Today was the DFF outing to the Brazos River. Several attendees cancelled due to the rains that moved in 13 hours early. It wasn't a heavy rain, a hard rain, or falling fast enough to raise the river water levels. It did affect the water clarity, so it was a mostly blind casting kind of day. That was okay by me, as I hooked five species, landing four, and none were Sunfish, except the odd Largemouth Bass that has a possible distended jaw and no traditional LMB markings.
I had seen what I though was a carp playing about in skinny water near downed trees holding on the upstream side of a bridge pillar. I targeted it, but no luck, so I began fishing the waters behind a big boulder. Nip, nip then a pick up and recast, and BAM, FishOn. It what was a serious comedy of errors, I somehow managed to land the Bigmouth Buffalo and snap photos. Still amazed the fish didn't come unbuttoned, but it didn't, and so, I hit the 98 mark. I added a White Bass, a Channel Catfish, and a strangely marked Largemouth Bass, and then targeted one and enjoyed six additional hook-ups with Spotted Gar. It was a marvelous day on the water!
The Dallas Fly Fishers held a Basic Fly Fishing Education class today at the Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area. I brought my fishing rig to target those carp and buffalo that abound in the Lake Lewisville Tailrace. I had targeted these species in the Spring after our entomology day but came up empty handed.
These species are everywhere, take just a bit to spook, and I don't think it was possible for me to catch one after the fiasco in the spring.
I fished for two-and-a-half hours before giving up and calling last cast. I had hooked several, spooked dozens several times over, but I just wasn't feeling the love. I used a brass conehead CodyBugger, cast one last time where I began my casting that day and yielded nothing for my efforts.
I don't know why now or what the combination was, but it was FIshOn! Several others watched who had also fished for these oh so picky fish and hollered congratulations form the shore.
I netted it and took a weak selfie and added my 96th species to the list!
To escape from the Texas heat, participate in TWFF's unofficial outing, and to redeem our Conejos River trip won at the Fort Worth Fly Fishers auction from the Conejos River Anglers, Cody and I headed northwest; Cody pulled the RV, and I pulled the kayaks. We camped at the Conejos River RV Park just east of the Rio Grande National Forest for a week. We fished on our own, with Conejos River Anglers' guide K.K., from our kayaks on Platoro Lake, and waded the Conejos River headwaters into the reservoir. Temperatures were mild; fishing was grand; and the wildfires had not yet begun.
This weekend it was Cody's turn to take the prizes. We fished in our fourth Ted Warren tournament, but instead of using the Mitzi (our flats boat), we decided to enter the kayak division. We also registered late, so we ended up staying at the new Lake Fork Resort, just west of Lake Fork Marina. Ted has worked really hard in growing this tournament, and with 70 registered participants, this was the largest turn out yet.
Cody reclaimed his distance casting title from the first two tournaments, besting his own record by launching an 80 foot cast and taking home a TFO Rod, Reel, and WF floating fly line. Next, we both participated in the accuracy contest, where Cody ended up in a three-way tie for first. Unfortunately, Cody's name wasn't drawn from the hat for him to claim that title as well.
Distance champion with rod, reel, and line
I find Lake Fork very difficult to fish; I have hooked up with species I haven't hooked anywhere else--Bowfin, Gar, but I have yet to land those fish. Friday was no different, and I caught no Sunfish for that contest, though I did catch Bass. Cody took second in the contest with an 8 1/4" Bluegill, and I enjoyed the cap Jerry awarded him.
Jerry awards Cody with a nice logo trucker's cap; they are the Bluegills Brothers
I liked Cody's plan for Saturday's fishing, and we were on the water at 6:00 a.m. With each of us having Native Slayer Propels, we could be really mobile, especially for kayakers. Cody had a really nice day on the water netting three Largemouth Bass, five Crappie--four White and one Black, and a nice Striped Bass. Cody's three Largemouth put him in 4th and netted him a $100.00 prize reward. I caught three Largemouths as well, one on my second cast of the day, but I only netted two, one was particularly small, and a nice-sized Channel Catfish. Along with some of the entrants from the boating division, the Dallas Fly Fishers also reclaimed the team trophy!
Cody takes 4th place for a total of $100.00!
My first catch of the day
To round out the very good mojo Cody was generating, on the last raffle draw, Cody won the full-day guided trip for two with Brian Nims. Talk about lucky; we now have a trip with Johnny Martinez on Lake Athens and a trip with Brian. Along with all the goodies each participant receives just for participating, entrants really walk away with an abundance of goodies, thanks to Ted. We were tired after a half-day on the water, but we enjoyed seeing good friends and being out on the water. We made our supper stop at A.J.'s Steakhouse to celebrate a good time fishing before heading home. One day, we'll be dialed in to Lake Fork, but until then, we'll just keep trying.
