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TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 22:04:13 -0800, "bruiser" wrote:
I don't claim to have any skill at all and certainly not in sal****er. It's nice to be at the stage where you're still easily amused and sal****er flyfishing is just out of this world. [intro snipped] I took this picture and one more of the beautiful strong fish: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulf...ckCrevalle.jpg and of course I broke my rod like a dork: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/web/rod.jpg It was over. And although it was a letdown it was a blessing in disguise. If the rod hadn't broken, I'd have stayed out there forever and Heidi would have been even less happy in the rough conditions. I got a fish and Heidi got to go shopping and we had a drink in Key West. Jason picked us up early after a quick phone call and I assured him that I wanted to pay him for all day as planned. He drove us back to Key West via a different route and gave us more of a tour. When he dropped us off I asked him what I owed him. He said "uhh, bro, let's call it 80. He got $100 and it was a fantastic deal. That is so cool (other than the murdered rod ;-) Good for you! I've never hooked one of those slab-sided tuna beasts but I've heard they are a riot. It's great you got one on your own. cheers! /daytripper (I gotta start plottin' some way to wet a line before March...) |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
I don't claim to have any skill at all and certainly not in sal****er. It's
nice to be at the stage where you're still easily amused and sal****er flyfishing is just out of this world. Heidi and I booked a cruise cheap before we decided to get married and so it became our honeymoon. Alas, I had already negotiated a day of sal****er with my 9 weight.... From the beginning: Many of you remember the guide we met in July on that great Blackfoot float that John H so deftly arranged. We helped the guide, Jacob, load his raft into his boat. He showed us a bunch of great permit photos and explained that he guides in Key West in the Winter. So I called him. We had the whole cruise with a nice room for slightly more than the cost of one day with Jacob, so I asked about wade fishing opportunities nearby. He told me about a great marina, near lots of flats, off the beaten path in the Lower Keys near Key West. Although he didn't have the guy's name or number, he explained that we could rent Kayaks there. I called the Marina and got the number of the Kayak Guy. Jason (not to be confused with Jacob) agreed to drive the 16 miles and pick Heidi and I up in Key West. After a few nervous minutes, he showed up and, talking a mile a minute, gave us a great verbal tour on the way to the Marina. He had all the gear ready: paddling jackets, brand new kayaks, pfd's, dry bags, food, water, and a kayak for me with an anchor. He gave us a map of the nearby keys and directed me to a big sand flat in front of a huge channel. Jacob had told me what to tie and I'd tied a bunch of 6" sparse chartruese and white flies with a little flash on 2/0 Gamakatsu's. Fun to tie. After two calls to Jacob I knew that I could expect sharks, barracuda's and maybe Jack Crevalle if I was lucky. It was windy! Heidi's a sport but I could tell right away that she wasn't digging paddling against the wind. I'd loop back and she'd tell me to go on and that she was fine but it was clear that this wasn't fun for her. We paddled against the wind, over deep and shallow water and I spotted a few rays but no fish. It became clear as I looked at the distant key that was my target: if she paddled all the way there she would not paddle all the way back. So I looked for something likely nearby. I got on the lee side of a nice key with lots of pelicans: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/web/Pelicans.jpg The birds were beautiful and there were different birds all over the place. There was a Turtle Grass "flat" in front of these Mangroves and a distinct deeper channel. This was gonna be it, so I anchored and stepped into the mucky turtle grass. After a little trial I'd gotten the casting worked out and figured out where I'd blind cast. I'd gotten maybe two or three good casts in and stripped the big fly back as fast as I could as Jacob had instructed me to. At that point I saw a good sized shark maybe thirty feet in front of me and I picked up and shot a great long cast, but it was well behind the shark. Since it was long and straight and I suck at casting a 9 weight (or any rod for that matter) I started stripping fast anyway. The sal****er strike is like lightning. It got heavy on a strip, I did my best strip strike and lifted my