re: The Fly Fishing Thread: Questions, pics, discussion all here

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Bunsbert Montcroff

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I errantly deleted the email from gmail inbox that I received a few years ago that had good info. on it regarding Turks & Caico diy. I think the diy pressure isn't as bad there as it is in Bahamas. Vast majority of people who vacation there don't know what a bonefish is. Definitely take ferry to North Caicos and definitely rent a paddle board/kayak from the rental stand there. Apparently the owner is knowledgeable and will steer you straight for bones. I would recommend searching Rod Hamilton's website if you do not buy his book.

DIY T&C - Rod Hamilton

More T&C Info.

I certainly look like an idiot if any fly fisherman saw how I do what I do.

No trolling motor. Mud motor onto a flat with enough speed to kill the motor and coast right on in. Stop abruptly when the boat bottoms out and then hope there’s a fish or 2 left around. This past weekend I was sitting on the front of the boat and “rowing” with my 5’ long spud pole. Boat covered in mud, clothes covered in mud.

If you're after big fish, then there are certainly huge fish around during January-February, but the weather is generally awful. February is one of the worst months of the year weather-wise, so it's a total gamble planning a SELA trip then. I'd avoid it.

Don't know much about Islamorada that time of year. Maybe someone else can chime in. The Bahamas can be good year round, but I would advise staying further south as opposed to north to try to avoid cold fronts. If a cold front comes through while you're down there, it can shut the fishing down for several days.

That's a generous offer from Reds. Weather may be hit or miss, but as long as its not extremely cold + Windy + Rainy then you can find some fishable water. Worse comes to worse then there is always plenty of food, drinks, etc. in N.O.


If warm weather is a big factor then Bahamas. Everyone should experience true flats fishing.

True

So I spoke with Winston today. If they don't have a replacement section for my rod, I'm going to be bummed. They no longer make a 6wt with a cigar grip. All their current 6wt rods have a full wells grip and a fighting butt. I broke my wrist years ago, and I still have a bit of discomfort in it. As a result I have to modify my casting grip and extend my index finger down the rod. The full wells grip makes this somewhat awkward.

This is the grip I use. (not my photo)

Well, I got the new rod last week. I took her out yesterday, and she works.

The wife let me slip away for a couple of hours on the holiday before I had to pick the boy up from school. Hit the closest spot to the house right after lunch.

The good. The water was alive with fish from the moment I got there. There was a Blue wing hatch coming off and the fish were keyed into it. I fished about 1.5 hours and caught 10-12 in that time. I tied on 1 fly when I got there and never changed it. I had the river to myself and didn't see another soul the whole time I was fishing.

The Bad: The wind was blowing a gale upstream making casting small flies on a long leader difficult. Also, it was a cold 38 degrees. While I caught a good number of fish, there wasn't a whole lot of size to any of them.

The Ugly. Dumb-dumb here forgot his waders. It made fishing on a cold, windy day kinda tricky, but I managed.

Steelhead where?

How was the water? Were they running any units?

It’s really hard to fish those rivers when the water is up. You need sink tip lines to be effective.

I’ve not fished the high water enough to give many tips there however.