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.
Cody and I
were celebrating the graduation of one of the Fab 5 with a trip to Hawai'i, so
we set aside one day to fly fish. We booked a guided trip with Captain
Rick Lee out of Bonefish Hawaii. We fished the east coast of Oahu at Kāneʽohe
Bay between the Chinaman’s Hat and Kualoa Point, Oahu. At the day’s start, we fished the morning
after a full moon, so we were fishing a low, incoming Spring Tide. Spotting Bones was difficult, since we fished
over reefs instead of sandbars, but the winds were calm, clouds were minimal,
temperatures excellent, and conditions were perfectly ideal.
Cody fished
first, and not long after rigging up, Cody casted to Bonefish.Shrimp patterns were the fly of the day.About 15 minutes in to fishing, Rick spotted
a group of four Golden Trevally, and Cody casted about 35 feet.Retrieving so that the shrimp fly jumped and
fell, it was FishOn!Cody hooked into
one of the Goldens in no time and off that Trevally ran.The Trevally’s first run simulated that of a
Bonefish’s first run; however, the Trevally did not make subsequent
Bonefish-esque runs.It did however make
short, deep runs, putting a good bend in Cody’s rod.I had a blast watching Cody add to his
species list!
Afterwards,
it was my turn to fish, and being all of 5’2”, spotting Bones over the reef was
next to impossible. I just was not tall
enough to get a good angle, so I listened to Rick and casted as close to where
he was calling. I got in a good cast and
had three followers. BAM! a nice
Bonefish picked it up and ran—all 100’ of line and about 150’ of backing zinged off my reel quickly. Rick said it was a good 10 pounder. I reeled in most of the backing, when BAM!
run #2 occurred, which was harder than the first run. Having reeled to just where the fly line was
coming in through the tip guide, the line snapped and landed at my feet. That Bone cut the leader on a reef, leaving
me about 3’. Oh well, it was fun while
it lasted.
Cody casted
next, but as the tide was incoming, retrieves became a little more difficult,
because the boat began to bump off the Bones.
What was a nice tight line, quickly became slack and retrieving produced
no fly movement with the skiff bearing in on the schools and singles.
Frustrated, Cody let me fish, and while I
never saw any fish to which I casted, I put the fly where Rick was telling me,
and it paid off. I landed a nice 6.5
pounder, whose turquoise-tipped fins, I never tire of seeing.
Cody fished
next, and with the rising tides, the Bones were moving away lest they fall to
their predators, which we saw no sharks.
Bored, Cody casted his line, and ended up hooking another species first,
a Trumpetfish. Due to its elongated
mouth, the fly was taken out through its gills instead of its mouth. Until Cody caught it, I had never seen
one.
We ate
anchored at Coconut Island, and watched the Navy boys practice touch-n-gos at
The Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay.
High tide blew out the fishing for the rest of the day, as we never saw
another Bonefish even though we moved over the sandbar flats. The low
Spring tides were definitely the productive waters for the day.
Having not fished since retiring, this was a good way to break-in to
retirement fishing!
Sunday, with its cloudy skies, calm winds, warm
temperatures, off-and-on rain, and upcoming cold front, seemed like a good day
to go fishing. My original destination
of Richland Creek did not pan out like I had wanted due to difficulties with
launching the ‘yak and Lurker Creepy Dude.
So, I packed up and headed to the small community of Streetman to fish
the Streetman Ponds. (If you go to
Oktoberfisch on the South Llano River in Junction, one of the Saturday night
cooks is from Streetman.)
Usually, access to the back pond is almost non-existent by
boat, as the water is not high enough to navigate through the chutes. Due to the recent rains, the pond levels are
up really high, and I made it to the back pond for the first time. Bluegills with spawning colors, Largemouth
Bass, and one small White Bass liked what I threw. I got a little excited as I originally
thought the White Bass was a Yellow Bass, a species I have not caught, yet;
alas, it was not, but it was a caught fish nonetheless! I only had one hit topwater on the brown
grasshopper, so I went with a red and white Clouser and then switched to a
jighead fly that Cody tyed with primary-colored mylar flash and pink chenille
body. Seeing as the water was the color
of slightly creamed coffee, I stuck with bold-colored flies and waited for the
tugs. The ‘yak did quite nicely, and I
enjoyed the afternoon.
Update, 6/11/2015: Based upon what Brandon posted regarding the last fish at the end of the video, I asked a TPWD icthyologist for help, and sure enough, I did catch a Yellow Bass, whose front dorsal fin is taller than its second, unlike the White Bass where the opposite is reversed. I also had a still that showed the anal fin spines #2 & 3 are the same length. Thank you so much Brandon!
This week is the week between college classes, so I am
enjoying playing around doing the things I love but have to sacrifice. With the weather temp high forecasted at 61˚F for the day,
the only decently “warm” day for the week, Cody surprised me with an after work, fly fishing excursion to one of our favorite little lakes, Lake Springfield at
Fort Parker State Park. After catching
huge Rainbow Trout in Russia and Alaska this summer, I wondered how I would
feel catching the little stockers.
While
Texas does possess naturally reproducing Rainbow Trout in McKittrick Canyon at
the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, fishing for them is disallowed. So, the Texas fisheries stock trout, but they
are little guys. However, fish are
pretty and fun and give us great enjoyment, so today was not about size, but
getting out to catch the first fish of the year some 35 days later than
usual.