rod, and it turned into a running chain saw in an instant. I was whistling and hollering at Heidi like some dork at the San Juan "I've got a FISH ON!". And it was hotter than anything I'd ever felt. I was sure it was the shark. My tippet was braided wire and I held on. When the fish got close the first time I saw it was a Jack Crevalle, maybe 10 lbs but it felt like a hundred. It saw me and made two more runs, each about the length of my flyline. Heidi was about 500 yards from me when the fish got a little tired and I got it close again, so I decided to take a picture the way I've done with trout: get the fish at your feet, grab the camera and snap, then put the camera down and release the fish. I took this picture and one more of the beautiful strong fish: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulf...ckCrevalle.jpg and of course I broke my rod like a dork: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/web/rod.jpg It was over. And although it was a letdown it was a blessing in disguise. If the rod hadn't broken, I'd have stayed out there forever and Heidi would have been even less happy in the rough conditions. I got a fish and Heidi got to go shopping and we had a drink in Key West. Jason picked us up early after a quick phone call and I assured him that I wanted to pay him for all day as planned. He drove us back to Key West via a different route and gave us more of a tour. When he dropped us off I asked him what I owed him. He said "uhh, bro, let's call it 80. He got $100 and it was a fantastic deal. bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
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TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"bruiser" schrieb im Newsbeitrag ... What´s a broken rod compared to the memories?!. Nice trip report, and a lovely fish. I really would like to catch something like that someday. TL MC |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"bruiser" wrote:
... fun TR clipped... Nice report Bruce, and a nice fish. I hope that rod was insured. Chas remove fly fish to reply http://home.comcast.net/~chas.wade/w...ome.html-.html San Juan Pictures at: http://home.comcast.net/~chasepike/wsb/index.html |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
bruiser wrote:
I don't claim to have any skill at all and certainly not in sal****er. It's nice to be at the stage where you're still easily amused and sal****er flyfishing is just out of this world. Heidi and I booked a cruise cheap before we decided to get married and so it became our honeymoon. Alas, I had already negotiated a day of sal****er with my 9 weight.... From the beginning: Many of you remember the guide we met in July on that great Blackfoot float that John H so deftly arranged. We helped the guide, Jacob, load his raft into his boat. He showed us a bunch of great permit photos and explained that he guides in Key West in the Winter. So I called him. We had the whole cruise with a nice room for slightly more than the cost of one day with Jacob, so I asked about wade fishing opportunities nearby. He told me about a great marina, near lots of flats, off the beaten path in the Lower Keys near Key West. Although he didn't have the guy's name or number, he explained that we could rent Kayaks there. I called the Marina and got the number of the Kayak Guy. Jason (not to be confused with Jacob) agreed to drive the 16 miles and pick Heidi and I up in Key West. After a few nervous minutes, he showed up and, talking a mile a minute, gave us a great verbal tour on the way to the Marina. He had all the gear ready: paddling jackets, brand new kayaks, pfd's, dry bags, food, water, and a kayak for me with an anchor. He gave us a map of the nearby keys and directed me to a big sand flat in front of a huge channel. Jacob had told me what to tie and I'd tied a bunch of 6" sparse chartruese and white flies with a little flash on 2/0 Gamakatsu's. Fun to tie. After two calls to Jacob I knew that I could expect sharks, barracuda's and maybe Jack Crevalle if I was lucky. It was windy! Heidi's a sport but I could tell right away that she wasn't digging paddling against the wind. I'd loop back and she'd tell me to go on and that she was fine but it was clear that this wasn't fun for her. We paddled against the wind, over deep and shallow water and I spotted a few rays but no fish. It became clear as I looked at the distant key that was my target: if she paddled all the way there she would not paddle all the way back. So I looked for something likely nearby. I got on the lee side of a nice key with lots of pelicans: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/web/Pelicans.jpg The birds were beautiful and there were different birds all over the