The Creel
It's Time to Make the Jump to Salt Water
By David Keene
After releasing a nice bonefish that made the drag on my reel sing as it took me well into my backing, I looked around at the beautiful turquoise blue water and wondered why I had waited so long to take up this type of fly fishing. I was in the Ascension Bay area of the Yucatan on my first salt water flats fly fishing trip. The trip was everything I had hoped it would be, and now that I'm back home, I've given that question more thought.
A year ago I had no burning desire to take up salt water fly fishing. I was too focused on the many quality freshwater fly fishing opportunities that present themselves. I also had yet to achieve some freshwater fly fishing goals and knew it would take time, effort, and commitment to master the techniques and skills necessary to achieve those goals. So I was totally focused on, and very contented with, freshwater fly fishing. I had just completed a destination trip to Labrador where I had achieved one of my freshwater goals - to catch a native brook trout exceeding 24 inches. I was thinking about a trip out west since I had not caught a cutthroat that size, when I noticed The Fly Angler in Fridley was hosting a trip to Pesca Maya in the Yucatan for bonefish, permit, tarpon, barracuda, and other species. I inquired about the trip, and after thinking about it awhile, decided it would be a great opportunity to try something new, meet new people and broaden my skills. I even convinced myself to invest in two new rods, reels, fly lines, backing, flats boots, fly tying materials, and a some other accessories.
Four of us ended up making the trip, and Peter Garretson, Chris Sprau, and I met every two weeks at The Fly Angler with Mike Rolek, who hosted the trip. Planning a trip like this can be a lot of fun, and the pre-trip planning meetings gave us the opportunity to get know each other better and get our gear in order. We covered the many topics at the pre-trip planning meetings, including: the fishery, the species of fish we were targeting, equipment, knots and rigging, guide communication, travel arrangements, and packing checklists. We also had a guest speaker, Tom Anderson, talk to us about his experiences fishing in that part of Mexico. We devoted several meetings to tying flies for the trip and practicing casting.
After six months of planning meetings I was itching to go and when we finally got there I had an absolutely fabulous time. I caught my first bonefish within my first hour of fishing, and had more fish take me into my backing in one week that in the previous 21 years of freshwater fly fishing. I'm still kicking myself for waiting so long to take up this type of fishing, but I'm planning to make up for lost time with annual trips in the future. If, like me, you have not given much serious thought to making a salt water flats fly fishing trip, here a few reasons to take the plunge into the salt:
- You'll be casting to fish that will peel the line and backing from your reel.
- You have many opportunities to cast to quality fish. In a typical day you can have 20 or more shots at bonefish and bonus shots at permit, barracuda and other species.
- Bonefish are the perfect saltwater fish to pursue with a fly. It's as if God made them for fly fishers. They are often in water less than a foot deep and provide unique sight fishing challenges.
- Taking up saltwater flats fly fishing will cause you to develop skills that aren't emphasized as much in fresh water situations, such as:
- Spotting fish - you generally don't cast to a fish unless you spot it first.
- Casting quickly and accurately in the wind. You usually only have about five seconds to locate the fish and get an accurate cast to it. If you take longer, the fish may have swam away.
- Learning new knots required for these strong fish.
- Learning to cast to moving targets. Unless the fish are tailing, they are moving. You may have cast to cruising fish in a lake. This is similar.
- Learning to cast tighter loops and generate high line speed to cheat the wind.
- You'll fish in some absolutely beautiful places.
- You'll meet new people and create new fishing relationships.
- With a little care, the salt environment won't damage your equipment.
- Once you get past the initial equipment investment, salt water trips are cheaper than many fresh water destination trips. Travel can also be easier. For our trip, it was a non-stop flight to Cancun followed by a three hour ride in an air conditioned van.
- You'll add a lot of new fish to your list of species caught. I caught seven new species on my first flats fishing trip.
- You may develop new fly fishing goals, such as a salt water grand slam.
- You'll become a more complete and competent fly angler.
If the above list has gotten you to seriously think about a flats fishing trip here are some considerations when planning your first trip.
Fish Species
Think about what type of fish you want to catch. Do you want to wade in shin deep water and cast to cruising bonefish? Do you want to cast to tarpon in the mangroves from a boat? Do you want to go after a variety of species, or just concentrate on one? Choose your destination and lodge based on the type of fishing you want to do. You won't be happy if you want to catch tarpon, and catching them requires a three hour boat ride to the productive tarpon water; or if you want to catch a grand slam, and the only fish available are bonefish. You should also plan your first flats fishing trip to a destination where there are lots of the fish you are seeking. It's better to have lots of shots, even if the fish are smaller, than just a few shots at larger, more difficult fish. Lot of shots translates to lots of opportunities and lots of chances to hone your skills, which should result in some confidence-building successes.
Fish at Least Six Days
If you plan on a three-day trip and a front moves through bringing high winds and clouds that make fish spotting difficult, you may not have much success. But if your trip was for six days of fishing, you'll have plenty of opportunity after the front moves through to catch those bones. On your first trip, you'll also discover you are getting better at it each day. If your trip is too short, you may not get the rewards from your learning experience.
Use Local Resources
There are a lot of anglers in the Twin cities who are veteran flats fly fishers. Seek these people out and learn from them before you go. I learned a lot talking to anglers in the dome at the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center while practicing my casting for my trip. They were doing the same, practicing their casting for their trips. One angler gave me some tips on a favorite type of sunscreen and a packing list; another provided me with some tippet material for shock tippets.
Use an Outfitter
The Fly Angler in Fridley hosted our trip, but the outfitter who put it together was Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures. The guys at Yellow Dog personally fish all the places they represent (some job, huh) and provide you with all the information you need for your trip. They know the fishery, the lodge, and the locale, and they represent it accurately.
Plan, Plan, Plan
Planning is part of the fun. Get together regularly with the people you are going with for knots & rigging nights, fly tying nights, casting practice nights, etc. You'll find your anticipation of the trip increases the more you plan. It's kind of like stretching a one week trip to a several month experience.
Practice Casting
Two of the most important ingredients for success in salt water flats fly fishing are the ability to spot fish and cast the fly to them. There is not a whole lot you can do ahead of time to improve your fish spotting skills, but you can definitely up your odds by practicing casting.
Practice Your Knots
You'll probably need to learn some new knots. Practice those knots at home before you go. A poorly tied knot may hold on a 12 inch trout, but it will probably fail on even a two pound bone fish. Tying knots at home is a lot easier than it is on a rocking boat in the wind. So practice your knots until you become really proficient with them.
I love stream fishing for trout and steelhead. I've been hooked on that kind of fishing for a long time. I'm still hooked on it. I'll always be hooked on it. However, I just may have a new addiction. There used to be a Jell-O slogan: "There's always room for Jell-O". There's always room for new fly fishing experiences.