In late September, Cody and I spent a week in Colorado and New Mexico fishing and exploring. I finally found our New Mexico pictures. One of the New Mexico days we spent fishing skinny, moving water for Brown Trout with Doc Thompson. We enjoy Doc's watering holes, instruction, and friendship, not to mention, he packs a great lunch. We cast small rods, 1 and 2 weights, and while our fish weren't large, our catches were frequent and technical. We had plenty of opportunities to read the riffles, bends, and pockets to entice those beautiful Browns to take our flies. It was a stretch of the Cimarron River which we had never fished, and the views, including those without fish, were just as beautiful.
If the lion is the undisputed "King of the Jungle," then, the Tarpon has to be the undisputed "King of the Sea!"
Traveling to Cuba's Jardines De La Reina, Tarpon was a highly targeted species for Tailwaters' 11 fishing guests aboard the Avalon II and certainly the favored species among her guides. For several of us, this beastly king was an accomplishment for our species bucket list, too. Fly fisherman Camilo regaled us with his first landed Tarpon on Thursday 25 June 2015.
On Monday of that week, Bill and Will Seals and Cody and I fished for the Kings of the Sea from the same, deep-water hole. Being the courteous and respectful friends that we are, we each took turns. Bill first, me second, Will third, Cody fourth, and then, we repeated the sharing again exactly as in the first time. Those sea beasts were strong and beautiful.
Bill Jumps and Lands Tarpon #1
As I had done on the first and only Tarpon I had ever hooked previously (April 2010), I again forgot to pay homage to the king, and so, my second hooked Tarpon slid over into the "Jumped" category. However, Keko was an excellent and patient guide, and not too much time elapsed before I had my third-ever hook-up with this might warrior. This time, I paid my respects, and I was allowed to land this Tarpon and two more Tuesday 21 June 2015. They are exhausting creatures with which to do battle, and so I had to resign myself that three landed kings were all I could muster.
My First "Landed" Tarpon
Will Bows and Lands Tarpon #3
Cody Lands Tarpon #4, a PB, as Keko Looks On
My 2nd Landed Tarpon
Cody's 2nd Landed Tarpon of the Day
My 3rd Tarpon of the Day
One of Cody's Five Jumped Wednesday Tarpon
On Wednesday, Keko again put us on Tarpon. Cody masterfully jumped five Tarpon that morning; two were on back-to-back, long and perfect casts. As graceful as Cody's bow was, creating slack in his line, those stubborn Kings battled and won the jousts that day.
My 4th Tarpon of the Trip
As others had done, I decided I wanted to catch Tarpon on the flats, so Keko tied on a beautiful purple and pink Tarpon Toad, spotted one Tarpon chasing sardines, and told me to cast at the 11:30 position. It wasn't long before that 10# TFO TiCrX bent double. It took a little longer to land this Tarpon, but landed it was.
In the afternoon, Cody decided to experiment with angle shots using his new GoPro Hero 4, and so he laid down on the bow in front of me and videoed and photographed my last Tarpon from beginning to end. It was also my personal best, weighing a little more than 40 pounds and fighting for almost 25 minutes. I was grateful for the 12# and calmer waters than Tuesday. All-in-all, it was the Tarpon trip of a lifetime, as I jumped eight Tarpon and landed five of them.
We came to fish for Cuba's southern shore Grand Slam--a Bonefish, a Tarpon, and a Permit. My best three chances for Permit were the first day, (first cast, no less), the third day, and the last. Cody's best chances for Permit were also the third day, where they actively nosed on our fly and followed it, on more than one occasion, before deciding, "an Avalon Fly, meh--why bother?"and turned off quickly. I won't build any anticipation; no one caught any Permit, but we chased them.
As the first and last days of the trip are spent boating five hours
from-and-to the port town of Jucaro, fishing those days are half-days. So our first day was an evening spent Bonefishing on some of the calmest flats I have ever experienced. Tailwaters' original logo sported a freshwater trout and tailing Bonefish. Until 20 June 2015, I had never seen tailing Bones as depicted on their first brand; it was something to see.
The Bonefish were everywhere--solo, clusters of four and five, large schools--just milling about for those small crustaceans. Keko (pronounced KAY-kō), our guide for the trip, selected a tan patterned Gotcha, and it was BonefishOn! for two hours. We got our sea legs, our casting, our sighting set for the trip that first evening, which helped establish what would be some great fishing.
Two days, we caught Bonefish early, so we could move on to the Tarpon and Permit for the
Grand Slam. I also wanted to catch a small Lemon Shark, about 3 feet/1 meter, and Barracuda. The Bonefish splash and make such long runs, that they attract sharks and 'cudas quite often. So, some mornings, we caught Bones to tease in their predators (none were ever sacrificed or hurt). Other mornings, we caught Bones just to catch Bones--on the flats, in the mangroves, incoming tides, outgoing tides, we just caught beautiful Bonefish.
I haven't been to Los Roques, Venezuela for Bonefishing, but I have been to Belize and Hawai'i, and I think that the Cuban Bonefish are some of the Western Hemisphere's best Bonefish.
