January 6, 2013 - January 12, 2013 Fishing Report

WHAT GUESTS WERE CATCHING:

BONES: First bonefish for so many of our guests this week. Way to go Debra, Nathaniel, and Barry. What a fun thing to do as a family! And Emily, just because you are a diver and not a fisher gal…yet, we respect what you learned and accomplished this week with Alonzo. Bonefishing this week was not the easiest thing in the world. We had big wind, so casting was challenging. Mike caught a really nice bonefish, and it was tagged. Our tagging event is coming up, so guides are getting back into tagging bonefish. We have so many bonefish, that we need to tag about another thousand before we start to see returns. Are you ready?

PERMIT: You had to really be dedicated for permit this week due to the wind. But, those that kept at it were rewarded! Ron and Mike have been fishing together for years and they love permit. Way to go guys! Ron landed 4 permit on fly this week, and Mike landed one. They had several others that didn’t make the boat…lots of casts! Permit in schools of up to 100 fish, 5 – 15 lbs. The bigger ones, 20 – 30 lbs are around! We still love our Christmas Island Specials, Gotcha Bunny’s, and Avalon’s for flies.

TARPON: Part of our extended family…Bob and Rob showed up this week. They jumped a few tarpon on live bait, but things happened before getting the fish to the boat. Good sports! These guys always have a fun time and know that sometimes it all comes together and sometimes you just have to laugh. In any case, tarpon are around, but this week was tough for tarpon fishing due to the wind.

OTHER SPECIES: Barracuda! On fly and spin. Such an underrated fish. Snook around but not targeted this week.

FLIES THAT WORKED

Bonefish: Gotcha, Crazy Charlie’s in tan or white, just about anything would work – mostly size 8 and 6, some with weedguards.
Permit: Our standard never gives up: Orange Christmas Island Special in size 4 or 6, Avalon in size 4, and Gotcha’s in size 4 or 6. Some crabs in 6, tan. Mantis shrimp, tan and bead chain eyes – it works.
Tarpon: : Chartreuse toad, slow easy twitchy retrieve – depends on what the fish is doing. Watch and listen. On Savannah we are using 40 and 50 lb shock. Let the fly settle, then move it. White, tan, pink – bunnies and toads. Saturday they wanted tan. Really fun tarpon fishing in skinny water right now!

GUIDE OF THE WEEK

Captain Cesar for getting Ron and Mike into world class permit fishing every day!

REPORT SUMMARY:

We had some challenging wind this week and some really wonderful people! I just love to see “good sportsmanship!” Thank you Ron for sharing all of your stories traveling around the world fishing. Your enthusiasm was contagious. And so good to see our family; Bob and Faith, Rob and Chris! We had a nice week where we had a small group of people that felt right at home. We love that!

Don’t forget our Annual Grand Slam Tagging Invitational to Benefit Bonefish & Tarpon Trust at El Pescador Wednesday, Jan 23 – Sunday, Jan 27, 2013. Contact us for more information. Thank you! - Lori-Ann and Ed

If you have any questions or would like more information, please email us at [email protected]. Happy fishing!