Six Tips for Better Bonefish Hook Sets
SO YOU’VE FOUND A BONEFISH AND FED IT? DON’T BLOW THE HOOK SET.
The hook set is the decisive moment. The moment when most bonefish are lost or landed. Considering how much effort goes into finding and feeding a fish, it’s wise to have the skills to get a good solid hook set. There are a couple of things that often go wrong but if you know what to expect and what to do when things go wrong, you can make the connection you need.
A Proper Strip Set
A solid hook up starts with a good strip set. The most common mistake that anglers new to saltwater fly fishing make is lifting the rod when setting the hook. This is called a trout set and no matter how hard you trout set it will not give you the penetration you need. Saltwater fish have hard mouths made for eating food that fights back. To get a solid set you have to keep the rod pointing at the fish and set with your line hand.
For a proper strip set on a bonefish, you need the pressure of a raucous hand shake. The kind you might give a good friend you haven’t seen in years. When I teach bonefishing, I like to play the part of the fish and let the students feel the right amount of pressure. I think it makes a big difference, but for now let’s go with a really firm handshake. Strip the line quickly and be prepared to strip long. Move your rod hand laterally, to the outside without changing the angle of the rod as you strip. Once you feel the right amount of pressure, be prepared to let the fish run.
Fighting Muscle Memory
Knowing how to strip set doesn’t matter if you forget to strip set. This is the hardest thing for most new saltwater anglers. Thousands of hours of trout setting muscle memory are devilishly hard to retrain. I teach a foolproof method
Drop-Offs Are Trout Hot-Spots
Adjacent – just before, after, lying near; neighboring
Drop-offs located adjacent to shallow water are trout magnets.
The slower moving water and cover found downstream of drop-offs are the two main reasons trout are drawn here. If you’re looking for super consistent water where you can almost always find trout, you should be searching out dropoffs on your streams and rivers where shallow water transitions into deeper water. The more significant (larger the area) the stretch of shallow water is, the more appeal the adjacent drop-offs will have over trout, especially when the shallow water upstream or downstream holds very little cover.
I regularly float over a long stretch of shallow unproductive water on my home tailwater. It’s about 200 yards long, calf deep at best, and it’s completely barren of any form of trout cover. The trout hate this section of the river because they’re sitting ducks to predators looking for an easy meal, and there’s nowhere for the trout to find refuge out of the excessive current. I’d say it’s a completely worthless piece of water on the river, but the fact is, it does serve a valuable purpose for us fly anglers. This long stretch of desolate trout water, makes it’s neighboring drop-offs and
Read More »Hell and High Water in North Carolina
I made a couple of trips, handing water up the stairs to Kathy and was back in the kitchen when the room went dark. I looked up and the nine foot windows were covered by water. By Louis Cahill I haven’t made a big deal out of my move to Western North Carolina but it has been a really big deal for me and my wife, Kathy. Since I lost the sight in my right eye, and some of my left, getting to the mountains to fish has been a real challenge. I still see well enough to drive during the day but absolutely not after dark. Living in Atlanta sucks but living in Atlanta and not being able to escape for a good day of fishing is out-right intolerable. Tired of having to get off the water before the fishing gets good, so I can get home before dark, and with Kathy’s work more and more remote, we pulled the trigger on a home forty-five minutes north of Asheville in a place called Green Mountain. If you watched 60 Minutes last week, you know that Green Mountain is what they are calling Ground Zero for the devastation caused by hurricane Helene. The destruction in and around our neighborhood is nothing short of biblical. Many of our neighbors are simply gone, and many more homeless. Those who still have homes are facing the onset of winter without heat, or in most cases, water. The devastation of the roads leading into and out of Green Mountain make supply runs long and dangerous. I honestly have no words for what I have seen there. I open my mouth to tell people and nothing comes out. Our home is a story in itself. It’s honestly a dream I’ve had since I was a … Continue reading
Read More »Fly Fishing: Salt Life Isn’t Always Fair
MY PREVIOUS FISHING TRIP TO THE SALT REMINDED ME LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS FAIR
Wool socks and thermals on, fleece on top of that, buff raised high on the nose, I battened down the hatches on my final layer of protection, my rain jacket and pants. Wind howling and white caps crashing in the distance, I try to pretend my finger tips aren’t tingling with pain from the bitter cold morning temperatures. As we motor down the canal towards the redfish grounds, with the pier very much still in sight, I already find myself thinking, “Today’s fly fishing is going to suck”.
