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12/29/11

bonefishing hawaii:

you'll never know unless you go.

 

i have always said that the number one key to success in bonefishing, fly fishing, or any kind of fishing is that you just gotta pound.  the weather has improved since the last blog and reports of fish have improved too.  i wasn’t planning to fish yesterday but i woke up and decided to go because, well, you know... gotta pound.  i called up doug, who was planning on going anyway, and told him i’d be there.  i made the long (for me) journey out to hi kai to meet up with doug.  the afternoon light wasn’t all that great so doug decided to join me in a little bombarama and i think he was glad he did.

 

i took out the sage 6126-4 z axis with a rio skagit flight 450gr. head and a 10’ rio clear intermediate tip.  i chose to use the 6126-4 just because i hadn’t used it in a while and hi kai is one of the few places i fish around here that i would use a rod like that (a tiny bit too little boosting power for me).  long story short, our number got called and we pounded some bones.  in a few hours, we both hooked five fish each and had a number of short strikes as well.  in addition i hooked a number of trumpets and what i think was a trevally (bombing bonuses).  all of my bones except one managed to come unbuttoned when they got close but doug landed all five of his.  the difference?  well, i was using a fly with a pretty serious weed guard and doug was using a fly with no weed guard.  i’m not saying that this was definitively the difference as i am fully aware of the “sometimes like that” theory which i am a big believer in.  for those who care, though, this just illustrates that everything you do in fly fishing (and life) is a trade off and there is never one way that is best in every aspect.  there are extremes and there is everything in between and you gotta decide for yourself what point in the spectrum is right for you.  again, i cannot stress enough how important it is to avoid those who speak in absolutes.  anyway, at this point in my long (illustrious?) bonefishing career things like catching or not catching and landing or loosing fish don’t matter a whole lot to me.  i’m just out there always on the hunt for good times because that’s just where i gotta be and what i gotta do just as the bones are there simply because that’s where they belong.

 

it was actually kind of nice to not have to handle that many fish and catching the inevitable teasing and wise remarks from doug is all part of the fun.  i, personally, would rather not even handle a bonefish as i have always suspected that many “released” fish end up dying minutes, hours, or days later even after swimming off strong.  the thought of a fish dying just because i am genetically predisposed to hook them has always kind of haunted me.  a trade off for me again as i now have to take pictures of fish for the blog (i didn’t even have a camera before i started the whole project blog).  if you don’t really need a picture of the fish, i encourage you to just let it go as quick as you can.  don’t worry, i’ll believe you caught it and mark my words, one day you won’t even care if people believe you or not.  who knows, you may even end up not caring if you catch one or not.

 

the good news in all of this?  if this kind of weather (and bite) continues, we should be in for a good beginning to 2012.  knowing this fishery and the gods, though, i wouldn’t hold my breath.  i do know that the next time you are on the fence about whether you should go fish or not, forget about the weather, the tides, and who caught what where and how, just remember this one thing.  you’ll never know unless you go.  i’ll see you, and perhaps some of you “fair weather” fly fishers, on the water.

 

so i tried taking some video and ended up with these short clips from yesterday.

 

the double right off the bat.

 

releasing the one fish i landed.

 

toward the end of the day i quit fishing and just watched the sun go down...

 

it just doesn't get any better.  good times.

 

clay.


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