December 25, 2000 After the festivities we went down to the sea, my father and I. We loaded up flies, rods, flashlights, knives, casting buckets, and leader fixings, piled it all in his truck and went in search of tarpon. It seemed the thing to do. Around here tarpon hunting doesn’t necessarily mean big motors, [...]
Posts under ‘Old Scratch’
The Midnight Special
Let the midnight special, shine her light on me. Let the midnight special, shine her ever-lovin’ light on me. ~Leadbelly August 30, 2000 I’ve finally caught the fish that originally inspired me to take up fly fishing and here is how it happened. A few days ago I came down with a case of that [...]
In Time
August, 2005 We fished until dark, but none would take. We marked their progress by the flashing tails and cast long leads to them with light flies. When they approached we’d strip the fly and they’d disappear in an explosion of water, perhaps to bide their time off the edge until the flats were peaceful [...]
Does “Catch & Release” = “Probably Dead”? (Pt. II)
May 20, 2002 We drove north to investigate a rumor of bones and arrived at a place I would never have imagined we would find. In fact, I would never have thought there was a way to fish this flat from the shore in the first place. Thank goodness for strangers and their generosity. Within [...]
BREAKING EVEN: A Month in Bonefishing (Pt. V)
June 27, 2004 Occasionally, just occasionally circumstances and luck align in favor of the angler. Lord knows anglers get enough bad luck, it’s only fair that it swings the other way every once and a while. Call it bad luck for the fish, I guess. Yesterday I was wading the Head of Barkers waiting for [...]
BREAKING EVEN: A Month in Bonefishing (Pt. IV)
June 2004 I was once fishing a favorite flat with a new fly, a killer pattern I’ll say I discovered. I’d already taken several schoolies with it from South Sound and figured I’d try it on the big boys. It was a tough morning. Intermittent light and high water made for tough fish spotting conditions. [...]
BREAKING EVEN: A Month in Bonefishing (Pt. III)
June 2004 Talking about big fish naturally brings to mind ones that got away, or very nearly did. Big fish are big for a reason, after all. They are strong, smart and know their home grounds like you know your own bathroom [1]. If there is a single mangrove shoot or coral head around, they’ll [...]