I’ve spent enough time on the water over the years to know when there’s little hope for fishing success, and I no longer feel obligated to torture myself, hoping for a miracle to happen or spend the day falsely proclaiming to my buddies, all is good. Today, not even the pelicans think it’s worth their time to head out fishing. Their huddled together on the bank with their beaks tucked tight against their chest. They’re noticeably shivering, clearly not happy, and they’ve all somehow found a way to agree it’s a good idea for them to check their egos, in the off chance they can gain some warmth in numbers.
Yesterday, of course, the weather was absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, that beautiful fishing day was spent driving the eight hours down to Delacroix, LA and our fly rods were stowed in their tubes. Why does it always seem to play out this way for me? I’ve been looking forward to heading down south to get my saltwater fix for months, and I’ve even managed to get two of my favorite buddies to accompany me on the trip. We finally get here, and our first day is a total bust, from the horrible weather. What can I say, life in the salt isn’t always fair. That’s at least what I’ve learned as a mountain man and trout fisherman who only finds a couple times a year to head down for some fly fishing in the salt. I always remember to say my pre-trip prayers to the Fish Gods, problem is, my prayers aren’t usually answered.
Read More »John Gierach, A Remembrance
The first lesson John taught me was how to kill a chicken with a stick. It was far from the last. It was October fourth when I found out John had passed. Exactly one week after I had nearly died myself in the flood waters from hurricane Helene. My wife, Kathy, and I had made it out of Western North Carolina to my family in Virginia but I had loaded the truck with food, water and supplies for my neighbors, plus a hundred gallons of gas in a tank borrowed from my cousin, and headed immediately back. Green Mountain felt like a zombie movie. The destruction is beyond my ability to describe. Everyone says it looks like a war zone. I’ve been in several. They’re nothing like this. Not since World War One. I had been digging through the mud and sewage in my ground floor looking for things I could save, delivering food and gas to neighbors and hearing the heart breaking stories of the neighbors who were gone. I had cleaned up my 1950s Kay arch top and plugged the Starlink into a battery pack so I could text my wife and let her know I was ok when I, on a whim, opened Instagram and saw the post from my friend Dan. Just like that he was gone. I had been emailing with John, not long before the storm. He was doing better. Frustrated that he wasn’t improving faster. His heart had been giving him trouble for a while and he’d had a couple of procedures. He was stingy with the details, never one to get too close to complaining. It was hard to know exactly how much trouble he was in. “I chose a lifestyle that I knew would beat me up and now I’m standing … Continue reading
Read More »Fly Rod Grip – Keep it Consistent
A common mistake that I see with many of my first timers is they fail to keep a consistent fly rod grip when they’re first learning how to cast a fly rod.
Without notice, they often shuffle their rod hand around on the cork, which ends up altering their grip slightly from one cast to the next. Probably the most common grip movement I see with my students is they reposition the thumb during the casting stroke. To be more specific, they slide their thumb off the top of the cork to the side of the cork, and it causes problems with casting form, makes it more difficult to abruptly stop the rod at the end of the back cast and forward cast, it seems to make it harder for anglers to feel the fly rod loading, and direct a cast to a designated target.
Read More »DIY Bahamas Bonefish, with the Family
PERHAPS THE MOST TECHNICAL FEAT IN FLY FISHING IS COMBINING A FISHING TRIP WITH A FAMILY VACATION.
Leaving the wife or girlfriend behind, with or without a number of restless kids, while you slip away for a little fishing almost always ends in, what my brother calls “Hot tongue and cold shoulder,” no matter how delicate your presentation. It makes landing a permit look like child’s play. My last attempt, however, came off pretty well so I thought I’d share some of what made it a success.
My wife and I hade a great time in the Bahamas and you can too, but first here’s a pile of disclaimers.
1. Sharing your fishing time with family means compromising. What we’re talking about is a decidedly soft core fishing trip. I spent an average of two hours per day fishing. It worked for me but I’m confident in my ability to find and feed bonefish on my own. If you have never bonefished or are just learning you will need to tweak the strategy.
