Exuma, Bahamas, June 2010. It was our first trip to the island and definitely not our last. When my husband, Todd, asked me how I would like to celebrate my 40th birthday I told him, "Saltwater fly fishing of course!” He asked me "Where?" so I suggested we try the Bahamas since we had yet to fly fish there. It did not disappoint. Exuma is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and one of the last great untouched places in the Caribbean.
My goal on this particular trip was to finally catch a decent permit, or a nice-sized bonefish if nothing else. “A birthday catch I could be proud of would be a great present”, I thought to myself. Like maybe a 5-6 pound bone...
Our first day on the flats offered calm winds and a rising tide during the morning hours, which were ideal conditions. As soon as we got on the water we started seeing bones all over! Our saltwater fly casting was a bit rusty but luckily our guide, Drex Rolle, brought us up to speed quickly. Despite being accomplished fly fishermen, casting in the salt is much different then casting in the cooler, fresh water that we are accustomed to. With saltwater, wind, warm temperatures, and salt build-up can affect the performance of your fly line and your cast.
Fly fishing the saltwater flats is no easy feat. You must have the ability to cast anywhere from 30-70 feet (sometimes into the wind), and most importantly have the correct rod weight and warm water fly line to do it. Plus, here you are casting to fish that have braved their way onto the flats to feed. They are constantly moving, making for a more difficult target. Not to mention skinny water makes fish nervous. Having to evade predators such as sharks and barracuda, while trying to feed during a relatively small window of tide opportunity, makes any flats fish wiley and fast to leave once spooked. Don’t let it scare you, it’s not rocket science, you just need to be prepared with proper equipment and have some fly casting experience under your belt.
Drex has over 20 years of saltwater fly fishing experience under his belt, and I swear that man cast a fly in the space of a silver dollar at 100 yards, in the wind. At the risk of leaking one of my fishing secrets, I have to admit that Drex is one of the best guides I have ever fished with. For him to take the time to teach us the finer points of saltwater casting, was much appreciated; most guides do not do this. They expect you to know what you are doing when you show up. They would much rather spend time getting you hooked into fish than wasting precious time giving you casting lessons.
Once we were warmed up, we took on the huge schools of bonefish we were seeing. All morning, 20, 50, 100 bones to a school would swim by. Bones everywhere! We must have caught 20 each that first morning – all on a fly rod. Then, just before noon, I hooked into a 7 pound bone on the fly! I wasn’t sure just how big it was…I knew it had some muscle, but didn’t think it was much over 4 pounds. When I got it to the boat, Drex proclaimed, “That’s a good fish, mon”! I was so proud…I thought to myself, this is the fish of the trip!
Not quite.
Poling around, sight casting to that many fish (in ninety degree heat) takes it out of you and we overheated quickly. So, we asked Drex if we could go for a swim. Drex brought us to the most beautiful, white sandy beach to take a dip. It’s close to the place where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. The area was incredible! After a refreshing dip, we ate lunch, talked fishing with Drex, soaked in our surroundings, and then headed back out on the water for more fishing.
By mid-day the fishing action had started to slow down, which is typical. However, we knew big fish were still around because Drex would calmly tell us, “Cast over here” and when we missed the hook-up he’d quietly proclaim in his laid back voice, “That was a double digit mon”. He always told us after the fact so not to give us “bone fever” which can really mess up your cast. With all the action slowing down, Drex started to sing, “Give me one more, one more sweet song before I go” (he sounded very Marleyesque). Then, suddenly Todd hooked into something big! Great, I thought, he caught a lemon shark or barracuda. But the line didn't break so I knew it was something else. Todd said, “Drex, this is a big fish...I think might run out of line". At that moment I knew to store my fly rod and get out of the way!
Zing went the line, around the boat and back again, and back a few more times. When we finally caught a glimpse of it I screamed, "Oh my God, what the heck is that"? I knew full well it was a big bonefish. Drex was breaking a serious sweat as he coached Todd, knowing what Todd had on the line but not saying it aloud. So, I teased Drex and said, "That's gotta be a big barracuda". Then Drex shouted, "No mon, that's a BIG BONE"! I thought Drex was going to have a heart-attack right there in the boat! When the guys finally landed Todd’s prize in the boat, I swear Drex did cartwheels. All I could say was “Holy Crap!” over and over (OK, that’s not exactly what I said). All Drex could say was, "That's a BIG PIG MON, it's a HOG"!
Todd had landed a 13 pound Exuma bonefish, a rarity in that part of the Caribbean. To date the world record is 19 pounds. Todd had caught his trophy bonefish on the first day and stole my birthday thunder! But, that is quite alright by me. He was suddenly thrust into the celebrity spotlight on the island and had everyone talking all week long. What a fantastic memory for him, the kind all fisherman dream of.
In the fishing days that followed, we caught plenty of fish but they were the typical smaller-sized Bahamian bones. I never once saw my permit, either. Drex kept teasing me and saying that he bet I wished I had caught that big fish. I said, "No way, the permanent smile on my husband’s face and his newfound celebrity status was worth the price of admission”. I could not have been happier or more proud. Todd is a damn good fisherman, which I am very happy he is. Makes fishing with my partner in crime all the more fun!
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