Aruba Fishing Stories
If you have been fly fishing on Aruba and you have a nice story to share please send us an email. Your fishing stories are very welcome and appreciated. After review your story will be placed on this page.
Hooked on fly-fishing.
Fishing has always been a big part of my life. Growing up in the east part of Holland(the Netherlands), fishing was the family thing to do. Every Sunday the whole family would get together and go to riverside where the men would fish and the women would read, gossip and prepare the BBQ.
As soon as I was able to hold a rod I was fishing. In those days we where fishing for carp and pike. At the age of 18, I moved to Amsterdam and fishing became only part of my holidays and because of my work in the nightlife, I forgot about fishing for a while.
At the age of 29, I fell in love (again) with my now wife. After 3 months of dating we started traveling; we started off with 3 months in Thailand, where I had my first encounter with fly fishing. I was sitting on the beach Phuket island and saw a Japanese man fly-fishing and he looked so relaxed. He explained to me that it’s not only about catching the fish, for him it was a form of meditating. That to me was new and got me thinking about maybe one day if I get the chance, I should try it.
After Thailand we moved to Southern Europe, to the south of Spain and I picked up fishing again (in mountain lakes). Two years later we moved to Belize(Central America) and there the fishing was also great. With a group of friends we used to do a 2 day fishing trip once a month (trolling and spinning). One night a drunken tour guide of a local resort wanted to sell his fly rod to pay his bar bill, but nobody was interested, so this was my change; I owned my first rod, a 9 weight St. Croix purchased for $60,- real and line included. I paid another 10 dollars for his fly collection.
Once I got my rod, I could not stop practicing. With no one to teach me, it took a while before I could get the line out far enough. Before we left Belize to move to Aruba, I spent a week on a beautiful island http://www.glovers.com.bz/ because it was out of season and I was the only guest there, there was nothing else to do then fishing, so I brought all my fishing gear including the fly rod.
One day I was watching the sea and saw a school of jacks attacking bait fish, but every time I got my rod I was to late, so at some point I just stood there for 3 hours waiting in the burning sun and then it happened: the school of jacks came and I cast right in front of the school and they got hit by a jack, that took most of my line and I managed to land it.
I lift him out of the water, like I was lifting “the Super Bowl” Trophy.
At that moment I realized that there was no audience and I learned 2 things:
- I was hooked on fly fishing.
- I fish for pleasure and I don’t care for competition, like I used to do with trolling.
I found that fly fishing relaxed me much more than other kinds of fishing. After 2 years of Belize it was time to move and we (my wife) choose Aruba.
Before we moved I checked the internet about fly fishing in Aruba and could not find much information. But pictures of the island gave me hope. If there are flats, there has to be fish!
As soon as we moved I got a job as a bartender and my wife found a job as a sales agent at a Real Estate company. Every spare day, I spend fly fishing and caught some nice jacks and barracuda’s.
One late afternoon with a beautiful sunset, I was fishing and then it happened; I got a hit on a small fly and my line started running like if never experienced before; adrenaline was pumping through my body and without seeing the fish I already knew what it had to be. I read and heard so much about it that for me it was clear, I was catching my first bonefish!
It took me a long time to land it, 5 runs it did and a good fight, but I was not going to take any risk. Managed to land it and it made me smile for 2 days! Ever since I have been chasing them and with good results!
Through my work in the bar, I keep meeting people, mostly from the United States, with the same passion in fishing. I take them with me fishing, pure for fun and to learn from each other. I also met some Dutch and local people, who where interested to learn fly fishing, so I also started teaching them and with success. They picked up really well and I made some good friends.
Still when the fish are not biting and I am standing in the water and there is not a sound; I remember the strange Japanese man and his words.
So if you ever come to Aruba, send me an e-mail and maybe we can go fishing together!
Laurenz.
The following is a story by Sander (Arubaman) who's writing inspired me to pick up fly fishing when I moved to Aruba.
My Island
On earlier trips I discovered we have several nice places to check out. I believe Aruba is not the easiest place to get a bone, water runs just a bit too deep for tailing fish on most sites and blind casting is not what I consider true bone fishing. The ritual of bone fishing also involves the search, the spotting, and the adrenaline of seeing a fish before it sees you. Stripping in your fly, seeing it is charged by one of those silvery torpedos and then having that breathtaking take and run. That first run that will show if the hook is set well and if you manage to control you're nerves. My experience in other places would be that once you manage to hold a fish for the first run the drilling will be in your favor. In Bonaire for example, I fished a sandy flat and if I managed to win the first strike, then all of the fish were landed.
