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11/11/12

bonefishing hawaii:

bonefish bonanza.

 

it is an understatement to say that fishing here on oahu can be pretty spotty.  the relentless fishing pressure put on fish populations, the urban sprawl, pollution, and overall lack of care for and attention to the resource by the powers that be, all add up to a situation where it is very difficult to predict what will happen on any given day, location, or tide.  both fish and fishermen here all just do the best they can to get by and survive.

 

i spent three days on the water this past week.  the first two days were a bust.  not many fish around and, for whatever reason, the ones that were there were extremely skittish and not in the eating mood at all.  i spent all day the first day taking shots at a few fish.  blew most of said few shots and straight up missed the only one i got to actually eat.  can anyone out there relate to that story?  i always preach that often times out here you gotta bring your “a” game and make every shot count because it could be the only fish of the day.  well that first day i straight up didn’t and faced the agony of defeat head on.

 

e.t. had the next day off from guiding and wanted to go again.  this gave me just enough of a reason to give it another try.  that day there were even fewer fish around.  e.t. and i spent half a day looking at a lot of bottom and almost nothing that even had fins.  as we were about to call it, we finally found the "day saver" and e.t. hooked it (e.t. always has his “a” game).  he fought the fish and had it beat when, for no apparent reason, his tippet just popped and the fish went free taking along with it this weeks blog.  i’m not that into telling or hearing the one that got away stories.  normally that would be it for me... better luck next week.  this old goat doesn’t pound like it used to.  if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.  who cares... right?

 

fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) my buddy nick was in town.  he was only fishing friday and saturday.  in my religion, saturdays just do not happen during the college football season.  that left friday.  i dragged my lazy ass out of bed one more morning.  day three of bonefishing for clay...  what is this world coming to.

 

i was done with sight fishing.  a guy can only take so much standing around holding a rod that is screaming out “cast me!” all day long.  so i broke out the sage 6126-4 z-axis spey rod, abel spey reel, and a 390gr airflo rage compact to get my cast on.  i met doug and nick, told them where i would be and they headed off in search of fish.  i wasn't about to chase a bite and cover a lot of water... not on day three.  that is just not how it works.  i was going to plant myself on a spot and just take whatever it was willing to give me.  the trades that day were border line ridiculous.  “howlin’ like a shaolin” as i call it.  20 plus winds, white caps, wind swells, and wind generated currents pummeled the reef as well as anyone who dared be on it.  i tied on a fly i call the sunday orange number eight (a simple craft fur clouser like fly that came off my vise in 2009 according to the blog record) and proceeded to play the hand i was dealt.  it was difficult to stand still much less get good anchor placements in the angry windswept sea.  i was severely under gunned.  the long six weight was constantly bent by the wind.  not fun conditions.  i took a beating out there but wouldn’t you know it... there were fish to be had.  in just a couple of hours i hooked a bunch of fish.  most were rats but a couple of decent fish mixed in as well.  when i started hooking fish i looked around for doug and nick but they were so far away i could barely make them out.  i waited around for them until i couldn’t take being out there any longer.  i headed in completely soaked from the relentless wind swell and chop on the water.  tired, wet, and beat down... but with another blog in my back pocket and yet another chance to say, “you’ll never know, unless you go.”  i’ll see you on the water.

 

sean got his bone on this week with his 5wt. sage xi3 and abel super 5n.

 

deano checked in with a weke (goatfish) he got while trying out heads on one of his spey rods.

 

for me it was

 

nothing...

 

nothing...

 

bone bonanza!!!

 

it started out with this nice bone.

 

then assorted rats.

 

for a couple of hours the sun was shining, the rod was doubled over, and the abel spey reel was singing.

 

another bone rises from the depths of the raging sea...

 

a mc fatty.

 

note the white cap in the corner of this pic.  what else can i say except bonefishing in hawaii... sometimes like that.  good times.

 

clay.


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