S. Pacific Bonefish Extravaganza: TR / Photo essay
- This topic has 22 replies, 18 voices, and was last updated Jul 24, 2011 at 2:36 pm by
.
-
Posts
-
I suppose it’s not necessarily the greatest idea to take your first ever bonefishing trip to an island that’s known for low numbers of bones that are notoriously large and difficult to catch. Then again, I’m not known for my great ideas, and so after years of anticipation, the plan was hatch, the flights were booked, and the couple of months prior to the trip seemed to barely crawl by.
Nonetheless, the day of our departure finally arrived. We arrived at the airport partway to our final destination with an 8 hour layover in the middle of the night, and proceeded to grab a few winks of sleep on what are surely the most uncomfortable airport benches ever. notice the departure terminal is not enclosed…welcome to the tropics!
When the sun rose the next morning, we realized that we were in one of the most beautiful places on Earth:
However, our stay was shortlived, as we were on a plane and off to our final destination in no time. After a quick one hour flight and a few much needed winks of sleep we had our feet on solid ground again and quickly settled in to our new home for the next 8 days. The bags were dropped at our accommodation, and we were immediately out wading the nearest flat. First fish of the trip….a mullet. Could have stayed in Auckland for that…
I’d love to say that we killed ’em after that, but to be honest, we took our licks on the first 3 days. Granted, it wasn’t entirely our fault as a massive southerly was filling the lagoon with higher water than the locals had seen in over 8 years, but nonetheless, the catching was few and far between (read: “no bones”). On the evening of day 3, Paul and I were walking nice sand beach, with a decent flat in front of it. We had more or less (definitely ‘more’) gotten or asses kicked thus far in the trip, so we were really just soaking in the scenery and taking a few snapshots. All of a sudden I look out to the water, and see a very large bone cruising the shoreline no more that 2 rod lengths from us. I yell “bone!” and toss my camera on the beach while yelling “grab this,” as if Paul was anywhere close enough to catch my camera. Fortunately I only had my P&S out at the time because I wasn’t about to let my camera spoil the first shot of the entire trip for me. I flicked my fly in front of the fish. He charged, turned, ate. I thought, ‘hell yeah, we’re on!’ Strip set. Piiiiiing!
Apparently you’re not supposed to strip set like you’re trying to rip the fish’s face off. Good to know, except now we’re at the end of day 3 with no bones landed….or even hooked for more than 0.5 seconds.
We endured, and the shots came. We went out with a GREAT local guide for a couple of days, which made a huge difference. We went from seeing single digits of fish, to getting shot after shot. We were in:
Needless to say, our spirits were lifted. The rest of that day, and the following day as well, proved to be outstanding. Lots of bones, and other species as well. However, the trip as a whole was very much characterized by extreme highs and extreme lows. Days of no fish. Missed opportunities. HUGE bones swimming just out of casting range, inevitably disappearing into the deep blue as you run to get a cast off. It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure, but I don’t think it would have been nearly as fun if it were.
I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:
The view from our lunch spot:
The first obligatory IA food shot:
Double checking the knots, trying to avoid heartbreak:
More bones:
And plenty of other species as well:
This guy stole the fly right as a bone was charging it, and I mean full on charging it:
A few obligatory IA food shots…
Fresh yellowfin tuna on island fries with salad for $12.50? Yes please!
And a huge feed at island night at one of the resorts…definitely one of the highlights of the trip:
Also complimented with some fire dancing:
The island was beautiful, and the people and culture were amazing:
And a few more scenery and fish shots:
And that’s probably already way too many photos. Hopefully I haven’t overdone it and they still load ok. Itu deserves a shout out as an outstanding guide. This was actually the first time that I have ever hired a guide, and he far surpassed all of my expectations. Just a really nice dude, that was super fun to fish with, and extremely humble. It took a couple of days until we realized that he was actually spotting fish hundreds of meters away, far, far before we ever even had a shot at them. Initially, once they came into 20 meters, he’d call them out. After a couple days and getting a better feel for us as fisherman, he started calling them at 50 meters. At one point, Sven pointed and asked if it was a fish at 2 o’clock, 50 meters. Itu respondes, “no, that’s bottom there, but go to 1 o’clock and another 50 meters out, and that’s one…heading away from us, unfortunately.”
Overall, it was an unreal trip. I came back with heaps of pictures, and even more memories. The withdrawals are slowly subsiding now, but I already can’t wait to make a return trip. There is no doubt in my mind that the next world record bone will come from this place….likely soon. Some of the stories Itu told were ridiculous (think of a 15kg bonefish….yes, that’s over 30lbs, and no, it’s not bullshit). I saw one that would have easily gone 15lbs, probably larger. It was swimming level, just off the bottom, in water that was just a shade under knee deep, and it’s tale and dorsal were breaking the surface. It makes me shake my head just thinking about it. And the fact that it swam lazily next to my fly for about 15 seconds without even giving it a look can explain this shot:
Until we meet again, I will be daydreaming of these fish:
Bonefish…the fish that largely made catching any trout smaller than 20 inches completely irrelevant for me…
nice work Tim…
Holy shee-ite! Fantastic TR! Those bones are huge! Great stuff Tim and thanks for taking the time to write and post this. I’ll be coming back again to drool, often… 😛
Good luck Morsie, The Island cant wait should be a good time and may even Humble a few anglers.
Nice Tim, I’ll be there in October and am really looking forward to it.
Morsie
Cheers guys, glad you enjoyed it. I’ll try to add a few more photos when I get the chance.
Simon, you should definitely try to get back. We’re thinking of a possible return in Sept. 2012…
Morsie, we heard that you were going to be there in Oct. Sounds like it should be a great trip for you guys. That’s supposedly the best month to be there, and I’m sure that you guys will get into some great fish. Good luck, and I look forward to seeing some of the photos.
Doug, I still return to your Belize report from time to time when I need a fix, so I’m glad I could return the favor.
YOU! Are amazing! Brilliant. Passionate. Liberatingly…alive.
YOU! are, beyond all question or intimation, creative, and an empowered, self-aware itinerant angler. Thank you for the wonderful trip reports Tim.
YOU! make me want to go fishing!
Morsie, I take it you’ll be watching the final with your feet up with a cold bevy at the local club. 🙂
I’ve got tickets and if we arn’t playing you guys in the final then my tickets are yours. Swap you for the sun and bones
Simon, I’ve heard those rumors every year since I got down here. I count on you to weed out the bs and let me know when it’s actually on. I’ll have to figure out a way to scrape together airfare money to southland…
Sounds like a good excuse for a road trip!
Tim, those are hogs and also there is no such thing as too many pictures! thanks for the post
My wife and I just returned from a week of fishing with pops at turneffe and we did not manage to get weather that nice or fish that big. Hard rain and wind 5 out of 6 days, but his eyes can find fish as long as you are willing to keep wading in the rain.
I’m curious to hear which lens you picked up?
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.