Big Fat Orange Fly

This is similar to the ones I was tying a year ago. Trying to imitate an orange mantis shrimp. I fished this on Friday and unfortunately lost it to the drop off (on a rock presumably).

Ultimate Camouflage

After catching that bonefish on Saturday, I figured I'd try again on Sunday morning. Also the surf on the South Shore was huge and I didn't buy a new leash yet so no surfing made the fishing decision even easier. I setup the Epic 686 and lined it up with a RIO Perception 6wt line. I had also tied up another of the Mantis Shrimp flies and had that on. I think I'm going to call this fly the "Nom Nom Mantis" since several types of fish are taking it. This is quickly becoming the universal flats fly I was looking for. Seems like everything likes to eat mantis shrimp. I really like the Epic 686 - I can cast really nice loops without trying excessively hard. I can even tell when I've messed up the cast before I see the line pass me - I don't have that connection with every flyrod. I ended up catching only one fish - but what an unusual catch. A Hawaiian Stonefish. I had cast over an opening in the reef flat and thought I got hung up. I don't like yanking on hung up flies so I always end up walking over and unhooking them. As I reached down to unhook this fly, the fish let go of the rock it was clinging to and I was able to pull it up. Not a fighter at all - hardly even dead weight, but a rare catch on the fly. When I released the fish it dropped to the bottom and just disappeared. It's there, but I took the picture and I can't even find it anymore. It should be right in the center of the photos....

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!!!

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.

Caught One on the Flyrod

I tied on a green micro crab remembering what was inside the BFT I cooked up a while back. I wasn't getting any interest from any fish. I switched out to a mantis shrimp fly and I still didn't turn any heads. I spent the time on the flats practicing my casts - with the wind, straight into the wind, side arm and double hauling. I was a bit rusty, but got back into the groove fairly quickly (but still didn't have complete consistency - when did I ever). After quite a bit of time, I saw a few bonefish, some smaller goatfish and a small school of papio. But it was this guy that took the fly! Obake weke (the Dreaded Nightmare Goatfish - said to give you hallucinations if you eat the head or it guts)! This fish had some fight in it! At first I thought it was another paipo, but the tugs were different. When I got it close, I then thought it might be a small bonefish, but when it got tired and I got it to the surface, I saw it was a decent sized goatfish. On the fly, any fish is a great fish! I have to remember that the New Moon and spring low tide produced these fish.