2. If you are new to bonefishing there is no replacement for the total immersion you get at a fishing lodge. It shortens your learning curve immeasurably. That said, in terms of both time and cost, it’s not in the cards for everyone.
3. I elected to fish on my own, without a guide. Lots of guys prefer to fish on their own and there’s nothing wrong with it. However, it is impossible to overstate the value of a good guide, especially when fishing waters far from home or unfamiliar species.
4. A good measure of the credit for my harmonious marriage goes to my wife. She is blessed with patience beyond belief.
Read More »Fly Fishing, No Pain No Gain
Have you ever felt like this when you got back to the truck after a long day of fishing?
Giving it my all on the water is a trait I strongly believe in for my fishing and guiding. I always try to make a point to explain to all my clients, that as long as they give it their all on the water, that’s all that really matters. There’s no reason for them to be disappointed about having a slow day on the water or get upset when a big fish fails to eat, so long as they took the time to approach their holes with stealth, made their best presentations, and fine-tuned their rig and pattern choice. After all, that’s why it’s called fishing not catching, right? We can only do so much as anglers, and even when we bring our best, there still will be times when we won’t be able to persuade certain fish to take our flies.
Keep this in mind next time you go out to wet a line. Don’t lose sight of the big picture, which is to always enjoy your time on the water. And don’t fish lazy, try to consistently give it your all when your out fishing. This way, whether you experience that epic day of fishing
Read More »5 Tips To Stop Breaking Off Bonefish
By Louis Cahill
If you’re breaking off bonefish, there’s probably and easy fix.
Someone asked me not long ago about losing bonefish due to tippet breaking. It happens to the best of us but there are only a couple of ways for it to happen and each has a pretty simple fix. If you follow a few simple guidelines you can cut way down on the number of bonefish you lose.
It’s fair to say that several of the potential problems I’m going to talk about apply to almost any species of fish. Some are much more common in the environment where we find bonefish and others just happen more frequently because of the speed with which things happen in bonefishing. It is a demanding game but breaking fish off should not be a problem.
Keep in mind that tippet strength is always a concern and in no way a constant. The weight of your tippet has everything to do with where you’re fishing. In locations where bonefish see a lot of pressure, you will need to fish lighter tippet and you will have to be much more diligent. Regardless of the strength of your tippet, there is no reason not to fish to the best of your ability and each of these tips is relevant.
How bonefish break off and how to stop them.
THE HOOK SET
One of the most common ways anglers break fish off is on the hook set. Bonefish behave unpredictably. Often a fish will eat your fly and make an immediate turn away from you. Sometimes even before you strip set. This is most common when a fish charges the fly while it is still high in the water column. Even small bonefish are powerful and failing to give them line when they need it will result in a familiar popping sound. You need to
Read More »Imposter Syndrome on the Flats
By Tim Loonam Is faking it keeping you from making it? I’m standing on the deck of a Bair’s Lodge flats boat on South Andros and turn to look over my shoulder. There’s our guide, Gary, wearing that huge Bahamian smile with the ever-present cigar stub in the corner of his mouth and an off-kilter ball cap barely covering his unruly mop of mini-dreads. I look down at Louis Cahill, my fishing partner as he finishes uncoiling the fly line I’ve stripped into the cockpit. He too smiles at me and boosts my confidence saying, “You got this, dude.” I turn forward just as Gary calmly says, “Get ready, mon…bonefish 2 o’clock…50 feet, moving right to left.” I take a deep breath and think of the Nobel Prize. Wait, what…? Before you punch your fist into your open palm and say, “You’re dead, nerd!”, stay with me. As I got ready to cast, I thought about the 2000 award in psychology known as The Dunning-Kruger Effect. The Dunning-Kruger Effect applies anytime we engage in a new endeavor whether it’s learning a foreign language, flying a plane, performing brain surgery, or in my case, a double haul cast to a ghost of the flats. In their research, David Dunning and Justin Kruger plotted their subject’s confidence level in a task against the subject’s actual competency, and what they found universally was with any new task we all start out Unconsciously Incompetent: We simply don’t know how bad we are. That certainly applied to my first attempts at the double haul. I remember flinging that fly line around like one of those Korean dancers with a ribbon attached to a stick at the Opening Ceremonies of the Seoul Olympics. The next phase in the Dunning-Kruger Effect occurs as we gain just … Continue reading
Read More »