I don’t really love bonefish. There I said it. And it’s
true. Despite spending countless hours fishing for them, designing and tying
flies for them, and basically making my living off them, I can’t honestly say
they’re my favorite fish to fish for. I understand why others love them and
spend their lives chasing them to the extent of tattooing them on their bodies,
but somehow I don’t share quite that level of passion. I sometimes wonder why
that is.
Maybe it’s because I grew up on Oahu where the king of all
inshore species is and will forever be the ulua or GT. Don’t believe me? Spend
a few minutes in any Hawaii parking lot and look at the trucks and SUVs that might belong to fishermen.
Chances are 20% or more will have a fish sticker on them. And of those, 80%
will be an ulua (the other 20% will probably be a tuna). You’ll almost never
see a bonefish sticker unless you’re in one of the bonefish guides’ vehicles.
Why is this? Sure the ulua get much bigger, but for me the reason I think
most Hawaii people love trevally so much is because you can catch them by many
different methods, they fight so hard, and they’re generally better eating (at
least the small ones) than bonefish. The reason I love them is because they hit
topwater lures unlike anything else in the world.
Back when I was finishing up in high school and starting
college, I switched my fishing from primarily soaking bait to using lures on
light spinning tackle. First our ubiquitous curly tailed soft plastic grubs,
then lead headed jigs, and finally topwater lures. That was it. From then on I
decided that was the best game in the world. In fact, the whole reason I met
Clay and Kevin in the first place was to special order a fancy new spinning rod
through their fly shop. (Crazy right?) Several years and many bonefish later,
I’ve switched to primarily fishing with flies and most of my spinning tackle
has been sold, given away, or is gathering dust in the back of a closet. But
now and then I still get the urge to fish topwater. I’m not joining the GT Fight
Club anytime soon, (although I did my share of that kind of fishing on
Christmas Island) but lately I have been spending more and more time away from
the bonefish flats in search of aggressive small trevally that will hit
streamers, poppers, and deer hair sliders on the surface.
It doesn’t require the stealth and concentration like
stalking bonefish in shallow water, but to me it’s relaxing and I can fish for
just a few hours in the evening and get my fix. The rhythm of casting and
retrieving a fly meant to resemble a wounded baitfish can lull you into a
trance only to be broken by the surface explosion of an attacking fish. How can
a fish so small be so strong and so angry? I sometimes feel bad for ruining the
bonefish’s feeding sessions when they’re minding their own business and happily
grubbing along the bottom. I never feel bad for picking a fight with a trevally,
since he’s the one who decided to swim over and kill my fly. Sadly, because we
tend to overfish trevally here I don’t find many around over a few pounds, but
like any fishing in the deep blue sea, you never know what might bite your next
cast. Hope you’re spending some quality time with your favorite fish too. Aloha
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