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Category: Bonefish Flies

14 Pound Bonefish on a #2 Simram at North Riding Point Club, Grand Bahama

#2 Simram fools 14 pound Bonefish & What’s New at North Riding Point Club

The bonefish in the photo above is a 14-pounder landed in February off the north shore of Grand Bahama. Carl Heilman, who landed this monster, also landed a tarpon (the group jumped 3 and landed 2). Chris Bamford landed the other tarpon, as well as the triggerfish, John Wilson jumped a tarpon and Scott Trerotola landed a 10 lb Mutton Snapper that was cruising behind a Ray. Each member of the group also landed several bonefish between 5 – 10 pounds.

Bill & Liz Aldendifer also had a fantastic trip to Grand Bahama. Together, they landed several fish in 7 – 8 pound range, a couple 9 pounders, a 10 pounder, and a 12 pounder on Bill’s birthday. Bill came close to having a 14+ pounder in hand, but lost it at the boat when the guide grabbed the leader. Bill, a permit aficionado, said that the 14+ pound bonefish fought harder than any permit he’s hooked, even his 30 pounder in Ascension Bay.

All of the above mentioned were Angler Adventures’ clients staying at North Riding Point Club. Click or Tap here to see Bill, Liz, Scott, and more photos of our clients with their fish on our Facebook page.

Paul Adams Takes Reigns at North Riding Point Club

Replacing Tim and Mercedes at North Riding Point Club (NRPC) is veteran lodge manager Paul Adams. Originally from Indiana, Paul was raised in the Bahamas, while his parents managed Deep Water Cay from 1976 – 1984. Paul attended school in McLeans Town, where he became friends with many of the famous Grand Bahama Guides, including NRPC head guide, Stanley Glinton, who taught Paul how to pole a skiff. Paul’s fly fishing instructor at an early age was none other than well known sportsman and author, AJ McClane. Paul and his wife Alison also managed Deep Water Cay for 8 years, from 1996 – 2004. Paul’s local knowledge, hands on management style and angling experience make him the perfect choice for this position.

New Hells Bay Marquesa Skiffs

North Riding Point Club (NRPC) has acquired 5 new 17-foot Hells Bay Marquesa Skiffs with 90 HP Yamaha 4-stroke outboards and new trailers. NRPC has also upgraded their fleet of vehicles with a couple of newer Ford Explorer SUVs. The boats are equipped with padded seats, leaning bar and power poles. The Hells Bay skiffs have been in use since January 2013 and clients and guides alike are raving about the comfort and speed, especially when making the run to Sale Cay.

For reservations, or more information, please call Angler Adventures at 800-628-1447 or 860-434-9624 or send us an email at info@angleradventures.com.

July 25, 2014
Go Small. Go Light. Go Weedless.

Bonefish on Grass Flats

Go Small. Go Light. Go Weedless.

by Chip Bates

You can encounter tailing fish on any fertile bottom, but weedy bottoms hold the most prey, therefore the most fish. Big fish seem more comfortable feeding in the shallows over a dark bottom. Click here for tips on Shallow Water, Tailing Fish.

The end of the outgoing and beginning of the incoming brings the skinniest water that’s when you’ll find fish tailing over the weeds. To catch them, you’ll need a fly that doesn’t “plop” when it hits the water: go small.

A tailing fish is focused on a small area. Frequently he’ll create a cloud of sand or mud where he’s feeding. You must put the fly in the area where’s he’s rooting, a matter of inches from his nose. You must throw a fly that doesn’t spook him when it lands: go light.

Once the fly lands in front of the fish, let it sink, then give it the tiniest of strips: go weedless.

Without a weed guard, your fly will invariably snag on grass and stripping a fly that’s hooked on a weed is like drag on a dry fly. Click Here for Tips on Tailing Fish over Weedy Bottoms.

There are loads of excellent flies for bonefishing in skinny water, but our number one fly is the Bunny Bone when we need to go small, light or weedless. Having a variety of Bunny Bones in your fly box is a necessity, especially when wading for bonefish. Tan or brown (tied with tan or pink thread) rabbit fur tail with a little gold Mylar and mono eyes are top producing colors. It’s also a great fly in slightly deeper water with small or medium bead chain eyes, instead of mono. Try adding crazy legs and don’t forget the weed guard! Click here for more information on tying bonefish flies, including the Bunny Bone.

October 11, 2013
Three Second Rule

One of the biggest mistakes a bonefisherman can make is failing to adjust his fly to changing water depth. Your fly should be weighted such that it sinks quickly to the bottom and then stays near the bottom within view of the fish after you begin stripping. If you strip the fly above a bonefish, it will never see it.
The average flat depth, whether you’re wading or poling, ranges from 1-2½ ft. In this depth, a Gotcha or Amber Shrimp with medium sized bead chain eyes should provide close to the perfect sink rate, without overweighing the fly (and potentially spooking the fish). A good rule of thumb is your fly should reach the bottom in about 3 seconds. If you find your fly is not getting to the bottom, you should switch to a fly with lead eyes or add a few wraps of lead wire to the eye of the fly.

