Things of Three IV

The fourth edition of three items/subjects/places/people worth checking out to make life as an angler and global citizen far more enjoyable.

1. Snook
They hit hard. They pull hard. And they look cool as hell.

Note: They're also quite tasty, but they're more fun to catch than to eat.

Photo by Dylan Rose of Fly Water Travel LLC

2. Idaho Angler
There's something to be said about walking into a shop and being recognized from a previous visit almost exactly a year ago to the day.

Friendly, helpful & knowledgeable, plus everything once could need for fishing in Idaho or anywhere else for that matter, including a huge tying section featuring materials for both fresh & salt.

If you're in the Boise area, a visit to Idaho Angler is a must.

Website: idahoangler.com
Social: facebook.com/IdahoAngler
Location: 1682 Vista Avenue  Boise, ID

3. Bonefish on the Brain
Dear Bjorn,

At first, I thought you were a little OCD about having a website dedicated to only one species of fish. Especially a fish living in waters far from your home address. A fish you have only one or maybe a couple of chances per year to go fishing for.

But then I caught one. And I get it now. I really do.

I'm already scheming an escape to catch more.

Sincerely,

Mat

Website: bonefishonthebrain.com

*           *           *

As some of you might have seen on a recent Facebook post, I'm taking a break from Facebook. This US Presidential election thing is bringing out the worse in some people. These are people I consider friends, either in real life or in the online realm. I respect your right to your opinions but the outright negativity, from both left and right, is depressing as f**k. So yeah, I'm done on Facebook until November 8th or 9th or so (besides, Twitter is far more enjoyable than Facebook).

That being said, y'all should get out and vote. No matter what your political leaning is, exercise your right to vote. Canada had a federal election last year and the turnout was downright dismal. Don't be apathetic; apathy is more depressing than the negative shit. Go vote.

This link will not be shared on the ol' Crackbook by yours truly. If anyone wants to share it, it'd be appreciated, but it's not necessary.

Keep it real.

Mat

5 Things I Learned in Belize

Here are five things I learned on my trip to Belize last week:

1. Line speed is extremely important.
I knew line speed was important in the salt before leaving, but rarely gave it a second thought...until I was on a pancake flat with a super-spooky school of cruising bones in a very stiff breeze.

We didn't have very many shots in the first two-thirds of the week, and the few shots I did have were exactly as described: cruising fish, long-ish shots, stiff breeze.

Mark my words, bonefish: it'll be a different game the next time I'm around.

Louis and Kent over at Gink & Gasoline frequently post good stuff on this, e.g.:

2. I like eating seafood far more than I ever imagined.

I caught some snapper on a handline off the back of the boat one night with one of the guides. The kitchen staff cleaned them & dressed them up in beer-batter. I topped them with Marie Sharp's and it was heavenly.

And don't even get me started on snook. We had it one night & it was amazing, but they're just too fun to catch to make a habit of eating them. But man, they are delicious. Commence moral dilemma.

Related note: we had caught a couple snook and the guides wanted to keep them. Our boat kept one, and the other boat kept two. I was sort of ok with this. Then I caught a big snook, which they also wanted to keep. I wasn't ok with this. Dylan suggested a picture of it in the water, as I leaned over the gunnel. This photo op was convenient; I 'dropped' the snook, giving it a little shove into the current to help it along. 

3. There's a place for glass & slower action rods in the salt...

...and that place is short-shots, mangroves and docks. 

I brought my CGR 7/8wt with me to Belize, and it really shined for making short shots under branches & in between roots and dock pilings. 

Whether or not the CGR would have the backbone required to yank a decent-sized snook or baby tarpon out of structure remains to be seen: I didn't hook anything on it. But it reinforces my belief that super-fast action rods are not the cat's ass at all times, as I discovered this summer in Charleston.

Note: I would have gladly blown that rod up on a 20lb baby tarpon & replaced it with another. I consider that the price of admission, and better to blow up a $99 rod than a $450 custom-built glass rod, huh?

For more reinforcement on glass in the salt, check out the backcountry fun Dr. Aaron Adams had with glass here on The Fiberglass Manifesto.

Side note: Some day, possibly soon, or maybe next year, I will be actively searching for an 8'-8'6", 4pc 7/8wt glass rod for light salt duty. I believe it would be epic for reds, specs & bones in certain situations. And I want the reel seat to match my Tibor Backcountry, fyi...

4. I am very emotionally-invested in catching fish.

By day four I was getting bummed out.

The trip was awesome, food was delicious, bunks were comfortable, but I wasn't seeing many fish, and the shots I did have weren't easy by any stretch of the imagination. Frustrated would be an understatement.

Side note: I'll mention Dylan, aka the guy who does this for a living, hadn't hooked anything at this point either, so it wasn't totally my incompetent angling skills at play here. Things were friggin' tough.

Fortunately day five turned things around. If it didn't, Dylan would have woken up to the following on day six:

5. i) Loop knots are my favourite knots.
Simple. Elegant. Effective.

5. ii) My Tibor Backcountry is my favourite reel.
Simple. Elegant. Effective.

The Clear Cure Charlie

Disclaimer #1: I am not a professional fly tyer.
Disclaimer #2: I am not a professional bonefisherman.

Both of the bonefish eats I had on Friday were on this fly pattern I tied up before the trip.

During marathon tying sessions prior to departure, I quickly tired of wrapping both flashabou and v-rib on the hook shank. Enter the Clear Cure Goo (laziness breeds ingenuity, folks).

Using the Clear Cure Goo instead of v-rib probably saved three-quarters of a minute for each tie, and it was fun pretending it was becoming irradiated to give it superhero powers when I blasted it with the ultraviolet light (e.g., the Hulk, Spiderman, Radioactive Man, etc).

An additional bonus to using the CCG is it makes the fly nearly indestructible. Like it had...superhero powers!

Disclaimer #3: Yes, there's a zillion patterns and recipes that are derived from Crazy Charlies (no tail) and Gotchas (with tail). This could be called a Gotcha, because it has a tail. I don't really care what it's called, it seemed to work, so I'm sharing it.

• Hook: Tiemco 811S, size 8
• Thread: Fire Orange, size 6/0
• Eyes: small bead chain
• Tail: 8-12 strands of pearl Crystal Flash, ~1.5x length of hook shank
• Body: 4-5 strands of pearl Flashabou wrapped flat on shank, coated with a fine smear of Clear Cure Goo Brushable & irradiated with UV light
• Wing: clump of white calf tail
• Head: Fire Orange thread