place. There was a Turtle Grass "flat" in front of these Mangroves and a distinct deeper channel. This was gonna be it, so I anchored and stepped into the mucky turtle grass. After a little trial I'd gotten the casting worked out and figured out where I'd blind cast. I'd gotten maybe two or three good casts in and stripped the big fly back as fast as I could as Jacob had instructed me to. At that point I saw a good sized shark maybe thirty feet in front of me and I picked up and shot a great long cast, but it was well behind the shark. Since it was long and straight and I suck at casting a 9 weight (or any rod for that matter) I started stripping fast anyway. The sal****er strike is like lightning. It got heavy on a strip, I did my best strip strike and lifted my rod, and it turned into a running chain saw in an instant. I was whistling and hollering at Heidi like some dork at the San Juan "I've got a FISH ON!". And it was hotter than anything I'd ever felt. I was sure it was the shark. My tippet was braided wire and I held on. When the fish got close the first time I saw it was a Jack Crevalle, maybe 10 lbs but it felt like a hundred. It saw me and made two more runs, each about the length of my flyline. Heidi was about 500 yards from me when the fish got a little tired and I got it close again, so I decided to take a picture the way I've done with trout: get the fish at your feet, grab the camera and snap, then put the camera down and release the fish. I took this picture and one more of the beautiful strong fish: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulf...ckCrevalle.jpg and of course I broke my rod like a dork: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/web/rod.jpg It was over. And although it was a letdown it was a blessing in disguise. If the rod hadn't broken, I'd have stayed out there forever and Heidi would have been even less happy in the rough conditions. I got a fish and Heidi got to go shopping and we had a drink in Key West. Jason picked us up early after a quick phone call and I assured him that I wanted to pay him for all day as planned. He drove us back to Key West via a different route and gave us more of a tour. When he dropped us off I asked him what I owed him. He said "uhh, bro, let's call it 80. He got $100 and it was a fantastic deal. bruce h nice tr bruce..... my first wife and i spent a similar honeymoon in key west. we had a grand time and it sounds like ya'll did to. congrats on the bliss and grats on the jack,,, they're a blast, eh? wally, who'd sell everything and buy a shack on cudjoe key in a heartbeat if marie would let me. |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"bruiser" wrote... I don't claim to have any skill at all and certainly not in sal****er. It's nice to be at the stage where you're still easily amused and sal****er flyfishing is just out of this world. Heidi and I booked a cruise cheap before we decided to get married and so it became our honeymoon. Alas, I had already negotiated a day of sal****er with my 9 weight.... snip Way cool, Bruce. Excellent TR - thanks! -- TL, Tim http://css.sbcma.com/timj |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 22:04:13 -0800, "bruiser"
wrote: I don't claim to have any skill at all and certainly not in sal****er. It's nice to be at the stage where you're still easily amused and sal****er flyfishing is just out of this world. [snip] Nice TR Bruce. I was in the middle Keys last week and didn't have any luck at all. It was about as windy and cool as I've seen it down there (got into the 40's one night). -- Charlie... |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
excellent!! but, where's the picture of heidi? gotta see her what
reeled you in! hope you can make it out to carolina one day so i can repay the kindness of that montana day floating the blackfoot... you'll enjoy the smokies and blue ridge. jeff bruiser wrote: I don't claim to have any skill at all and certainly not in sal****er. It's nice to be at the stage where you're still easily amused and sal****er flyfishing is just out of this world. Heidi and I booked a cruise cheap before we decided to get married and so it became our honeymoon. Alas, I had already negotiated a day of sal****er with my 9 weight.... From the beginning: Many of you remember the guide we met in July on that great Blackfoot float that John H so deftly arranged. We helped the guide, Jacob, load his raft into his boat. He showed us a bunch of great permit photos and explained that he guides in Key West in the Winter. So I called him. We had the whole cruise with a nice room for slightly more than the cost of one day with Jacob, so I asked about wade fishing opportunities nearby. He told me about a great marina, near