Long before December 2014 when political relations with Cuba became more relaxed, Cody and I spent 16 months of planning with Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co., worrying about visas, deciding from which country we would disembark to enter Cuba, buying airline tickets, how many extra nights--if any--we would stay in Cuba sightseeing, and how to accurately pack for a 10-day trip to a country that had been off-limits to Americans for 60 years.
Back Row L-R: Jeronimo, Camilo, John, Dick, Will, Brad, Bill
Front Row L-R: Ron, Meredith, me, Cody, Juan
Jucaro
Avalon II with the Tortuga in the background
After arriving in Havana on 19 June, our group of 12 anglers awoke early Saturday morning for a five hour bus ride (tour bus) south and east of Havana along Highway 1 to the port town Jucaro. Upon arrival, we off-loaded the bus and boarded our live-aboard ship, Avalon II. Our passports were checked, luggage loaded, and we settled in for a five hour boat ride to our fishing destination, Cayo Anclitas in the Jardines De La Reina, a Caribbean Sea, mangrove islands archipelago laying east of the Pickle Banks and north of the Cayman Trench. Other ships in the Avalon Group stay anchored and operate as both a fishing and
diving center.
As slow-growing as mangroves are, the archipelago consists almost entirely of mangroves. Despite some mangrove destruction due to Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the islands were abundantly teeming with wildlife--Cormorants, Brown Pelicans, Great Egrets, Iguanas, Hutias, a tree rat that looks more like a beaver with marsupial forelegs, and a rich, healthy sea life, including sea crocodiles, and miles of turtle-grass flats and coral reefs. Certainly, this fly fishing destination was unlike any to which I had previously traveled.
Bright Monday (the day after Easter in the Christian calendar) was a holiday for me. Cody had promised we would go fishing Monday after working hard Easter Sunday afternoon pulling weeds, vines, and cleaning out the flowerbed. (Seeing as to how sore we both were, maybe we should have fished first and done yard work second.)
Taking Steve Hollensed's advice, we took big rods, sinking lines, and white flies. Cody fished his 10# 475 grain line, and I fished my 8# 350 grain line. Having that heavier line really made the difference. Cody fished an all white, red-eyed, size 4 Clouser Minnow, and I fished my size 4 Bass Brunch--Gizzard Shad pattern.
Getting on the water around 4:15, we thought we would be pressed for time, so we put in at Eisenhower State Park to put us a little farther up the lake. We didn't have to travel far. We hit the first cove, fished it pretty intensely, and no fish, no bites, no takers. We worked the shore line heading east towards the next cove, when we talked about moving farther up river/lake to chase those spawning ladies. As Cody maneuvered the boat, the depth finder lit up like a Christmas tree. So, we stayed and fished and hooked in to one Striper after another. Cody out-caught me, with a total of 18 fish for the boat in a little under four hours; Cody boated 12 and me six, and I can't remember how many more hook-ups we had, but there were plenty, some just 1 - 2 feet from the surface--hard hit-and-runs. Also, this was the calmest day I have ever spent on Lake Texoma. The wind was anywhere from 0 to 3 miles per hour! I did not know this lake could even be calm, but calm the seas were--a first for me.
The best Striper of our day was a 3.2 lb fat girl ready to pop! I wish I had videoed the fight that fish put up. That Lady Hybrid bent Cody's 10# TFO TiCrX double several times, and did she ever put the zing in his reel when she dove and ran. I love fights like that, and these fish didn't just eat the flies; they were inhaling them. Many hook-ups occurred at the back of the tongue past their tooth patches. Even with barbless hooks, we had to be careful removing them. One even was hooked in the gill plate. Careful hook extraction saw that boy swim away. On a personal note, this was the first time I fished my Bass Brunch fly targeting the fish for which I designed the fly, and it worked well, so I was really pleased.
I also experienced another first. At dusk for the first time in my 29 years and 10 months of owning a fishing license, I was finally asked to show it. We were leaving the fishing for another day, when the third boat of the day bore down on us. Being in a flats boat and only having one engine, it does get a little intimidating, especially when the other boats change their coarse at the last minute. Unlike the other two, though, this one had blue lights, meaning it was a Texas Game Warden. I don't know about other states, but in Texas, the Game Warden is the most powerful law enforcement official. They need no warrant to search your boat, vehicle, person, or property. Boundary lines are non-existent for them. They can seize your property without a warrant. They are some great folks, but they mean business. Of course, we had our licenses, boat registration, life jackets, and fire extinguisher, and Dale Moses was a really nice fellow, but still, if you're smart, you give a Texas Game Warden all the respect; they can make your day or ruin your day. After saying good night, we boated back in, loaded up, and headed for home. Being with the Game Warden, kept us out on the water an extra 45 minutes, so we arrived home later, but the fishing was all worth it, regardless how tired I was today at work. Full and near-full moons make for excellent fishing, hands down!
