Spring fishing is in full swing.
To start of the week William and Lori joined me for a morning of bonefish fishing. They drove down from Miami, and it was our first time fishing together. Although William is an experienced fly fisherman, this day was more about introducing Lori to flats fly fishing. William did start off on the bow and kicked off the morning with a beautiful bonefish. We had a handful of looks, and it didn’t take long for him to button up to a beauty. Lori took the bow next, we worked on casting technique and managed to put together a few good shots. The opportunities were sparse due to the cloudy conditions. Although we couldn’t get it done this trip, I think with a little more practice and some sunnier conditions she’ll come tight.
Next up, father/son duo Dane and Chad traveled down from Vermont to flats fish for the first time. I was impressed in their casting, especially Dane being a 17 year old senior in high school. Dane picked off the first bonefish that crossed the bow, one of the most impressive fish I’ve seen this spring! He’s got a bright angling future ahead of him. We sifted through a few more flats chipping away at shots until we came into some huge schools of mudding bonefish. Chad came tight to a few that dropped the hook before finally landing one for himself. First bonefish for both of them, we headed to the dock delighted!
David came down to permit fish and with March Merkin permit tournament around the corner, I was up to the challenge.
We left the dock at sunrise to look for tailers. We had a shot at one oncoming wake, but it was difficult to identify and our cast felt short as the fish spooked away. We followed that up with a spot I was hoping to see some floaters. The permit weren’t home, however we found tarpon cruising the edge of the flat. We switched our merkin fly for a tarpon toad and worked on them for an hour. We got one bite, and some close follows. It slowed down and we transitioned back to permit. Plagued with clouds we targeted a handful flats where we might see a tail in the calm conditions, but came up short. Sticking with it we were able to find a few fish at our next spot. I spotted a pair we couldn’t get a cast off too, and we bumped a few that spooked away before we could see them. David converted one nice shot on a fish feeding close to the boat, but it didn’t play and swam slowly off the flat. It was a tough day but we worked our tails off and had a beautiful day on the water.
To finish the week I had the opportunity to fish by myself for a day. I got out at sunrise with the hopes to find a tarpon. They were rolling where I expected them to be, and I set the anchor in a high percentage spot. Within fifteen minutes I was hooked upto a giant. To pull up the anchor I put the cork of the rod in my mouth with the drag screaming away, I heard huge splashes behind me and I could picture her leaping in the air. With the anchor in the bucket and the rod back in my hand I kicked on the motor and idled toward the fish to pick up as much backing as I could. When I got to my fly line I started working on her. Tiring herself by jumping, I was able to have her to hand within minutes. I’d estimate she was about 70 pounds.
I worked hard for permit the rest of the day, and in the evening I was rewarded. The water slicked out and I came across a point on an edge with a good flow of tailing and waking fish. I was hoping they would be there because i’ve had good luck with these fish in the past. I made a handful of good shots and a handful of shots I would have liked to have back. I came up empty handed and rode to the dock into the sunset.
Steve arrived today from Montana to pre-fish and fish the Merkin. Hopefully we can catch one.
William catches a Key West bonefish.
Dane with is first bonefish on fly.
Chad with his first bonefish on fly.
Tarpon caught at sunrise in Key West.