The angler who is willing to fish deeper flats will often be rewarded with the largest bonefish. Big bonefish prefer the protection of deeper flats or shallow flats close to deep water. When you’re fishing water 3-4 feet deep, you’ll need a fly with lead eyes to get to the bottom quickly. Proven deep-water flies are the Clouser minnow (especially tan and white and chartreuse and white), the Simram, (a rabbit fur version of the Gotcha fly with lead eyes) and Henry Cowen’s Bonefish Scampi. Lead eyes come in a variety of weights and for joy of casting, you’ll want to carry flies with the smaller lead eyes, as well as the heavier lead eyes that cause many of us to duck when forward casting.

The last thing a bonefisherman wants to do is scare the daylights out of an actively feeding fish by casting too heavy a fly too close to the fish. Therefore, you must go light in skinny water. By light we mean no weight other than the weight of the hook. For this we recommend mono (or plastic) eyes and a body that lands softly. A well-designed fly for this situation is a pattern called the bunny bone in sizes 4, 6, and 8.

The bunny bone is made with rabbit fur, rug yarn and mono eyes. You can throw this unweighted fly quite close to a tailing fish. Its entry into the water is soft, but it sinks well. The rabbit fur makes it look alive even before it’s stripped. All you need to do is give it the tiniest of strips. Don’t strip the fly too far or too fast when working a tailing fish.

Before you begin fishing it is also advisable to have a handy selection of the flies you’re most likely to use that day. Have a selection that covers all water depths, so you are prepared when a quick change is required. For even quicker adjustments to changes in water depths, have a spool of lead wire handy and wrap a small piece around the eye of the fly, as needed.

This was another except from the Angler Adventures “Bahamas What to Bring List”.

October 26, 2012
Seychelles Best Flats Fishing – Farquhar Atoll

The Seychelles became a bucket list destination because it’s a beautiful, remote destination with fantastic wading for bonefish on hard sand & coral flats and a variety of other species both on and off the flats that added depth to the fishery. Recently, a new fishing operation has opened on Farquhar Atoll, which has taken those credentials to the next level.

Beautiful and remote? Farquhar is called the “Jewel of the Seychelles” and considered to be the most beautiful island in the archipelago and also the southern most atoll (2 hour flight from Mahe). The staff and guests are the only people on the atoll, living in the islands only accommodations. Check.

Fantastic Bonefishing? The fishing is 100% wading. The average schooling bonefish is 4 – 6 pounds and there will be quite a few bonefish in the 6 – 8 pound range. Most anglers end up leaving the schools to find fish in single and doubles for a bit more of a challenge. Check.

Variety of Species? In addition to Bonefish, there are the normal fish you’d expect to see on a flat in the Seychelles: Shark, Barracuda, Snapper, Triggerfish, Trevally (including Giant Trevally), Milkfish, Napoleon Wrasse and Indo-Pacific Permit. The guides on Farquhar have also figured out how to catch Humphead Parrotfish, which were previously though to be uncatchable on the fly and become experts at targeting GT’s (Giant Trevally). You can also fish deeper water for Sailfish, several Grouper species, Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Job fish, and more. A client of our landed 18 different species on the fly…all with a floating line! Check.

This is truly one of the special fishing destinations in world, and the reservations book shows it – the first availability is for late-October 2013. If you’re interested in fishing Farquhar, we suggest getting started now. Like Farquhar, but more interested in Bonefishing? Check out Farquhar’s sister operation St. Brandon’s Atoll, which has better bonefishing with less variety.

Bonefish!

August 17, 2012
The “Bully Special” Fly

Here’s another excerpt from Dick Brown’s revised Bonefish Fly Patterns, which was re-released this summer. At Angler Adventures, we’re really big fans of bonefish guides that can consistently find big fish. The fly below was created by an excellent big bonefish guide at North Riding Point Club on Grand Bahama.

The Bully Special

Bully Special Fly Photo: © 2011 Dick Brown

A Bully Bevans design. Sample in photo was tied by Bully on a size 4 34007 hook and measures horizontally 2″ in length from hook eye to end of tail; bottom tip of wing is about 1 3/8″ below hook shank. A second sample from Bully measured 2 1/2″ by 1 3/8″ on a larger hook. Fly rides hook-point up.

Hook: 34007; sizes 4, 6

Thread: Fluorescent (Gotcha) pink or orange (actually burnt orange in hue) Danville Flat Waxed Nylon 3/0

Eyes: 5/32″ Spirit River nickel-plated I-Balz weighted barbell with green iris

Tail: Heavy (about thirty to forty strands) copper Krystal Flash

Body: Wound pearl Diamond Braid

Wing: Heavy (about thirty to forty strands) copper Krystal Flash

Prey notes: Suggestive of dark and medium brown mantis shrimps found in the Bahamas.

Anecdotes: New England fly fisher Ledge Mitchell was one of the first to use the fly, and he later scored a trophy fish with it. “Bruce Bauman and I were fishing with Bully at North Riding Point three years ago,” says Ledge. “We were doing OK but had had a couple of refusals, so I asked Bully if there was anything else we should try. He reached in his pocket and pulled out an all–gold-copper pattern, saying, ‘Try this.’ We had good luck fishing that fly— five bones, as I remember—and when I asked what it was called, Bully replied, ‘I don’t know.’ So I said to Bully, ‘I’m going to name it after you.’” A year later Ledge returned to NRP and took a 14-pound bone while fishing with fellow angler Carl Soderland and guide Deon Leathen. The fly? You guessed it—the Bully Special, which Ledge had tied on a big #2 hook. Author’s note: This fly, or one very similar to it, appears in the 2008 new and revised edition of Fly Fishing for Bonefish as the Deepwater Cay Club Fly. I have Ledge Mitchell (see his anecdote above) to thank for tipping me off that the pattern was, in fact, the Bully Special from the North Riding Point Club.

Bully Bevans is a superb bonefish guide. He is the North Riding Point Club’s “big fish specialist” and one of the guides most often requested by guests there. His fly has been extremely successful on Grand Bahama’s productive north shore.

Tying notes: Bully says he came up with this very effective big bone fly because he was out of flies and needed something to fish with for a client the next day. Good tying materials are notoriously rare in the Bahamas, so in a moment of pure serendipity, he tied his creation out of what he had on hand. It worked from the first day and is now his favorite fly. He ties it in sizes 4 and 6 only—he does not like it any bigger. He likes lead eyes for normal 11⁄2- to 2-foot depths and bead chain for shallower water, but none for tailing. Author’s note: I received three samples of this fly tied by Bully: two from Bully and a chewed-up sample from Ledge Mitchell (which may be one of the first Bully ever tied). One had I-Balz eyes and pink thread, one had unpainted lead eyes and brown thread, and one had nickel-plated eyes and fire orange thread . . . and all looked very fishy!

Reprinted from Bonefish Fly Patterns, 2nd Edition by Dick Brown, ©2011. Published by Lyons Press an imprint of Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT

August 9, 2011
Bonefish Fly Patterns – preface excerpt

The following is from the preface to the second edition of Bonefish Fly Patterns by Dick Brown. There are some great bonefish flies included in this edition that we’ve been recommending to our clients, specifically the Simram and the Bully Special (by Bully Bevins of North Riding Point Club – one of our favorites). Check out the image of Trodella’s Ghost, it’s like a modernized version of our favorite skinny water bonefish fly – the Bunny Bone!

This revised edition of Bonefish Fly Patterns contains forty-seven new flies that were not in the original 1996 edition. Some are recent patterns created by new flats anglers with fresh, inquisitive eyes—like Victor Trodella’s killer Ghost tailing fly and Omeko Glinton’s Meko Special. Others like Eric Peterson’s Spawning Shrimp, Vic Gaspeny’s Threadhead, Rick Simonsen’s Simram, and Patrick Dorsy’s Kwan and Bone Slappa are creations of skilled flats veterans willing to pass along the exact recipes of go-to favorites they’ve relied on for winning tournaments. Still others are well-known classics that I simply could not get into the original book for one reason or another—like the Horror and the Mini-Puff, which have produced on flats around the world for decades. A few new creations, like the Toad and the Slinky Toad, were developed in response to the significant findings of recent bonefish feeding studies that have established the importance of newly discovered prey forms in the diet of Florida and Bahamian bonefish—especially the gulf toadfish. Four—the Bastard Crab, Big Ugly, Merkwan, and Bunny Crab—come from Bonefish & Tarpon Trust’s Aaron Adams, who is both a marine research scientist and an avid angler. Finally, several new entries, like the Skok/Boyle Reverend Laing fly, the Bevin’s Bully Special, and Trodella’s Ghost, were driven by new tying materials and new uses of existing materials, which have enabled tiers to find novel solutions to old bonefish challenges like flash intensity and splash impact.

Reprinted from Bonefish Fly Patterns, 2nd Edition by Dick Brown, ©2011. Published by Lyons Press an imprint of Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT

Trodella’s Ghost Fly Photo: © 2011 Dick Brown

May 24, 2011
Bonefish Flies 2.0

Saltwater flats fishing authority, Dick Brown, is releasing the second version of his Bonefish Fly Patterns book in June 2011. Both of Dick’s books are considered must reads for any angler interested in improving his skills and learing more about bonefishing. Sharing Dick’s passion for the sport, we’re excited to celebrate this all-new second edition by posting exclusive excerpts from Dick’s 2 books (Bonefish Fly Patterns and Fly Fishing for Bonefish) over next few months. Many of you may have fished with guides mentioned in the book like Meko or Bully, or in locations after which flies are named, such as Mores Island.

Check out the flyer here Bonefish Flies 2.0.

May 18, 2011