lots of flats, off the beaten path in the Lower Keys near Key West. Although he didn't have the guy's name or number, he explained that we could rent Kayaks there. I called the Marina and got the number of the Kayak Guy. Jason (not to be confused with Jacob) agreed to drive the 16 miles and pick Heidi and I up in Key West. After a few nervous minutes, he showed up and, talking a mile a minute, gave us a great verbal tour on the way to the Marina. He had all the gear ready: paddling jackets, brand new kayaks, pfd's, dry bags, food, water, and a kayak for me with an anchor. He gave us a map of the nearby keys and directed me to a big sand flat in front of a huge channel. Jacob had told me what to tie and I'd tied a bunch of 6" sparse chartruese and white flies with a little flash on 2/0 Gamakatsu's. Fun to tie. After two calls to Jacob I knew that I could expect sharks, barracuda's and maybe Jack Crevalle if I was lucky. It was windy! Heidi's a sport but I could tell right away that she wasn't digging paddling against the wind. I'd loop back and she'd tell me to go on and that she was fine but it was clear that this wasn't fun for her. We paddled against the wind, over deep and shallow water and I spotted a few rays but no fish. It became clear as I looked at the distant key that was my target: if she paddled all the way there she would not paddle all the way back. So I looked for something likely nearby. I got on the lee side of a nice key with lots of pelicans: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/web/Pelicans.jpg The birds were beautiful and there were different birds all over the place. There was a Turtle Grass "flat" in front of these Mangroves and a distinct deeper channel. This was gonna be it, so I anchored and stepped into the mucky turtle grass. After a little trial I'd gotten the casting worked out and figured out where I'd blind cast. I'd gotten maybe two or three good casts in and stripped the big fly back as fast as I could as Jacob had instructed me to. At that point I saw a good sized shark maybe thirty feet in front of me and I picked up and shot a great long cast, but it was well behind the shark. Since it was long and straight and I suck at casting a 9 weight (or any rod for that matter) I started stripping fast anyway. The sal****er strike is like lightning. It got heavy on a strip, I did my best strip strike and lifted my rod, and it turned into a running chain saw in an instant. I was whistling and hollering at Heidi like some dork at the San Juan "I've got a FISH ON!". And it was hotter than anything I'd ever felt. I was sure it was the shark. My tippet was braided wire and I held on. When the fish got close the first time I saw it was a Jack Crevalle, maybe 10 lbs but it felt like a hundred. It saw me and made two more runs, each about the length of my flyline. Heidi was about 500 yards from me when the fish got a little tired and I got it close again, so I decided to take a picture the way I've done with trout: get the fish at your feet, grab the camera and snap, then put the camera down and release the fish. I took this picture and one more of the beautiful strong fish: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulf...ckCrevalle.jpg and of course I broke my rod like a dork: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/web/rod.jpg It was over. And although it was a letdown it was a blessing in disguise. If the rod hadn't broken, I'd have stayed out there forever and Heidi would have been even less happy in the rough conditions. I got a fish and Heidi got to go shopping and we had a drink in Key West. Jason picked us up early after a quick phone call and I assured him that I wanted to pay him for all day as planned. He drove us back to Key West via a different route and gave us more of a tour. When he dropped us off I asked him what I owed him. He said "uhh, bro, let's call it 80. He got $100 and it was a fantastic deal. bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
walt winter wrote: wally, who'd sell everything and buy a shack on cudjoe key in a heartbeat if marie would let me. uh, wally, as your personal beer valet and legal advisor... do not, i repeat, do not ever let marie know you wrote the above. in my brief associations with lovely marie, i learned quite well her heart's dream to relocate or return the two of you to that miserably flat place populated by yanks and canucks. i suspect she'd sacrifice you to a "shack" briefly if she could get the two of you back to florida, but you'd soon find yourselves in a proper florida subdivision near all the amenities of civilized life... in short, you'd be fukked my friend, and we'd more than miss you.. g jeff |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 07:02:24 -0800, "bruiser"
