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01/21/11

bonefishing hawaii:

fishing through the slumps.

 

on the bright side this winter has held up well and fishing, although a bit spotty, has been very good.  the only down side is that i’ve been fishing through a slump for the last month or so.  it happens.  maybe it was the ducks losing or maybe i’ve just gotten a little lazy.  maybe it’s because i shot my mouth off about how important it is to make every fish count in the winter a couple of blogs ago.  no one knows what cosmic forces cause these slumps to happen but anyone who says they have never gone through one, just straight up hasn’t been fishing that long.  there is a cure for the slump though and it’s a simple one.  just don’t get down, keep having fun, and pound right through it.  the fish gods are not dumb, they know exactly how to push your buttons and every once in a while they try hard to do so.  they can sense when you are getting rattled and that’s when they really go to work.  i say f_’em  don’t give them the pleasure.  once they see that, “hey this guy really doesn’t give a rip what we throw at him.”  they tend to ease up on you big time.  so that’s pretty much what i’ve been up to.  fished with a bunch of different people and watched them all land numerous fish, while i, for reasons unbeknownst to me, managed to lose every fish i hooked... what can one do?  i just enjoyed the company, tried to help those around me get better, and laughed at every fish i hooked and lost, knowing full well that this was far from the first slump i’ve ever been through and certainly not the last.

 

also helping me through was my g loomis classic glx 8wt. which i just got.  the glx was the first fishing rod ever that used a graphite made just for fishing rods.  i have several 4pc. original glx rods that i got when they first came out way back in 1993.  the original glx imho is still the best casting rod ever made period.  i don’t use mine that often because i’m afraid of breaking one as the original glx’s are now only offered in 4,5,6,and 8wt. two piece models.  with the launch of the nrx, who knows how much longer  these rods will be available.  the original glx, i just have to cast this rod and immediately all feels right in the world (i’m smiling now just thinking about it)... an awesome weapon to have in your corner when battling the slumps.

 

the slump is a good time to enjoy the little things that we often miss in our daily quest for fish.  e.t., doug, and i were fortunate enough to find these two sea horses out at ke'ehi just the other day.

 

remember those guys from reno i mentioned in the last blog.  well they took my advice and went out and just pounded maui.  brandon reported back that both he and chris got into some fun little omilu (bluefin trevally) action and chris also managed to get a nice bone as well.  check out the full story on brandon's blog black rock flycasters. way to go guys... that's the way you do it!

 

jon t. took his "new" casting skills out to hickam and scored this nice awa 'aua (lady fish) and bones too.

 

deano (palolo skunkworks, inc.) is out and about doing his thang.  he reported that hickam was "biting up" on MLK day.

 

mitch and i fished a day too right out infront of his pad.  he landed his rat... mine cut me off.

 

dougie scored at ke'ehi, he found a pod of eating rats and pounded them.

 

with the help of the original glx, i finally landed a pair of nice hawaii bones at hi kai yesterday officially ending the slump... until the next one. 

 

what more can i say about slumps except sometimes like that.  just gotta pound through them, all the while enjoying... good times.

 

clay.


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