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03/02/13

bonefishing hawaii:

o'io kebari.

 

i am not a believer in the choice of fly being a critical key to success when it comes to bonefishing or any fly fishing for that matter.  many anglers, over time, pigeon hole themselves into using a particular fly pattern, color, or style of fly.  that is fine, but i think that these anglers get caught in a kind of self fulfilling prophecy.  if you use the same fly all the time or even most of the time, of course you will catch the most fish with that fly.  the question is how do you know that something else doesn’t work even better.  i have gone the opposite way.  fearing this self fulfilling prophecy i am constantly throwing new and different flies.  over the years i have thrown just about every kind of fly imaginable in every size, shape, and color at these fish and continue do so today.  for the most part, i have discovered that these fish will eat just about anything in any color or at least put it in their mouth (which for our purposes is all they really have to do).  nobody likes to look in my bonefish box because it is filled with mostly flies that i have never caught fish on... yet.  once i catch a number of fish on any particular fly, it gets thrown into the (now massive) archives and i am on to the next fly pattern or style that catches my fancy.

 

while others are busy studying photographs of known bonefish prey, stomach contents, and patterns that others here and around the world are using to try to “match the bonefish hatch”, i tend to get my inspiration elsewhere.  many of the flies that come off my vise for personal use are “bonefish versions” of flies that are used in other types of fly fishing for other target species.  it is my way of thinking out of the box and keeping things fresh and fun.  i think it helps me be more successful as well.  everyone knows having confidence in what you are doing and using is very important in this game.  so why not try to become confident in anything and everything out there?  fishing different (often really different) flies all the time, for me, is a part of doing just that.  long ago i went through this phase where i took all the classic trout flies, modified them a bit and used them (quite successfully i may add) for bones around the island.  since that time, no fly is off limits when it comes to what i will chuck at these fish.  i’ll not only throw just about any fly at them,  i’ll present it to them with a confidence that i think few others possess.

 

so last week i was watching this dvd on tenkara fly tying (tying tenkara flies volume 1).  i have tried the tenkara style of fishing before and it’s fun.  after all it is fishing and what kind of fishing is not fun.  i never really got into it though as i kind of like having a reel and i really like bombing long casts.  i do appreciate the tradition and philosophy behind it and i see the beauty in its simplicity.  anyway, so i’m watching this dvd and, as it often happens, i’m thinking “those flies look cool.  so refined and yet so simple... i bet a bone would bite that”.  the next day, before tying a ton of “bonefish flies” i spun up a few flies in the tenkara style and spirit to use the next time out on the reef.  o’io kebari, i  guess you could call them.  i wanted to fish them just as they are used when tenkara fishing for trout but i needed to add weight to flip the hook and sink it faster especially in these windy conditions we’ve been facing lately.  i didn’t want to stray to far from the fly’s look and inherent simplicity so i just tied on dumbell eyes at the tie off point which is toward the bend of the hook for tenkara flies.  i also added a thin yarn body and tied it on a size 4 mustad c47sd shrimp hook so i guess it would be more like a sakakibara o’io kebari for those in the know of tenkara fishing (or those who saw the dvd like me).

 

i fished the o’io kebari on wednesday with my lamiglass fiberglass 7wt. (seemed only fitting).  not surprisingly, to me at least,  i got fish on it.  is it the best bonefish fly ever?  probably not.  it is, however, yet another example of bonefish not being as fly particular as many seem to think.  if you are one of those who thinks that the right fly is the key to success, my advise  to you would be to take a step back and think of all the factors involved in getting to the point of a fish actually biting your fly.  have you done that... yeah... there are a lot of factors.  much more than any human mind could possibly comprehend.  so when a bonefish rejects your offering as they tend to do more often than not, chances are it was one or a combination of the infinate number of variables other than the fly you are using that caused the denial.  still think it’s the fly that makes the difference?  well then i would suggest that instead of asking yourself “what will they eat?”, try asking yourself this.  “what won’t they eat”.  i have tried to answer this question throughout my bonefishing career and so far the answer has been "not a whole lot".  i spend much of my time on the water proving this to myself over and over.  i think it is well worth it for others to do the same.  once you truly believe this, catching bones will become a lot easier i promise.  there are many things to focus on to consistently be successful out there, the fly you are using should be toward the bottom of the list not the top.  i'll see you on the water... hopefully with the "right" fly.

 

the montana bonefly.  i've caught a bunch of fish on this over the years.  trout nymphs are a given. i can't think of a single nymph pattern out there that a bonefish would not eat.

 

this is my bonefish royal trude from my "trout fly" bonefishing days.  i still use this fly every once in a while just for fun.  why would a bone bite that?  well, why would a trout eat that?  i have no idea.  all i know for sure is that they both do.

 

now that i'm big on the quest for steel, i have also used many steelhead style flies successfully on bones as well.  here is a modified intruder style tube fly.

 

 

this past week it was the o'io kebari in a couple different colors.

 

it was still crazy windy with heavy chop and current on the reef.  i tried to dead drift the fly to bones on the flat.

 

and whadaya know... it worked.

 

i had a bone right on the fly and was feeling for the take when this weke (goatfish) flashed right on the bone's nose and grabbed the fly.

 

later i hooked a bone and got this pic with water on the lens of the camera.  i thought this pic was pretty cool.  i never said i was a good photographer.

 

blurred tenkara fly bone.

 

that's better.  don't sweat the small stuff.  why build confidence in a few flies when you could have confidence in all of them.  the only thing that should be self fulfilling out there is... what else... good times.

 

clay.


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