wrote: If we ever try to swing a sal****er clave it'd be a great place and we could rent Kayaks from Jason each day. A good place to camp in the Keys is Long Key SP - nice wadeable flats right in the park. I caught a 5# bonefish there in April but no luck last week - I'm going back in May next year. I'm putting a photo of the one successful fisherman I saw last week on ABPF. -- Charlie... |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
Thanks everyone, and I forgot to thank RW, who always agrees to put pictures
up on his website for me. The rod has a guarantee and I've already sent it back. It's a TFO and it broke between the legs of one of the guides. It seems like I got my nail knot up into the guides and when I was trying to take the photos I broke the rod. On the way home we got to stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Ft L, and I bought an "old model" 4 piece TFO 8 weight for $80! Then I took Heidi to the world's largest outlet mall and since my license was still good (coincidence?) I went down and spent a couple hours casting into those big canals, looking for snook. Alas, I didn't find a snook but I did see a little gator and a big carp and the 8 wt. is very smooth and strong. If we ever try to swing a sal****er clave it'd be a great place and we could rent Kayaks from Jason each day. bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"bruiser" wrote in message ... Great TR Bruiser! You have a great woman, hang on tight... Merry Christmas, Jeff T. |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
Jeff Miller wrote:
walt winter wrote: wally, who'd sell everything and buy a shack on cudjoe key in a heartbeat if marie would let me. uh, wally, as your personal beer valet and legal advisor... do not, i repeat, do not ever let marie know you wrote the above. in my brief associations with lovely marie, i learned quite well her heart's dream to relocate or return the two of you to that miserably flat place populated by yanks and canucks. i suspect she'd sacrifice you to a "shack" briefly if she could get the two of you back to florida, but you'd soon find yourselves in a proper florida subdivision near all the amenities of civilized life... in short, you'd be fukked my friend, and we'd more than miss you.. g jeff yeah.... marie's idee of roughin it is paved roads that lead direct to a mall. wally |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"walt winter" wrote yeah.... marie's idee of roughin it is paved roads that lead direct to a mall. hilarious, and just in time for christmas eve! thanks ol man, and a tip of santa's hat from yfitp wayno |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"Jeff Taylor" wrote:
"bruiser" wrote in message ... Great TR Bruiser! You have a great woman, hang on tight... Jeff's right, Bruce. She's a keeper! Chas remove fly fish to reply http://home.comcast.net/~chas.wade/w...ome.html-.html San Juan Pictures at: http://home.comcast.net/~chasepike/wsb/index.html |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
Thanks Jeff and Chas.
Chas, I went (trout) fishing for the first time since the SJ and to my Horror discovered that yes, I still have one of your radios. please send your snail mail address to me again at n i n e f o o t f i v e w e i g h t at yahoo dot com and I'll get it in the mail right away. Sorry about that. I'm sure you could have been using it skiing, etc. bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"Willi" wrote in message Was it your fault or the rod's that it broke? I made my own leader - 30" or so each of 30lb and 20lb mono, then an Albright knot (very cool knot) with a braided wire tippet about 10" long so I could change flies. To answer your question, it was my fault. The rod broke around the time I was landing the fish and taking a quick picture. I think my nail knot was at the last snake guide (ouch) with the rod bent. Learned a lesson. It was fun though. bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
bruiser wrote: "Willi" wrote in message Was it your fault or the rod's that it broke? I made my own leader - 30" or so each of 30lb and 20lb mono, then an Albright knot (very cool knot) with a braided wire tippet about 10" long so I could change flies. To answer your question, it was my fault. The rod broke around the time I was landing the fish and taking a quick picture. I think my nail knot was at the last snake guide (ouch) with the rod bent. Learned a lesson. It was fun though. What lesson did you learn? Willi |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
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TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
bruiser wrote:
