Clay acting cool.Clay said that he hooked a papio on a little popper that came off but I didn’t see any evidence so I think it was just a story. We had an enjoyable evening causing trouble to each other and to top it off we were treated with a spectacular sunset so it was all good.
Although I didn’t get to fight any fish that afternoon just the act of getting out and working on the cast was an awesome way to end the work week.
When I got home that night I still had that lingering feeling that I wanted to catch something so I decided that I was going to get up early and fish in the morning. When I started stalking the flats there we a bunch fish intermittently tailing in the shallows. I headed in the area I saw the fish but the clouds were blocking the sun so I couldn’t get any quality shot sight fishing. The tide was starting to shift so I decided to work on my casts in the deeper water. The only thing that I had landed was a bunch of seaweed and the 20 ft long man eating shark from the movie jaws( lizard fish).
20 ft long Lizard Fish (I swear it was that big)!I was getting a little bored since there wasn’t much action going on and was thinking of calling it quits early. When I started heading in I saw a fellow fly fisher on the inside. I looked carefully and it turned out to be Nervous Water Fly Fishers guide Ed. Ed is a relatively new convert to fly fishing but he has been fishing in the islands pretty much all his life. Because of the local knowledge he has gained over the years, and adapting it to fly fishing, I think he is one of the finest fly fishers on the island. Many times I’ll catch him in the shop and we always like to pick each other’s brains on fishing tactics, fly patterns, fish behavior, etc. He is always willing to share his knowledge, willing to learn, and is tons of fun to hang around with. Anyway after meeting up with Ed my spirits were lifted as the clouds finally broke and the sun shine bright allowing us the opportunity to do some sight fishing. Ed’s plan was to fish the inside for tailers and then make our way to the deep. On the inside there were a bunch of fish but we didn’t get any to take us for a ride. Before we headed out to the deep I saw “Bustah” Nervous Water Fly Fishers new top fly fishing guide in action. Check out the video (on the right side bar). Man that dude works hard to find those fish. Amazing! We made it to the outside and I asked Ed if he wanted to try out my 7/8 Beulah Switch Rod. He was a little hesitant at first but finally gave in and tried it out. In fact he liked it so much I didn’t get the rod back till the end of the day.
Ed Fishing DEEP!
I was lucky enough to hook and land a nice sized bonefish on Ed’s rod. The fish made one long run that probably would have been longer had it not been to the super tight drag. Once I realized how tight the drag was I loosened it a bit. I was really happy to finally land one. That was a hard fished for bone!
On the way back to the shore we ended up bumping into “da dunking crew” that included Paul, Kyle, and Max. They had just started fishing and had bagged one bonefish. They kept this fish to give to Kyle’s old Chaminade University professor Ron for some sort of project involving gut analysis of bonefish. The things we humans do all in the name of science. Since we are on the science topic I wanted to share a story sent to me by my friend Daryl regarding a bonefish he caught that had a tag. Click here for story or check it out on the side bar. After talking stories for a bit we headed in for the day.
Dunking crew picture L to R (Paul, Ed, Kyle, and Max somewhere near the horizon)
I talked to Kyle and Paul later on that day and they caught two bonefish and three papio. I guess the dunking crew won this round of fishing but there is always next time! Dean-O