Cody’s 1½ pound Largemouth Bass was caught on a GirlieBugger. All the other fish were caught on top water
flies; Cody used a Miss Prissy, and I caught my Rainbow on a black Cap Spider
while the Largemouths loved a brown grasshopper pattern we bought in Montana
fishing the Big Hole River in 2009. The
video captures the light but on-going hatch that made the Rainbows and
Largemouths jump all afternoon.
I liked our comments, the
splashing fish, and just the sounds—minus the nearby roadway traffic—so, I
added no music this time. A great two
hours of fun for us!
The Red River Fly Fishers hosted Red River Rendezvous 2015 in Broken Bow, Oklahoma at Beaver's Bend State Park. Since I have returned to college while working full time, Cody and I are having to be pretty selective about where and when we get to attend fly fishing events. However, this is an event that we have enjoyed in the past, and since it headed north across the border for the first time and to one of Cody's favorite rivers, the Lower Mountain Fork, I took the books with me and off we went. I struggle to catch fish here, but I do enjoy the beauty of the southern range of the Ouachita Mountains. Cody tied his infamous GirlieBugger pattern, and since he is asked about it, a lot, (since it catches salt and freshwater species, large and small), here she is, tied on an Orvis 8808 4x Streamer...
After returning home from a big fishing trip, Cody and I have chosen to fish smaller creeks around our area just to see what they hold, how they appear, and how well our kayaks maneuver on these smaller water bodies. We aren't catching many fish or large fish, but...that tug is the drug that keeps us going back.
We chose South Prong Creek, today, putting in at Spring Park on Lake Waxahachie and heading up creek as far as was navigable, and then kayaking back down to the park. The CodyBugger was the fly of the day, landing three Largemouth Bass for Cody and a Channel Catfish for me.
Chasing some of the Northern Hemisphere's largest trout led Cody and me to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. While several groups were in Kamchatka from Tailwaters, we chose to accompany Ron Foster to the Zhupanova River. Catching those bruisers with big shoulders and rod bending stamina demanded articulated flies in streamers and mouse patterns. Predominately, black streamers produced the best catches, and thanks to FlyCastaway's guide Christiaan Pretorius of South Africa, and his wonderful fly, I was able to hook, fight, and land two Rainbow Trout of a lifetime--one in Russia and one in Alaska.
Spending his first year on the Zhupanova, Christiaan tied a particularly fabulous pattern. Graciously, Christiaan allowed me to name the fly and to keep the fly. I named the pattern Mooschka and used the color scheme as the descriptor to round out the name.
The Pink Mooschka
I fished the PinkMooschka in Russia and Alaska's NakNek River with astonishing results. Ultimately, I chose to sacrifice catching bigger fish to bring the fly home safely. I can't wait to see what Mooschka does to the Bass!
29 7/8", 7 lb. 7 oz. Zhupanova River Rainbow Trout
For the second week-in-a-row, Saturday found me attending another memorial to celebrate the life of a friend departed. Many fly fishing friends gathered at Loy Lake for Big Dale's memorial, friends whose faces are growing less in numbers as the number of years shared increases.
Attendees were fortunate to meet Judy Wilkinson Hooten, Dale's younger sister. Judy shared many memories of their childhood and growing up in Texas, and while we called Dale "Big Dale," Judy knew Dale as "Big Brother."
Judy and her dear friend Susie displayed a wonderful picture collage of Big Dale's lifetime enjoyments and embellished with flies he tied. They shared with us Big Dale rarely took photos of people; instead, his photos were of places and its history--Yellowstone, motorcycles, interesting signs, and places. Our program had a great photo of Big Dale in his pre-teen years finally catching the Largemouth Bass from Loy Lake that he and his Daddy had named "Big George."
Big Dale's Blondes
We heard from his long-time friends Richard Harmon and L.C. Clower. We all knew Big Dale to be a generous, kind, and funny soul, and from what we heard, Big Dale spent living his life that way. Each program had a Cap Spider fly tied by Big Dale attached to it; we were given a Big Dale chartreuse Cap Spider, and then, Cody (who lost the bidding on Big Dale's Blonde flies at the Fort Worth auction but was kindly and surprisingly given them by Dutch, the winner), graciously shared Blondes with everyone.
After a toast and shot of Jameson Whiskey, which Big Dale told L.C. to not let go to waste, we walked to the Brim bed on Loy Lake's north shore point, and L.C., Judy, and Richard helped spread Big Dale's ashes on his favorite waters.
Judy graciously ate lunch with us, received a text message during lunch, and said it was from Big Dale--he was treating. We don't get together as often as we used to do, but Big Dale brought us together on a gorgeous day, let us meet Judy, who shares a strong resemblance to her brother, and still gave us flies with which to land fish. I know he was smiling and laughing at us as we celebrated his life and our memories of him.
After eating with friends, Cody and I headed to Ennis' Old Ennis Lake to cast Big Dale flies and catch fish in his memory. Cody caught four Largemouth Bass and two Brim, and I caught two Largemouth Bass. Big Dale was known as Brimbum on the Texas Fishing Forum, and we did as he always reminded us "Have fun with this stuff!"
