January 13, 2013 - January 19, 2013 Fishing Report

WHAT GUESTS WERE CATCHING:

BONES: The Luke Family all received their bonefish pins for landing bones on fly. They are used to fishing pike up in the north country, and were very surprised by the amount of line that goes sailing with our Belizean bonefish. Jonathan landed a nice bonefish in front of the lodge. With the changing wind from the north, the lee fishing on the beach was a choice for some. Our lodge fish are generally bigger, in the 4 to 6 lb range and are a smarter than average bonefish because they have seen a variety of flies. But like Ali said, “they are catchable!” Bob also caught bonefish for the first time with Captain Tomas.

PERMIT:Jonathan had some great shots with Captain Cesar up in the Park. I witnessed big black tails sticking out of the water as his flies landed right by their nose. Big follows and big rejections, but very fun. Jonathan is an amazing caster and experienced saltwater angler. He told me how much he enjoyed Cesar reading the fish behavior and coaching him as he stripped the Avalon through the water. More fishing for you next time Jonathan!

TARPON:Early in the week the Luke family had some shots and some “big eats,” but no tarpon were landed this week. As the weather changed, Savannah got blown out. This means ones thing: When it clears in a day or so, the fish will be biting!

OTHER SPECIES: Don caught two HUGE barracudas on fly. No, we don’t have a barracuda pin, but you deserved one if we did. Jonathan had snook attack his fly, but they won. He lost a nice snook after the first one destroyed his leader

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 Kechu for his dedication to “making it happen,” for his guests. Taylor does a perfect Kechu imitation: “I know you can do better man!”

REPORT SUMMARY:

The Lukes brought the best beef jerkey, thank you! Don, Debra, Ryan, Colleen, Christopher and Eric all learned to double haul and fish the flats with their fly rods. When we had a group of experienced guides from Alaska show up for a wedding this weekend, Eric looked upset. I said, “what’s up?” He looked at me and said he was mad because the other guys are “better” than he and his brothers. I said, “not true!” They are learning about the flats as well. In fact, they just said how humbled they felt after their first day out on the water. The point is that it is challenging to hunt the fish, then present a fly in their path. When it all comes together, it’s a great feeling. And that feeling takes you to your next trip and that much closer to your dream of landing a tarpon or permit or bonefish! The experience is an education about the fish and their environment, as well as the angler’s ability to adjust to a gambit of emotions during the process. It’s not everyday we can go out and be “the perfect angler,” no matter how much experience one may have. I know we will see Eric chasing silver in the near future. In the meantime, we have a wedding today! Megan and Taylor are here with their family and friends to tie knots together! Tomorrow is “ladies day,” where the guys will hold back and make sure the ladies of the party learn about fishing the flats as well. Stay tuned for next weeks report to see how they did! In the meantime, go grab your fly rod and make a few casts. It feels great and it will help you when you are on the bow of the boat looking at 40 pound tarpon. Cheers. And let the Second Annual Bonefish Tarpon Tagging Event begin! Starts next week!

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!