Nov 1st November 1
For anyone out there who has been longing to be in the Florida Keys this past week, don’t worry. The winds have been cranking and the fishing has been slow (guide talk for terrible). And before the wind started we had 4 1/2 days of clouds. Still a few fish were caught, but a definite let down from the previous weeks.
I last fished on Sunday the 28th with Richard Berlin from Boston (a happy Sox fan). We had mediocre fishing during the morning low in the backcountry. Some schools of bonefish pushing around. Richard managed to catch a solid 5lb fish. The incoming gave us only a smattering of shots at a few bones and permit. Richard came tight to a 15lb permit that chased down a rapidly stripped shrimp fly, but the hook didn’t stick. It woud have been a great way to end the day. That same day, Drew and permit addict Graham Anderson from Calgary managed to land a 8lb bonefish and 13lb permit in quick succession to end the day.
My previous two days of fishing with Richard produced only one other bonefish (7lbs). On our second day a cast into a school of tipping/waking bones yielded a 10lb Jack and a cast into a school of hard-tailing permit found a 3lb cuda. We didn’t manage to catch a bonnethead to complete our trash can slam. Oh well.
Before the clouds arrived I managed to sneak out on a canceled day with Drew and long time friend Chris Guarino. The fishing was fairly slow until the falling tide in the afternoon. Drew lost a large bonefish (10+) next to the boat and I managed to land a 12 lb permit.
This permit, like all of those that have been caught recently by Drew and I, aggresively chased down a stripped shrimp fly. Quick 12-18 inch strip to get the fish to see the fly and chase. A brief pause after the chase began to let the fish eat the fly, then re-start the strip cadence. Continue till the fish spooks off the boat or the fish comes tight. This sure beats the drop and wait crab fly technique.
I will be out tomorrow.
John