I Love The Bahamas Photo Essay
As the weather cools off, I can’y help but think about bone fishing in the Bahamas.
Temperatures are dipping into the bearable range here in Georgia. I’ve been spending a lot of evenings and mornings on the porch and I know I should be looking forward to crisp fall days and brightly colored leaves but my mind keeps drifting to the Bahamas. Even though winter is the best time for trout fishing here in the Southeast, and I will take advantage of it, it’s also the time of year I leave all that worries me behind and spend a little time in my happy place. The flats of the Bahamas.
Nothing makes me happier than leaving the soggy cold weather behind to soak up some sun, swim in the ocean, drink a little rum and stretch some fly line, with the help of some eager bonefish. These days those trips also mean the opportunity to connect with friends who come along year after year and to meet new friends who are just discovering the salt. It’s the high point on my calendar.
The Bahamas recharges my batteries. The sun warms my days and the bright smiles of my Bahamian friends warm my nights. My stress washes away and I forget the world as I focus on the fish. I don’t think I could get through the winter without it.
THESE ARE A HANDFUL OF IMAGES I’VE TAKEN IN THE BAHAMAS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY WHEN I SEE THEM.
If you’d like to join me on one of my Bonefish Schools this year, there are a couple of spots still open, including a last minute cancelation for South Andros Nov. 12-18 . We’d love to have you. follow these links to get more info on Abaco and South Andros and G&G Hosted Trips, or email me at hookups@ginkandgasoline.com to reserve your spot.
Read More »SA Sonar Titan Triple Density Sinking Fly Line
By Louis Cahill
The Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Triple Density, Intermediate/Sink 3/Sink 5, Sinking Fly Line is a true game changer.
I’ve been fishing this fly line for a couple of months now. I’m generally pretty skeptical of fly lines which claim to be totally new. In many cases I feel like fly line choices have gotten way too complicated and innovation is often marketing in disguise. While I certainly appreciate what a sinking line can do for me, I’ve never enjoyed fishing one and I’ve written them off as being all the same. I’m pretty pleased to have changed my mind.
The new triple density Sonar is a real solution to a real fishing problem and has changed my mind about sinking lines. It casts like a floating line, turns over big flies, gets my fly deeper, faster than other sinking lines, gives me positive hook-ups and doesn’t turn into a bird’s nest on the floor of the boat. Its performance is amazing. So why do I not see more anglers using it? Because it’s confusing as hell, I imagine. I’m going to try to simplify what makes this line work.
Let’s start with the name.
Seriously, they should have just given this line a new name. Although it’s descriptive if you understand it, it’s a mouthful and doesn’t mean much to the average angler. I know the first time I heard it, it didn’t register. That’s my only negative comment on this line and it’s pretty minor.
The taper makes the difference.
Most sinking lines are level tapers. The tip sections of sink-tip lines (which are what most of us use) are level as well. With no taper to ease the transfer of energy, they are difficult to cast. They like to pile up and they struggle to turn over heavy flies. This means you work harder to cast then and you make less accurate presentations. Not awesome.
The Sonar Titan is a fully tapered line. It is built on the Titan taper, designed to turn over heavy flies, and coated with tungsten like any sinking line. Because it has a powerful taper, it behaves like a normal fly line, delivering weighted flies on target with a nice energized loop. That’s a huge improvement. That explains half of the name. Sonar is the family of sinking lines, Titan is the taper.
Why does triple density matter?
Read More »FLORIDA BAY…FOREVER?
By Alex Woodsum
In the four years since I moved to Miami it has become a frequent ritual on my precious days off (particularly in the summer) to pay a visit to Flamingo, the outpost of Everglades National Park at the southernmost tip of Florida’s mainland. A successful trip requires rising hours before dawn—filled with momentary regret when the alarm goes off—and driving close to an hour and a half to reach the boat ramp. The latter part of the journey winds through Florida City, past agricultural lands bursting with vegetables and fruit trees and little else aside from a state prison, and through the gates of Everglades National Park. Nearly an hour on a long, dark road surrounded by barely tamed vegetation and you finally reach the ramp.
There is a distinct advantage—beyond getting your desired fishing spot—to getting there before dawn, fighting through the swarm of summer mosquitoes and thick blanket of humid air to be one of the first boats out of the small marina. For a brief moment, you get to experience a magical, otherworldly place in its undisturbed state. The sunrise, unencumbered by buildings, takes over the whole sky. Thousands of birds are engaged in their morning rituals. Heron methodically wade the shallow flats in search of prey, their elegant bodies and sharp beaks outlined by the glowing sun. Pelicans gently bob in the current. Osprey perch on channel markers, clutching lifeless mullet in their sharp talons. When boats approach, the birds glare angrily over the disruption. Their bodies tense before they lazily launch into the air, headed elsewhere in pursuit of peace and quiet.
The fishing and habitat are diverse. On a good day, the whole place feels alive, teeming with life. On the shallow grass flats, the water is undisturbed other than the nervous wake of aimlessly milling schools of mullet and the occasional redfish tail gently breaking the surface, sending delicate ripples outward. These fish aren’t a sure thing, but if you can approach and drop a fly quietly right in front of one, you will generally be rewarded. Large tarpon roll in deeper water, their broad backs reflecting the early morning sun like mirrors. Once the sun is high enough, they sometimes lay up and can be spotted by the well-trained eye. In the creeks and hidden lakes, snook and juvenile tarpon use mangroves for cover and safety until they are large enough to venture into bigger water. Present a fly in their vicinity and they will hungrily jump on it. It can be very gratifying fishing after a spring tarpon season filled with rejection and heartbreak.
