No "Bones" About It

We have now entered the pelagic zone. This is the time of season when fly anglers' thoughts turn to local members of the tuna and mackerel family. The first of those annual pelagic visitors, Spanish mackerel and bonito have made their way to our inshore waters. I have been chasing Atlantic bonito around Long Island for more than thirty years but I never tire of catching them on the fly. The advance guard of bonito showed up several weeks ago in the central Long Island Sound area, but as of late those early shows have gotten somewhat scarce. The fish that are still hanging around have developed a mild case of selective lockjaw but that could change as quickly as the next tide. If you encounter stubborn fish, mix up the selection of flies and retrieves until you hit upon the right combination. Pods of bonito are now dispersed around Long Island and by all current accounts appear to be moving east to west and setting up shop. Increasing numbers of recent reports indicate bonito catches in areas of the western Sound and central south shore locations in close proximity to inlets and bays. Several fly anglers who chase bonito regularly report finding larger numbers of fish in the western most regions of the Long Island Sound. As the fish disperse they are also showing up in some non-typical locations so it pays to do some scouting and exploring. While the numbers of bonito are not yet anywhere near the epic runs of 2003 and 2007, we should see more fish moving into Long Island and Connecticut waters in the coming weeks and months, and along the south shore as well. Expect the numbers of Long Island "bones" to build to a crescendo as they eventually mix in with later arriving Little tunny and then peak during the fall run. In addition to all the prolific bait that has been around the past few weeks, I've encountered massive schools of bay anchovies as well. Their presence bodes well for pelagic enthusiasts. With a little luck we may also get some inshore shots this season at skipjack and small bluefin tuna. Pelagic species can at times be very tough fish to get to eat a fly. Their presence has a way of bringing out the best and the worst in anglers. Please remember to exercise courtesy when fly-fishing for them. There is absolutely no need to blast in on an angler who is either hooked up or patiently waiting for a pod of fish to surface. The most enjoyable part of this game is finding, hooking and catching your own fish, not finding some other angler who is catching them! Good luck!

No Excuses

If ever there was a corporate slogan appropriate for saltwater fly-fishing it would be Nike’s ever-popular catchphrase, “Just Do It”. For some reason it seems as if a lot of would-be salty fly anglers are always just getting ready to “do it”, but never quite get it done. It seems too as if something always stands in their way and that conditions are not always deemed quite right or perfect for the fly rod. The excuses for non-participation run the gamut: too windy, too calm; too cold, too hot; too much rain, not enough rain; too sunny, not sunny enough; too many bugs, not enough bugs; the Yankees lost, Boston won! On and on the excuses go for leaving the long wand tucked away in the closet. There is no such thing as perfection when if comes to saltwater fly-fishing conditions. If you fish coastal areas anywhere along the northeast corridor – or anywhere in the coastal United States -you will more often than not encounter adverse weather conditions and lots of wind. One can learn to either cope with those conditions and how to catch fish despite them, or keep the fly rod locked away for elusive “better” days.
I recently read a fellow’s fishing report thread on one of the regional fishing websites. He details every element of his outings, from the exact time he awoke in the morning to what he had for breakfast that day, how long it took to get to the launch ramp, including the delays on the highway, and he catalogs each and every fish caught. He also often lists his reports under the category of “fly-fishing” but has yet to report catching a fish on the fly. According to the reports, conditions were just never quite right for fly-fishing so the tackle of choice became either conventional or spinning gear. It seems as if some conspiring set of forces are always at work preventing the use of the fly rod by others as well. More often than not the perceived nemesis is the wind. I overheard one other fellow tell someone he recently purchased a “long wand” for those days when there is the slightest of breezes and generally flat conditions. He went on to say, “…you know, those days when it is just right for the fly rod.” Wrong! There is no such thing as “just right”. Some of the best days fly-fishing are unsettled ones, as they are for other forms of sport angling. Granted, it is much easier to toss a two-ounce plug on an 11-foot surf stick into a stiff 20-mph wind than it is to do the same with a fly rod, but, nonetheless, fish still can be caught under those conditions. It is a matter of perseverance, practice and a positive mindset.
I’ve had many of instances with my own fly-fishing that prove the point but two are real standouts in my mind and have influenced my use of the fly rod. The first occurred during a trip to Alaska and involve 40-plus mile per hour winds and driving rain, and the second was on Long Island involving wind, rain and high seas. In both instances, lots of fish were caught on the fly. So don’t hesitate to grab the fly rod, even if you think conditions are less than ideal…just do it! You might be very surprised at the results.

Flatfish on the Fly

Of all places for the idea to strike me was the lounge area at the Millennium Hotel in Anchorage Alaska. Each one of my fly fishing pilgrimages to the great Northland for salmon and trout hasn't officially begun until I am seated at a table in the Millenium savoring a basket of mouth watering halibut chunks and enjoying a couple of ice cold Alaskan Ambers. It has become a tradition for me, and this time I didn’t wait for my fishing buddy’s flight to arrive before indulging myself.

The culinary pleasure I was experiencing must have been obvious since the guy sitting one table over turned to me and said, “Those chunks are pretty good, aren’t they?”

“The best”, I replied, “I wait all year for this. And the brew just hits the spot.”

Then this fellow proceeds to tell me that he is up there to do some halibut fishing -not unusual for the time of year. But what was a bit out of the ordinary was that he was doing his halibut fishing with a fly rod! That grabbed my attention. Another order of chunks and another Amber and I was all ears! This guy proceeds to tell me that he has caught halibut on the fly up to about fifty pounds but wanted to break the one hundred pound mark on this trip and see if he just might achieve a new tippet class world record. Now I am thinking if big fluke are doormats, then large halibut are the barn doors, and it would be quite a feat to land one on the long wand. The largest fly rod halibut on record is currently one hundred and eleven pounds – one mighty large flatfish!

I listened to my new acquaintance tell me how the big flatfish lie in wait on the bottom camoflauged by their speckled brown topside and white underbelly and how they will travel up the water column to pursue a wide range of prey. While they spend most of their time in deep water they can often be found in the shallows but a few meters deep. Sound familiar? Well it should because the habits of halibut are likewise displayed by its diminutive cousin, the fluke.
I wished this fellow well in his quest, my fishing buddy finally arrived and more halibut chunks and Amber had been ordered, but the seed had been planted. I took the concept back to my home waters of the Long Island Sound and have since had a ton of fun with fluke on the fly.