Tag Archives: travel

Adventure, Catch & Release, DIY, Everglades, Travel

Its More Than A Feeling

“Then we got into a labyrinth, and, when we thought we were at the end,
came out again at the beginning, having still to see as much as ever.” 
― Plato

 

I try to take something away from every outing on the water.  A little moment or big, it doesn’t matter; just a piece of the puzzle that fits into the ever sprawling mosaic of experience that builds my bigger picture of fly fishing.

As the sun sank to my west, I stood in the cockpit of my skiff and chased it towards the horizon.  Lying before me was the gear I had needed to be self reliant for a couple of nights in Everglades National Park.

salt bum fly fishing expedition
At peace running through Florida Bay.

The feeling I had was one of achievement.  I had arrived with a few goals in mind and I had checked them off the list along with a couple more that were simply icing on the cake.

The trip was made in the company of a great friend and fellow fly angler.

The great feelings aside, we learned a lot and more importantly, nourished the desire to return and build upon it.

Adventure, Bahamas, Bonefish, DIY, fly fishing, redfish, Redneck Riviera, Travel

Bahamas Style: Redfish On Fly

Until this week, I’ve always thought there was only one place to go to enjoy wading for redfish in a place that evokes the feeling of bonefishing a Bahamas flat.  A few years ago it was the Lower Laguna Madre of Southwest Texas where I had experienced it for the first time.

The Gulf Islands National Seashore is also just such a place.  Recently I spent the better part of 3.5 hours walking the shoreline there looking for redfish in gin clear water over hard sand bottom.  The set-up is identical to what you normally see reserved for bonefish.  My timing was off, I was there on an extremely high tide, so I passed on wading and remained on the narrow ribbon of beach along the water’s edge.  Nonetheless, I saw a handful of redfish, all solitary hunters, that were plying the same shoreline.  This time they were a bit too wary of my offerings and all of the shots I took ended without a hook-up, despite a couple of promising follows.

There are literally miles of flats available.  Hard sand bottom with sparse sea grasses stretch on from horizon to horizon.

The idea of spending time on the Redneck Riviera has grown in appeal by significant digits.

For now, I’ll carry the panhandle skunk back home with me, but rest assured, I’ll return again with a sharper plan and better timing.  I love bonefishing, I love it even more when the expected gray ghost is actually a copper rocket.

Adventure, Alaska, fly fishing, Travel

Sight Fishing With Kate & Mighty Mouse

A lot has been said recently about an Arctic Grayling’s voracious appetite for rodents. No doubt about it, when you’re throwing a mouse pattern in Western Alaska for rainbow trout, you’re going to see your fair share of this:

Grayling Love Rodents Too

Fly Out Media got out the camera recently when the rainbows were more than happy to oblige.

Adventure, Conservation, fly fishing, Travel

A Life At Sea Ends

The Summer of 2014 will forever be seared into my memory thanks to the time I spent in the wilds of Western Alaska. Two weeks of self-reliance with a small group of fellow riverine fly fishing nomads was filled with memories that have crept into my mind everyday since my return. It was epic.

The salmon we sought were old salts, making their way back to the waters from which they had sprung. Theirs was a one way journey, undertaken to sustain their family lineage.

Up the coast from Florida, one of the great storytellers of the Lowcountry made a similar trip. His lens captured the essence and minutia of it in fine fashion.

Enjoy…

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Humble Pie & An Eye To The Sky

As Spring Break drew to a close, time on the water increased and a great friend and kindred spirit from Texas joined me for a day on Mosquito Lagoon in hopes of feeding a few redfish some buck tail and feathers.  The full moon was ever present in the back of my mind as we struggled the first half of the day, literally watching fish swim past well presented flies without the first hint of interest in them.  It wasn’t a matter of fly choice or tactics in getting them to eat, it was just the funky psyche of the locals that had us resigned to laughing at the snubs one after another.  One fly literally passed over the fish’s nose and brushed across his eye without so much as a flinch.

The days that followed saw a bit more of an agreeable personality emerge in the fish, perhaps due to the lunar phase moving further past the full moon.

Despite the improved attitude being offered, a handful of feeds resulted in no fish to hand as missed hook sets pushed their way to the forefront, stymieing the goal of giving short skiff rides to a select few reds.

You know its getting hopeless when you feed a fish twice, only to pull the fly from the jaws of success both times.

Its times like these where you chuckle at the notion of bonefish being spooky devils.  Bones are a joy.  Pure unadulterated bliss.

In just over a month and a half my next DIY bonefish adventure will go wheels up.  In the meantime, I’ll keep shoveling more humble pie into my beer hole.

 

The last time we were dropping dimes: