Tag Archives: Saltwater

Saltwater, Utah

Spring Travels

Down by da beach boiiiiiii
Down by da beach boiiiiiii

This spring I’ve been incredibly fortunate to do quite a bit of traveling in a short time.  It all started towards the end of April when my girlfriend I met up with my brother and some of his friends for a double birthday and fishing extravaganza in Florida.  See my brothers blog for his tales of the trip to Sanibel Island.  I had never done any Saltwater fly fishing prior to this journey so I didn’t really know what to expect…it was unbelievable.  Every fish we pulled out, I had no idea what it was, but they put up a hell of a fight.

Dave feeding a bird some bait fish
Dave feeding a bird some bait fish

The flies we used were way less intricate then some of the trout flies that I normally tie, but all you really needed down there was the schwminnow and a glass fish.  Our first day Jourdan ripped the most fish out of the Gulf and I struggled a bit to read the water.  What I learned was there is a lot of waiting for the birds and tides during the day time or just hire a guide and they will take you to where the fishing is on fire.

Celebrating Jourdan's BDAY
Celebrating Jourdan’s BDAY
Jourdan with a Sea Trout
Jourdan with a Sea Trout
Sunset on a boat
Sunset on a boat
Ripping snook up after dark
Ripping snook up after dark

 

Flying back to SLC
Flying back to SLC

Once Jourdan and I arrived back in Salt Lake I had the opportunity to drive the delivery van for the ski shop back to Colorado for the summer.  I brought my fishing and snowboard gear along for the ride.  The snowboarding did not work out, but the fishing did.

Sometimes when you have to drive 500 miles in a day you have to set out at 4 AM to get a half a day of fishing in
Sometimes when you have to drive 500 miles in a day you have to set out at 4 AM to get a half a day of fishing in
Traffic jam in route to the fishing
Traffic jam in route to the fishing

 

The "Gold Ribbon" stretch of the Frying Pan
The “Gold Ribbon” stretch of the Frying Pan

Fishing in Colorado is way different than fishing in Utah.  Stream access is not nearly as good.  There are some assholes in Utah trying to ruin our stream access, but that’s a whole different story.  I stopped by Taylor Creek Flies for some advice before hitting the stream.

There knowledge worked. There are a ton of fish in that river, but also a ton of people.
Their knowledge worked. There are a ton of fish in that river, but also a ton of people.

After some nymphing and some midge dry fly action I had to pack up and continue on Frisco.

The road to A Basin
The road to A Basin

The next morning I woke up and dressed to go snowboarding up at Arapahoe Basin.  However, my pass that was lined up for me fell through so I had to fall back on my back up play to do some more fishing before catching my ride to Denver International to get back to Salt Lake.

Another small stream with a shit ton of people
Another small Colorado stream with some snow still lingering
However, there were some nice fish to be caught.
However, there were some nice fish to be caught.

Once home, Ted and I went to some more familiar territory for me.

A moose spying on me
A moose spy
Ted with a fat Rainbow
Ted with a healthy Rainbow
Tala and Jefe
Tala and Jefe enjoying the beautiful weather
Healthy Trout
Healthy Trout
This adventure comes to a close, but there will be more. Fishing and the sites you see is awesome
This adventure comes to a close, but there will be more. Fishing and the sites you see is awesome
Saltwater

The Best for Last

IMG_1272

Jess and I are leaving the Bahamas today.  Over the past week, I have picked up several more bonefish as well as a small mutton snapper; however, the last bone I caught is the one that will stay with me.  I hit the flats early morning at the mid point of an outgoing tide.  The water was shallow enough to see tails but just deep enough to keep the bones from becoming super skittish.  I was wading close to shore when 50 feet away I saw a large tail quickly break the surface, and then it instantly disappeared.  I froze, continued to peer towards the surface disturbance, and then saw a small mud puff from a feeding fish.  After one cast and a small strip of my size 4 bonefish scampi, I felt a strong tug and my reel was singing.  The first run of this bone was the tell tale of a large fish.  The fish had 3 more runs, and I landed him after a 15-minute fight.  I was astonished when I landed him, measured him up using my fly rod, snapped a quick picture, and released him. (It is extremely hard taking a picture of a bonefish standing in the middle of a knee deep flat).  He was around 32 inches long.  Cross referencing Randal Kaufman’s Bonefishing!, he was estimated between 11-13lbs, which puts him into trophy category by anyone’s standards.  It was the culmination of my bonefishing efforts over the past month.  I wish the picture below did the fish more justice.

