I have fished the Keys many times and it is one of our family’s favourite vacation spots. Great food, wonderful people and some nice acommodation. A great place to kick back. I have caught some nice bonefish there on my own, both wading from shore and with the use of a kayak. But overall I would say it is a “boat” place. And since the fish can be so difficult to catch it is best to be with one of the many experienced guides. The Keys would not be where I would send someone to catch their first bonefish, but maybe the story below will make us all look at the Keys a little differently. Thanks to subscriber Jean-Luc Rancourt for his report on his first bonefish. “Well, I set off on a mission to find some Bonefish on a Sunday morning. So I took the information I learned from my new DIY Bonefishing book and I headed for Bahia Honda State Park on the Oceanside. When I got there I saw people everywhere and was a little discouraged. I walked down the beach where there were less people and the start of the flats. I noticed a trail of white sand going through the turtle grass and said to myself “If I were a Bonefish I would cruise this trail to get through the flats.” So I decided to just walk that sandy trial to the other side of the island, or as far as it would take me. After about 30 minutes, I decided instead of looking for the Bones, I’m going to let them find me. About 5 minutes later I see these gray shadows swimming toward me. Holy *#@&! I think those are Bones!” “GOT EM!!!” Realizing I have a Bonefish, I start cursing in excitement, laughing, thanking god as he’s taking line! I can feel the hairs on my arms stand up in excitement and the chills flowing down my spine as I get it closer to sight. Thinking to myself I am so happy I brought my GoPro camera. “First time using it for fishing by the way.” As I get the fish closer, there are about 10 other fish around him going crazy like they don’t know what’s wrong with their buddy. I start thinking “Man, I might be able to catch a few more if I get this guy in.” After a good 3 or 4 minutes I finally get him in. “I caught my first Bonefish!!!”. I could not believe my eyes once I had him in my hands. I kept saying to myself “OMG I just caught my first bonefish! OMG I just caught my first bonefish! And I got it on camera too! I walked a little further and I am getting a lot closer to the tourists on the beach. So I think to myself ” I won’t catch any bones around here.” I then walk into this humungous open white area of sand with patches of turtle grass growing within it. All of a sudden I see this BIG gray shadow cruising in the white sand, hugging the edge of the turtle grass. So I cast about 8 feet in front of him. My gray shadow target was still cruising but my line was screaming. It doesn’t feel as big as the fish I was going after, but something was definitely fighting hard. As I get it closer, I see it’s a Bone. I scream “Another Bonefish! Ha haaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!” I look up and see a couple wading in the water for fun pointing at me “Look he’s got a fish!” As I reeled him in, I pull the fish out of the water like a proud father holding his kid for the first time. People watching and commenting as I am unhooking the fish and let him go. “Look, he caught a bonefish!” What a great feeling. What a great day. I didn’t just catch my first Bonefish, I just caught 2 Bonefish! Right then I couldn’t help but to think all the hard work, studying, and efforts I put in have finally paid off. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone I caught my first Bonefish. I started thinking about the DIY buff I put on that morning, and all the information I learned from the DIY Bonefishing book, and how it all came to fruition that day. Can’t wait to finish reading the rest of the book, since I’m only half way through. I was so happy and content I decided to call it a day. I couldn’t wait to watch my video, tell my friends and family, and to tell Rod Hamilton that not only did I use the information from the book to help me catch my first bone, but I actually got it on film and I was wearing my DIY Bonefish buff. How cool was that!” Congrats Jean-Luc on your first bonefish. There will no doubt be many more to come.
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