I learned to be more careful with the rod when landing sal****er fish. If a leader link had hit my guide the way (i think) my nail knot did, the rod would have broken anyway :-) I wouldn't use a Leader Link with any tippet of 10lbs or greater. Why were you using such a long leader, Bruiser? Weren't you just stripping one of your huge sal****er streamers? I'm surprised at you. Next time, take a gaff, or a photographer. :-) -- Cut "to the chase" for my email address. |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
I learned to be more careful with the rod when landing sal****er fish. If a
leader link had hit my guide the way (i think) my nail knot did, the rod would have broken anyway :-) bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"rw" wrote in message Why were you using such a long leader, Bruiser? Weren't you just stripping one of your huge sal****er streamers? I was stripping one of those 6" long flies that Jacob told me to tie. My leader was really pretty short - maybe 60" total of mono and about 10" of wire. The whole thing was less than 6' long, but I didn't realize how much I was bending the rod to get the fish to my feet - apparently enough that my nail knot was up in my guides. Next time I'll make my leader even shorter, maybe just 50" of 30 lb mono and then the wire. I will also epoxy my nail knot to make it really smooth. The amazing thing was that my knots all held. The wire to fly knot was about gone when I got the fish in. bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"bruiser" schrieb im Newsbeitrag ... "rw" wrote in message Why were you using such a long leader, Bruiser? Weren't you just stripping one of your huge sal****er streamers? I was stripping one of those 6" long flies that Jacob told me to tie. My leader was really pretty short - maybe 60" total of mono and about 10" of wire. The whole thing was less than 6' long, but I didn't realize how much I was bending the rod to get the fish to my feet - apparently enough that my nail knot was up in my guides. Next time I'll make my leader even shorter, maybe just 50" of 30 lb mono and then the wire. I will also epoxy my nail knot to make it really smooth. The amazing thing was that my knots all held. The wire to fly knot was about gone when I got the fish in. bruce h Simply holding the rod vertical ( or up and behind you) when trying to land a fish, will easily break most rods when the fish lunges, etc. This is because the rod is unable to distribute the load. The tip is compressed vertically, as it were, and the rod simply breaks. TL MC |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
bruiser wrote: "rw" wrote in message Why were you using such a long leader, Bruiser? Weren't you just stripping one of your huge sal****er streamers? I was stripping one of those 6" long flies that Jacob told me to tie. My leader was really pretty short - maybe 60" total of mono and about 10" of wire. The whole thing was less than 6' long, but I didn't realize how much I was bending the rod to get the fish to my feet - apparently enough that my nail knot was up in my guides. Next time I'll make my leader even shorter, maybe just 50" of 30 lb mono and then the wire. I will also epoxy my nail knot to make it really smooth. The amazing thing was that my knots all held. The wire to fly knot was about gone when I got the fish in. How strong was the fish? Stronger than a big Rio Grande carp? Willi |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"Willi" wrote in message How strong was the fish? Stronger than a big Rio Grande carp? The carp in the Rio went upstream through white water about 65-70 feet. I could have handled it pretty easily on my 9 weight, but of course I was using a 5. Once it got downstream of me it was pretty tough on the 5. The Jack Crevalle was all the 9 could handle and although it was still water, it took 3 really fast runs, each about 100 feet, and there was a fair amount of wrestling in between. I'd say the Jack was about 1 pound lighter and about 3 times stronger than the carp. You are going to feel it soon enough in Belize. Even though it's not an "all fishing" trip, I'd take a backup rod if I were you. bruce h |
TR for a short Saltwater day w/pics
"bruiser" wrote:
Thanks Jeff and Chas. Chas, I went (trout) fishing for the first time since the SJ and to my Horror discovered that yes, I still have one of your radios. Bruce, I thought I'd lost it. This is great news. Please send your pictures from the clave along with it, and I'll be closer to being able to put that CD together. Thanks Chas remove fly fish to reply http://home.comcast.net/~chas.wade/w...ome.html-.html San Juan Pictures at: http://home.comcast.net/~chasepike/wsb/index.html |
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