This guy pushed the limits of my 9wt for 15 minutes
This guy pushed the limits of my 9wt for 15 minutes

Our time in Green Turtle Cay was amazing.  Jess and I felt that the people were welcoming, the food was excellent, and the bonefish were challenging.  My next bonefish trip will more then likely be the typical several days on flats skiff with a guide; however, I will never forget my trials and tribulations, paying my dues on the flats, and learning through first hand experience.  Special thanks to local fly fisher and bonefish guide, Ronnie Sawyer.  He spent many nights tutoring me on strategy, fly design, and approach for his local waters and bonefish.  It’s now off to the Adirondacks  chasing good old fashion trout as well as a host of other warm water species!

We'll miss these shores
We’ll miss these shores
Local Junkanoo Festival
Local Junkanoo Festival
Bahamian tradition: Kaliks and Conch Friters
Bahamian tradition: Kaliks and Conch Friters
Goombay Smash: Dark Rum Coconut Rum Pineapple Juice Touch of Cointreau
Goombay Smash:
Dark Rum
Coconut Rum
Pineapple Juice
Touch of Cointreau
This four foot lemon shark scared off every bonefish for the rest of one afternoon.
This four foot lemon shark scared off every bonefish for the rest of one afternoon.
Feral Pig Population
Feral Pig Population
Sunset over Abaco
Sunset over Abaco
Saltwater

Double Haul

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With Joe Mahler

Sanibel Island Diaries Part 2

Read Part 1 – The Schminnow

The spring in New Jersey has been one of the coldest on record, we did not get the ice conditions I had hoped but once spring hit, the thermometer did not rise. Heading down to Florida for some saltwater action seemed just the cure for my post winter malaise. This is our second trip down to Sanibel Island, last year we headed down to celebrate Mark’s 30th, this year it is a party for Mark and Jourdan. On the debut trip I was able to hook a Gulf Toad Fish on the fly and some nice fish on bait, this year I committed to Fly Fishing only.

MKFF Assembled
MKFF Assembled

Saltwater fly gear is considerable weightier than the Sage 4wt, my primary weapon against Trout. You also have to practice making longer casts, or at least achieving proficiency with throwing a Schminnow in the forty to fifty feet range. In order to make sure we used proper technique, I contact Joe Mahler, one of the top fly-casting instructors in the United States. Brenton, Jourdan and I were set up for several hours of lessons.

Joe Mahler beach side instruction.
Joe Mahler beach side instruction.

Joe is an excellent and patient instructor, he worked with Brenton on his double haul, Jourdan and I on our rod death grips. To achieve long casts, I had fallen victim to the fallacy that you need to exert your whole body. In reality, letting the rod do the work does the trick for a perfect shooting cast. These lessons set us up nicely for dock light fishing a few nights later.

Casting Practice
Casting Practice

After half an hour casting in the grass, we were anxious to follow the rest of the guys out on to the beach. For perfect conditions on the Gulf of Mexico, you need very little to no waves; something akin to glass is perfect. According to Mark, Beach fishing is generally better towards the summer and peaks in October. That being said, we wanted to taste salt and Joe indicated, though conditions were not perfect, tourists had caught some large Saltwater Fish by braving the choppy seas.

Jourdan gets the skunk out!
Jourdan gets the skunk out!

Fish cruising the beach will be located in the trough which runs along the beach in between the first sand bar or on the sand bar’s far side drop off. The perfect cast will land in front of an incoming wave, that wave will not be so large as to develop a white froth. Joe discusses keeping your fly “in the zone” in this very informative article http://www.joemahler.com/#!__surf-sand-and-snook.

The Largest Stickleback Ever
The Largest Stickleback Ever

 

The beach cruising fish prefer flies that mimic the Glass Minnow and other small, semi-translucent bait-fish living in the trough. A good way to locate bait-fish is to follow the birds. Mark is very helpful by carrying his cast net everywhere along the beach. Throw the net out real quick and you get an immediate picture of the subsurface bait-fish school’s size and coloration.

Mark and Dave Cast Netting
Mark and Dave Cast Netting

The day ended well, a quick lesson and all the newly minted Saltwater Fly Fisher people caught a fish. Mine was a Stickleback but a large one. I later found out, like most Ocean fish, they have terrible spikes. Do not touch them or get stung…

Sanibel Gulf Shore Moonrise
Sanibel Gulf Shore Moonrise

Don’t worry, the big feesh are coming out to play…

Part 3 – Dock Lighting for Snook