power Taper 5wt (real nice setup - makes me feel like I know what I'm doing and can put the fly wherever I want to - it was worth the money - especially since I got most of the components on sale). Marlon had a striper on the line and was hauling it in - until it got off the hook close to the boat (dang it!!!). I had a few legitimate shots at some grazing carp - with the water a bit cloudly, I couldn't get them interested in the worm fly I was pitching. La was lonely so she hijacked the kayak, took both kids out on her paddleboard then had them jump off the board to swim around in the middle of the lake (they loved it - not to mention she bribed them with the promise to pay for half the cost of another iguana - that's another story). That's about the time the wind picked up...

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH BAAAABBBBBBYYYYYYYY!!!!

Look what the fly fishing fairy delivered!!! For me???? You shouldn't have - but I'm sure glad you did (THANKS LA!)

Change of Plan

No new SUP for me. I made a list of things/projects/equipment that I have based on focus areas and outdoors capabilities like SUPing in various its forms, sailing, kiting, fishing in its permutations - Western fly, Japanese fly, spinning, baitcasting, offshore, etc - and equipment in these areas to support La, Marlon and Noe. I prioritized what we have access to and what I've only partially resourced and I have come up with a prioritized list of procurements to fill some key deficiencies. In order, I found that I have Western fly rods without dedicated reels, the kids have outgrown the SUPs I made for them back in Gulfport Mississippi, no whitewater/high activity PFD, no whitewater helmet (although I do have a watersports helmet that may work), aging SUP paddles, a kayak that could use a rudder and possibly a third seat, a speargun with no reel, and finally no racing SUP (and finally finally, if someone buys the Starboard Blend, no flatwater jack of all trades SUP board). Obviously living in Northern Virginia does put a damper on SUP surfing, but paddling SUPs and fishing are very easy to do around here. With that analysis done, I pushed the new SUP (still likely an ULI Race 14) way back and I pulled the trigger on a couple of flyreels to bring that capability up to full capacity. I went with Hatch - and ordered a 4+ in black with silver trim and a 7+ in Silver/Red (as shown in the pictures). Yes these are expensive (I spent all the money and a hair more from the sale of my Naish 14 Carbon Glide) but these will be heirlooms that get passed down to my grandkids someday and they have the quality and performance to get there. And if you have been following this blog, you can see we have adapted to our surroundings and end up fishing a majority of the time anyways. Next on the list - new SUPs for the kids (soft top surfboards that can pull double duty - SUP in flatwater and surfboard at the beach) - keep an eye out as we get into next weekend...