It was during the Covid. The fall of 2020. I got the fully paid invite to join our Team USA Fly Fishing sponsor Jerry Arnold to Casa Blanca Lodge in the Yucatan in Mexico. The flats were well rested thanks to the pandemic and fishing was off the hook. I was blogging up a storm with all kinds of fun stories. The best time to write was early morning. I sleep poorly so I’m talking, the 3 to 4 am kind of early. I’d grab a table in the lodge bar in the dark and go to work. Strangely, one of the other guests was in there too, smoking cigarettes. It was Michael Lodge. We became friends, have since done numerous trips together and haven’t looked back.
Today was our day to fish together. We’ll fish again next week on the second to last day of this trip. Man, that sounds crazy being we’ve nearly had a week of fishing and we have more than a week to go. But its true. This is an extended 14 day trip here at St. Brandon’s Atoll in Mauritius. Our guide was Jono who I fished with on day 2.
Mr. Lodge has passion for permit. The hunger where every day of this trip at least starts with a full on hunt for permit. I personally need my species fixes and I’m a huge fan of these giant St. Brandon’s Atoll bonefish. But a serious day of permit fishing isn’t something I balk at. I love these stunning yellow fish as much any permit nut.
Unfortunately, our morning fishing was slow. Extremely slow. Of course, because I was open to finding bonefish, I ran across the only two permit. They were moving erratically though and I couldn’t get the head on shot you dream of. But that was it in the course of three hours. Jono didn’t love our tide levels at the end of our unsuccessful flats walk and suggested drifting for giant trevally. Mikes second favorite fish is the GT so he was very content to take the bow with his 12-weight.
My right shoulder throbbed all night so as planned I left my 12-weight back at the lodge today to avoid temptation. But I can only drift over turquoise blue coral head waters for so long. I’m a junkie. As obvious as repetitive casting being a bad idea, I grabbed my 9-weight, cut the Alphlexo off and put on a small Clouser. There were no backhands. Only some gentle flop casts with my right arm and some lefthanded attempts mixed in. I didn’t catch anything new but lots of fun stuff including this handsome bluefin trevally.
It had been the slowest day yet by the time we had a late 2 pm lunch. It was just one of those days. We were parked on a sandy spit. It was a good GT and bluefin trevally spot and terns were nesting and divebombing everywhere. Sure enough a pair of bluefin came by. Jono and Mike hopped out and got one quick shot. But the neon blue fish weren’t playing.
We ended the day at Big Trash. You’ve heard the name a few times this week because despite being next to the lodge, it is a fantastic flat for permit. Mike and Jono took the exact route Heath and Juan took yesterday, close along to the island. I waded exactly the route I took further out. I suspected that I’d find the same big school of bonefish I caught one from yesterday. Sure enough, I was right.
This was another big bonefish. He made an eye-opening run maybe 75 yards into my backing. For me it was two hands on my Winston 9-weight and I kept my knuckles far from my spinning Bauer reel spool handle. No matter how far a bonefish goes, when he stops you can reel him at least half way back before he runs again. Sometimes it’s all the way back and then they run to your backing again. This fish did both and then finally called it quits. It’s my biggest bone of the week so far. Jono weighed him at 8.5lbs!
I’d end up catching another big bonefish ten minutes after I released the first. He was a twin and despite a mostly slow day of fishing, catching those two massive bones made this an exceptional day. Mike went fishless but that’s part of the deal when you’re hardcore for your permit. It didn’t phase him. The only bummer for Mike was that he didn’t get a lot of chances.
Fishing was off for the entire group today so it wasn’t just us being at the wrong place. It was one of those days. But if you keep your fly in the water, “one of those days” still has potential. Sure enough, Heath knocked off his first Indo-Pacific permit. Even though he was bonefishing!
We have six days fishing in the books and another eight to go. Music to my ears! Tonight was steak night here in the boonies of St. Brandon’s Atoll. The food has been great this week. Back on the flats again in the morning.