Last month my fishing partner Alec and I traveled to the Bahamas to pursue the elusive bonefish. The Bahamas has long been known as a bonefish mecca due to its extensive sand flats that spread for many miles, seemingly endlessly in every direction.
Alec and I have fished together all over the Mountain West, beginning when we first met in college at the University of Montana. Sometimes I wonder whether we spent more time chasing trout with fly rods and elk with our bows than studying classwork.
The Bahamas island where we headquartered is a lesser known one for bonefish. There are still plenty of people who fish it (as we found out on the flats) but it doesn’t have the name recognition some of the most famous Bahamian bonefish destinations have. Nonetheless, we arrived eager to make our first casts while wading the turquoise flats.
Our first couple of days were humbling. We found fish, but not so much the right fish. These initial bones were cruising and roaming, and not really in a feeding area or mindset. It was frustrating to say the least, as these were perhaps the spookiest fish I had ever pursued. Even casting 20 feet in front of them resulted in spooked fish.
The next day, however, we explored more of the island and started to find the right fish. I have fished in a lot of different places for various species and can say without a doubt that a big part of fishing success is not so much finding fish, but finding fish that are willing to do the dance.
What I mean is that in any aquatic ecosystem, there are areas and conditions that dictate the kind of mood that different groups of fish are in. Even if you are casting to large numbers of fish, if they are in neutral or negative feeding moods, you’ll often struggle. This also applies when you’re fishing areas where you may have lots of fish, but conditions make it hard for you to present a fly the way you need to.
What I always look for are fish that are generally in a mood and willing to feed (or hopefully actively feeding) in an area where conditions allow me to present a fly in an attractive way. This sounds simple, but in fishing it can be difficult to make these situations come together. But when you do, you often find success.
On day three we found active feeding fish, and on flats where they were not easily spooked. Finally, it was seemingly going to come together. But as so often occurs in fishing, there were other variables. Most notably, our bonefishing skills. Alec and I were accustomed to longer, fasting stripping techniques and we probably missed a number of hookups being too fast while presenting our shrimp patterns to tailing bones. Eventually, though, we started to slow it down, figure it out, and come tight on these wonderful fish.
Our last few days were a combination of missed and caught fish. We really did start to dial in our casting presentations and learned when to anticipate eats into proper strip sets. We also had a guide for the last day and a half who showed us a bunch of new water while offering us nuggets of bonefishing wisdom.
As is the case while fishing in Montana, hiring a guide for a day or two can dramatically improve your chances for success while fishing new waters or species. Being humble enough to learn from a pro can and often does minimize the growth time horizon while learning a new skill.
For me, the Bahamas trip was a great re-introduction to saltwater fishing. While fishing the flats I honed my water-reading skills and furthered my understanding of fish moods and behaviors, while learning anew that different fish require different casting presentations.
Be on the lookout for multiple Montana Guiding Company hosted trips to world class saltwater fly fishing destinations next winter!
-Trevor Anderson
Owner/Outfitter, Montana Guiding Company