Key West Fly Fishing

There are times that I can’t help but ask, “Why am I a fishing guide?”  I have many complicated and convoluted answers to this question, but I also have this very simple one: when I get a chance to go fishing, I generally have a good idea where I can find some quality fish to throw a fly at (excuse the dangling participle).  This was definitely the case on Friday morning.

I was able to recruit two fellow guides and friends, Sandy “Thunder Pole” Horn and Shane Wood, aka Woody, to join me for a morning of bonefishing on the Gulf edges to the Northwest of Big Pine.  We had the last of the falling tide for the first hour of the morning.  The fish were there, but they seemed very relucatnt to stick their tails up.  With no pressure to perform for a client, we relaxed and waited out the tide. 

The young flood arrived shortly thereafter and so did our fish.   I figured with three fishing guides on the boat that this should be easy.  I was wrong.  My first shot at a pod of large tailing fish yielded nothing but questions.  Why didn’t they eat?  Do I need a different fly?  Why didn’t we bring any beer? 

Woody and Sandy faired no better.  The armies of bonefish kept marching, we kept casting, and sooner or later things would have to turn around.  A switch to a small merkin yielded a quick hook-up, but 10 schools later, we still hadn’t hooked another.

Again, patience paid off.  About the time we lost our tailing tide, the fishing turned on.  Suddenly we couldn’t keep the fish off our flies.  In 30 minutes we caught three fish (4,8 and 10lbs) in as many shots.  Along with the normal thrills asscociated with a hooked bonefish, this morning we had to fend off the countless sharks of every make and model as they tried to get to the fish before we did.  Fortunately for the bones we won each race, but just barely. 

I caught the last of the three (the little one) and figured we should quit while we were ahead. 

In four hours of fishing we threw to at least 1000 bones, managed only four hook-ups, catching three, and re-learned one important lesson.  Just keep casting.

Later,

John

Well as John accurately predicted the wonderful fishing that we have experienced this summer took a few days off that just happened to coincide with the annual RedBone SLAM tournament. Although we both managed to get permit, a few bonefish and a handful of tarpon all on fly, the fishing wasn’t close to what we experienced in the weeks leading up to the event. Luckily, the fishing was equally lackluster for most teams and former NFL lineman, Mark Cooper, and I took Celebrity Grand Champion honors. Being out of town the following week, I didn’t realize the “controversy” that the win would create.

After the SLAM, John spent several days fishing with Rodger Nye from Swan Valley, Idaho. They had incredible bonefishing all three days and on the last day finished the trip off with a beautiful grand slam.

While they fished, I headed to Colorado to fish and attend the Fly Fishing Retailer Show in Denver. I was fortunate enough to fish with Bernard Ramanauskas, Scott Fly Rods cane builder and the maker of the beautiful Eden Cane rods. We fished the Arkansas, Chalk Creek, some high mountain lakes, the Eagle and the Big Thompson in a whirlwind tour of parts of the state. I caught some great trout on a variety of techniques and had a blast the entire time. A temporary change of scenery is never a bad thing. I met up with John in Denver and we saw the latest and greatest that some of the fly fishing companies have to offer. It is always a good chance to meet other fly fisherman from around the country and catch up with some old friends. The highlights of the show for me were the reintroduction of Scott’s STS series of saltwater rods and the 7 and 8 weight Scott S4 rods.

As always, on the flight home the sight of the lower keys backcountry from the air reminds me of where my heart truly lies and yesterday John and I got back onto the water. Despite less than stellar conditions, the bonefish are still around and there are some tarpon hanging around as well. We caught a tarpon and several bonefish the biggest of which was an eleven to twelve pound slob that pounced on a lightly weighted merkin in less than eight inches of water. The fish were actively tailing and backing through the end of the outgoing tide which occured around three in the afternoon. Hopefully this fishing will continue right through the end of October and possible a little longer. This is definitely a year in which John and I have both rediscovered our love affair with bonefish.

Capt Drew

Well it looks like Drew beat me to the punch and published a report before I had a chance.  Sorry Drew.  Anyway, I still feel compelled to add a little to his words.  At the risk of hyperbole, I must say that the bonefishing that I witnessed the last two days has been off the charts.  Two days ago, after a morning of excellent baby tarpon fishing (slick calm shrimp hatch) I took my clients (Andrew and Jennifer Watson of Memphis TN) to meet the young flood on a bank Northeast of Big Pine.  We were greeted by armies of tailing bonefish.  Several of the schools numbered well in to the hundreds, while the smaller schools held at least twenty to thirty fish.  For at least an hour and a half we were surrounded by these schools of tailers.  With the rushing tide, tailing depth didn’t last too long and a thunderstorm to the west blocked our light and our fishing came to a screeching halt.

Yesterday after our shrimp hatch died we returned to the same bank for the young flood.  The bonefish were there, but they were very reluctant to tail for extended periods.  The reason for this was quickly revealed as every school of fish was shadowed by three to five lemon sharks.  Needless to say, these schools were reluctant to feed.  However, unlike the previous day, out light was great and once the bank flooded, the bonefish escaped the sharks and started to feed voraciously.  Huge schools of fish (50-100 fish) blowing mud, racing down tide and mudding again.  Such fishing continued for hours, but the intensity caught up to us and we left the fish for more peaceful and tarpon rich waters.  The past two days of bonefishing might best be summed up by the comment made by Andros regular Andrew Watson.  “John, you don’t have to go to Andros, you have it here.” 

With the annual Redbone SLAM tournament (bait chunkers delight) coming up next weekend, I am sure my fishing will tank, but at least it was fun while it lasted. 

Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my birdwatching.  The fall migration has begun.  In the time it took to write this I have seen a Kentucky Warbler, Grey Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and several other yet unidentified warblers.  Time to go get out the binoculars and my Peterson guide.

Later,

Capt John