Flamingo has always been
Read More »Sunday Classic / Stipe Takes on Gierach and R.E.M. Records Fly Fishing Album
WHEN MICHAEL STIPE, LEAD SINGER FOR THE BAND R.E.M., MADE A STRING OF APPEARANCES ON THE COLBERT REPORT AROUND THE HOLIDAYS I WAS SHOCKED BY HIS CURRENT PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.
To be sure, none of us are getting any younger and I applaud Stipe for embracing his graying hair and changing features, but there was more too it than that. There was something eerily familiar, almost comforting, about Stipe’s new look. He carried an air of wisdom that I’d never noticed before and he almost seemed…fishy.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more going on here than meets the eye. Was this just the graceful aging of a pop star or was there something else going on? Was this nature, or craft? I had to get to the bottom of it.
Possibly the greatest perk of being part of Gink and Gasoline is being on the “Celebrity A List,” so I called Michael up for an interview. I was shocked at his candor. It turns out that, not only are my suspicions well founded, they are spot on.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Vokey and Wulff
Don’t miss this conversation between two of the most influential women in fly-fishing.
I am increasingly a fan of April Vokey’s podcasts. The series, called “Anchored, With April Vokey” is extremely well done and always enlightening. April is an excellent interviewer who puts folks at ease, asks smart questions and takes the time to get in depth on the subjects.
Her interview with Joan Wulff is not to be missed. Joan is a fascinating women and a singular talent who’s importance in the sport can not be overstated. You come away from this interview feeling like you really know her. It’s a great conversation between passionate anglers who’ve dedicated their lives to fly fishing. You will be amazed.
CHECK OUT VOKEY AND WULFF
Read More »Something Completely Different From Vedavoo
Here’s a fishing pack like nothing I’ve seen before.
We’ve come to expect innovation and quality from Vedavoo. It’s made them one of the fastest growing brands in fly fishing. While I expected to see cool versatile new packs this year, Scott Hunter had a trick up his sleeve that I didn’t expect. A pack that doesn’t hold any fly boxes, and doesn’t need to. You’ll see what I mean.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE NEW PRODUCTS FROM VEDAVOO.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Fly Fishing Bass Ponds 102
I promised everyone I’d write a Fly Fishing Bass Ponds 102, if people showed enough interest from my 101 post. I was blown away from the emails and comments that flooded in, after the first post went live. I covered quite a few topics in the first post but here’s a few more tidbits of information for all you warm-water fly fishing junkies out there.
UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRUCTURE AND HOW TO FISH THEM
As a little kid, I was a bass fishing maniac. A good friend of my Father’s fished a lot of tournaments for fun and he took it upon himself to take me under his wing, and teach me the skills I’d needed to become a proficient bass fisherman. One of the greatest things he did during his mentorship was take me to several professional bass fishing seminars. On several different occasions, I had a front row seat to listen to Hall of Fame bass fishing legends like Bill Dance, Denny Brauer, Rick Clunn, and Larry Nixon. Notepad and pen in hand, I wrote as fast as I my fingers would move as the pros talked about how they consistently caught bass. It was at these seminars that I learned the behavior of bass and how to catch them. If you want to improve your warm-water fishing, I highly recommend attending a seminar in your area. Most are reasonably inexpensive, and If you don’t walk away with more knowledge afterwards, you either have an ego that needs to be checked, or you weren’t listening. Most of what you’ll find the professionals talking about is catered towards fishing large lakes, but almost all of the information can be converted and used for fishing on bass ponds.
One recurring theme I noticed is that everyone of those bass fishing legends talked in great detail about
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / SCOF 20
Southern Culture On The Fly is almost old enough to drink.
What are you waiting for? SCOF issue 20 is live and chocked full of southern fried goodness. Theres musky and pike, Beaver Island, surf and turf and Dave Grossman takes an oath to leave his family.
DON’T MISS IT!
Read More »Umpqua, Making Your Life Easier
Umpqua has some cool packs and accessories for the coming year, which are bound to make your day on the water a little easier.
Theres something the new line for everyone. Ambidextrous sling packs and a cool net and accessory belt for wade anglers and for the drift boat crowd Umpqua brings its handy organizer to your cooler. Be warned, you’re going to want this stuff.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO TO SEE NEW PRODUCTS FROM UMPQUA.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Never Give Up on a Bonefish
WE ALL KNOW THE HEARTBREAK OF SEEING A BIG FISH SPOOK AND RUN WHEN WE MAKE A CAST.
Whether its due to a poor presentation, the fish catching sight of us or something completely random and out of our control doesn’t matter. The pain is the same and it’s our natural reaction to consider that fish done and watch him swim away. For most species that’s the case, certainly for a wary trout but the bonefish is another subject.
Many times I’ve seen a bonefish spook and run or refuse a fly and turn away only to eat that same fly on the next cast. Maybe it sees the fly in a different light or from another angle that makes it more appealing or maybe it’s mood changes that quickly, I don’t know but it happens. What I do know is that as long as that fish is in range I will continue to show it that fly.
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