From Brookies to Bonefish

By Tom Miller

Greely & Estes Park, Colorado

For one who is used to catching brook trout in small mountain streams with a one-weight fly rod, the step up to bonefish was a big one!

The first hurdle was the eight-weight rod with a nine-weight line, a 13-pound tippet and a big reel.  Quite a bit different from the hardware I’m used to.  Naturally, the BIG rig took a little getting used to.  But I soon learned why it was needed.

Our destination was Andros Island, largest of the Bahamian isles.  We were to fish the bight in mid-January when the moon, the water and the horoscope were right.  This is the area made famous by Hemingway, not far from the infamous “Bang Bang Club”.

The first day out, I actually caught five bonefish!  It took about 9 hours and a lot of patience on the part of our guide and my fishing partner.  This is when I learned some of the important aspects of bonefishing.  First, in many ways this is a hunt.  Poling miles and miles of flats in the hot sun.  Suddenly the guide spots a shadow or a tailing fish.  Often the fisherman doesn’t see the fish; he still must follow the directions from the guide up on the platform.  “10 o’clock, 40 feet!”  “Come right, now let ‘er drop!”  “Wait – Wait – Wait”  “Now strip, strip – Big Strip!”

Once I learned how to “strip” the line in without spooking the fish, I was able to land my first bonefish.  I must admit this took several attempts.

My second hurdle in bonefishing with a fly was a lesson in humility.  Not so much in learning something new.  I think I actually caught on pretty quickly.  The lesson was one of being humbled by a 5-pound fish.  After fighting this little critter for about ten minutes I had to admit I was whipped and ready to sit down for a rest.  I also learned that a 5-pound fish could break a 13-pound tippet!  Don’t ask me how; but I managed to do it several times during our 5 days on the flats.

My biggest achievement of the week was landing a 7-pound fish.  This little guy actually stripped out all of my fly line and backing, not once, but twice.  The fight in these fish is unbelievable.  I highly recommend it to mountain trout fishermen who are looking for a bit of excitement during the long winter months in the Rockies.

And, you probably guessed it – I’ll be heading back next January.  Same place.  Same lodge.  Same guides.  But this time we’ll be armed with a special modification to our Clouser flies.  This time these imitation shrimp will not only have black eyes, they will also have a small red dot marking the center of the eye.  (one of our group is a master fly tyer.)  Now the quest is on for the elusive 10-pounder!

Left - Rotarian Tom Miller

Betsy (right) beats Miller with this beautiful 9 pounder

(Webmaster's Note:  She doesn't look as tired as Tom!)