Everyone’s showing the wear and tear of a dozen straight hardcore flats fishing days this morning. But the end is in sight. We have two more days. And tired or not, there wasn’t a single one in this Yellow Dog St. Brandon’s group that wasn’t going for the gusto no matter what today.
I fished with Mike Lodge which means its all about the permit today. We went with guide Matt and he was quick to tell me the tide would be so low when we started, only one of us would be able to fish. I was plenty cool with that. I lingered behind Mike and Matt with my camera just hoping to watch Mike and Matt unravel a beautiful Indo-Pacific permit. But the stubborn yellow permit wouldn’t be around in the morning.
Fortunately for me, hanging back moving at a snail’s pace allows me to see things I would have missed and for things to unfold that wouldn’t normally unfold. The first this morning was this big bonefish swimming so shallow his eyes were above the waterline. He had to of seen me cast. I was eye to eye with him at 40 feet. But he must not have cared. When my small lightweight Merkin crab landed, he pounced on it!
There wasn’t much happening for Mike and Matt on their permit quest. The tide was coming in and so were the bonefish. Matt and Mike passed a few up which was good for me. I picked off another and then had one coral me and break me off. The guys finally got one good shot at a single permit but these rascals are persnickety. Matt finally talked Mike into casting to a bonefish. When he hooked up, I could tell it was a dandy and walked over to take some pics.
Indeed it was a good one. Plenty worth my walk over to snap some shots. This one weighed in at 7.5 lbs. Just another St. Brandon’s bonefish!
By the time Mike released his chunky bonefish our flat had plenty of water for me to start off on one of my long solo walks. Matt assured us we had a good two hours of fishing left before it was too high. I said see you for lunch and off I went. I ticked off some fun stuff right away that included a strongspine pursemouth and a couple of yellowlip emperors. I saw more bones as well.
But what happened to me an hour in was not fun and a first for me. The high tide current was coming in fast by now. Almost too strong to fish. There were a few permit swirling in and out of sight like trout. Some bones too. There was also a green colored shape. It wasn’t bonefish color but similar. I didn’t move like a bonefish; in fact it was still. I tossed my crab and it shot at like a missile and grabbed it. Dang – a needlefish!
It was a big needle and they can put up a fight. They run you hard. They jump. And usually, after a minute they break you off because they have teeth like and alligator. But not this one. This guy fought hard but then gave up and I reeled him in.
Getting him in wasn’t easy. I had to bring him up against the tidal current and once I did that, he held his ground and circled me while I leaned on him hard. I was trying to see if my fly was in sight. Unhooking these fish is not fun and nearly impossible if its down their throat. I soon realized I couldn’t see my fly and this would be a hassle.
Just as I almost had him close enough to grab him tight behind the head, he turned sideways too me, looked me in the eye, then lunged towards me and grabbed my calf. Seriously! He bit the crap out of me, got his teeth stuck in me then shook loose and took off again. It scared the hell out of me to the point where I just wanted to break him off. But no such luck. I brought him all the way back and lucky for me, he was truly exhausted so no more attacking me. This time I grabbed him and looked down the throat. No chance. My fly wasn’t even in sight. I cut the line and called it.
About the time my fiasco was over, I had a chance to look at my leg. It looked like I ran through some blackberry bushes in shorts. Just a few drops of blood here and there and some scrape type cuts. No harm done. I saw Mike and Matt hiking off the flat to the boat. I was ready. I headed in for the morning for lunch and water.
Well, it wasn’t lunch time. It was 2:30 pm. We’d fished for six straight hours. It was an awesome morning with a few big bones and miscellaneous fun action. After our late lunch, Matt wanted to take Mike to where he had Morgan catch a permit last night. I was game to watch and call it a day for me.
The guys got lots of casts to permit in the last hour. They were tailing like crazy on this one flat within sight of the lodge. But these fish are smart. They pretty much shunned every fly Mike threw at them. Soon it was well past 4 and time to call it a day.
There were some nice fish caught today. Most of the guys started their day again at boneyard like we have the past two morning. While they didn’t smear them like we did the last two days, they caught some. Todays big one was this 9.5lb caught by Mike Brennan. Mike has been just shy of the 10lb mark now three times.
I did the last of my
art projects tonight. Then we drank a few extra Phoenix’s and celebrated what and amazing trip this has been. No, its not over, we have one more day. But there’s not doubt, everyone feels as thought they’ve caught what they came here to catch. Anything on tomorrows docket will be a bonus. Bed time!