What a great Guest Blog from Ben de Vilmorin from France. Certainly expresses the ups and downs of fishing a new location on your own, but in the end he got on to it. Ben stayed at Casuaurina Point in Abaco, one of my favorite places. Fair to say the fish see a lot of flies, but there are plenty of places to go to find “bitey” fish. Ben spent a day with one of Abaco’s well known guides, Capt Buddy Pinder, which is always worthwhile. Enjoy. “Living in Europe the question was Where is the closest place I could go bonefishing and escape winter ?. Bahamas sounded like a great option as the plane ticket was not very expensive and the amount of islands could certainly offer spots that wouldn’t be completely hammered by the american neighbours. My girlfriend and I start looking for a house to rent. Of the several options one seemed to be “Bonefish Paradise”, a beachfront house (almost) facing a huge blue lagoon on the east side of Abacos island. Just in time to book everything and order Rod’s book on Amazon and I was ready to hit the flats ! I arrived at the end of January 2014 for almost 3 weeks, the book was still on its way, my Gf would join in 10 days. I had nothing to do but Go Fishing ! Without the Rod’s bible, the first DIY sessions were far from hectic. In front of me the magnificence of Casuarina’s lagoon was the superb postcard I was waiting for, but bones don’t really like postcards they prefer mangroves and turtle grass, where the food are… While fighting to hook my first bone I heard that the west side of the island had a huge area called The Marls but could only be fished with a guide because only boats could get in. Stories of ten to twenty bonefish could be catch on a regular basis, but this craziness had a “furry” price. On the other end I was lucky enough that one of the legendary fishing guide lives 2 minutes from me… in case of (blank) emergency ! Everyday I would look at the tide and fish 1 to 3 hours at the end of the low tide until the beginning of the flow. On the beach, a couple of fly fisherwomen Julia and Mary was also putting a lot of energy to chase the n°1 flat’s torpedo. We became friend quickly and exchange the most informations we could. Finally I needed a week to find my own fly pattern, understand the behavior of the fish and (at last) hook my first bahamian bone on the lagoon ! Therefore it took me a while to have the good conditions (not to windy !) and to be at the right spot at the right time. Because like the sea bass we have in Europe, bonefish come and goes with the tides to look for food. So, quickly I quit chasing bones on the spectacular sandy lagoon in favor of turtle grass and mangroves area. A tip that you will find in Rod’s book but the local postman was probably… gone fishing, because not arrived yet Every man knows that real happiness comes mostly in a flash, very few seconds… So is bonefishing! From the time you spent crossing that turtle grass and finally spot some tailing fish, then try to figure which way they go so that you can be in front of the shawl to the final cast and set the hook.. it’s like what ? 20 seconds to 1 minute, not more. I failed a lot because of the amount of wind you find in Bahamas during “winter” season and also because I am known as Mister Loose, for example, three big loners are coming towards me like the dream sequence I was praying for the night before, but at the right time to cast a seagull cross the sky above my prey and they are gone in a splash. Good conditions were found during two early mornings where tides were at the end of low. The sun was just drilling the horizon and I could see the sparkles of tails everywhere around me. My homemade Casuarina Candy arouse curiosity, a little flashy “gay” fly, pink with red groovin legs, that does get spank by some 4 pounders who make my reel sing and me smiled. The positive vibrations continues as my girlfriend arrives for her holiday week and Rod’s book finally also, perfect assets for some lazy afternoons ! As the low tides were not in the mornings anymore, I swap to a mangrove area Rod “the guru” told me about, most of the fish were loners there and you would see them most of the time when they are only 15 feet from you. Bend down and cast quickly ! I did schedule a day with Capt. Buddy Pinder, his reputation makes his agenda busier than the Bahamas President himself. It happens to be the last day before getting on the plane. Thanks God weather was awesome, sun and almost no wind. Buddie drove us in The Marls’ meanders for an epic day of bonefishing. The Casuarina Candy was not working that well far from the turtle grass, I changed it for a little clouser that Julia gave me, after 6 bones a nastier one snap the magical lure… Buddie gave me a shrimp fly that has only one eye left, after 10 fishes, the fly had no eyes at all and looks like nothing after being chewed, but still catch some fish ! In conclusion, 7 bones fishing DIY in 2 weeks and more than 20 with Buddy in one (perfect) day. Of course I lost a lot of times understanding where and when to fish. I should have had Rod’s book earlier as most of the spot he told me about by email were written in it ! Even though the DIY fishing […]
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