This contribution on fly-fishing won't be all about the drilling tactics. There are much better writers who already wrote it all down. The most useful part of this writing will be a little bit of info on where, when and how. On my latest visit to "my island" I just focused on the one site. I had a target in mind, landing at least one bone on that site and discovering as much as I could, to be more secure of at least having a chance on landing a fish each day I'll fish. Sounds easy, but bones are not that abundant in Aruba and I have had trips down there, where I would see maybe 3 or 4 bones in two weeks, without even having any chance on casting a fly to one of them. The fishing can be very though down there. But it makes the catch more special and I can tell you there's no better reward than landing one of those bones after hours of searching.
The site
Malmok is the name of the place, at least of the houses in that neighborhood, so the site is called Malmok. The site runs approximately from Fisherman's Huts (a surf school) up till the first part where the shore is starting to level up from the sea and the Baranca (rocks) start. The part of shore between the Marriott hotel and the Fisherman's Huts can also be interesting, so if you are staying in the Marriott I would recommend walking to the Malmok site.
One of the most typical marks to know you are in the right place would be a shipwreck, lying almost upon the shore. It is easily to recognize and on the shore, right in front of it, is where most of my fishing days started.
Looking to the left you can see the High rise hotels, starting with Marriott
The right end is where the rocks (baranca) starts.
Time's and tide
I usually fished there from sunrise until I had to go home to join the family. This would be around ten or eleven most of the mornings, but some days I stayed out later. Why in the morning? In Aruba we have a nice windy breeze, it makes life a bit more comfortable, but it can be a true pain in the butt for a fly fisherman. Usually the wind will fall down a bit during the night, so early in the morning there is less wind then later on the day. Less wind gives us a better chance to cast, and a better chance to see a tail of a fish breaking through the surface. On the other hand it makes the fish a bit spookier, not only the fisherman has the advantage of the quiet conditions. Tide varies throughout the month. I'll get back to that later on. The sun is another factor that makes mornings and midday fishing attractive compared to the sunset. If you stand on shore in the morning, you'll have both the wind and the sun on your back. The last advantage of the early morning is the fact there are not much windsurfers out there yet. This spot is a very popular place for people who practice windsurfing and once they start rushing their boards over the spot, most bones will retreat and come back later.
The bottom
I can recommend everybody to bring some good footwear. The bottom of the site is rocky, with weeds and sharp pieces of stone and corals. Not nice and sandy as in other places around the world. So not only the bottom of your feet needs to be protected, your toes will get hit too. Towards the Marriott the site turns sandier. At the starting point, right in front of the wreck the water will be from about a couple of inches up till your waist, depending on tide and how far you will go out. You'll come across some weedy reefs and sometimes you'll come past some fire corals. Be sure to be protected.
The fish
We all want those really nasty hard fighting fish on the other end of the line. Incidentally there are people who caught nice jacks at Malmok, but the fish you are looking for will be Bonefish. Other fish I caught and have seen there are; Yellowtails, Trunkfish, Trumpet fish, Palometas (the smaller brothers of the permit) and many other snapper type of fish. There are a lot of Needlefish too, but these are too small to be caught. To small to be caught, but yet annoying, they will go for your fly anytime. Bonefish around here are strong!
The rod
For the four years I have been fly-fishing, my casting improved a lot. In my opinion it's better to work hard and use a lighter rod then to come along with a huge canon; it makes the drill less spectacular. For bone fishing in Aruba I tried several weights. On days with not that much wind a #6 rod gives enormous fun, but considering the site and the fish it might be the reason I never landed a bone on that #6. You do have to drill hard to prevent the fish from cutting of onto corals. A #8 rod is good enough, where I once used#10 and felt really overrated. I would recommend#7 or #8, maybe#9 for the less experienced angler or the really windy days. Chances you meet anything bigger or stronger then a bonefish are almost 0, so you should take a rod that you feel comfortable with drilling bones in the 16-26 inch range.
The Flies
To be honest, once the bonefish spots your fly, I've never seen one truly deny it. But it depends on the colors of the fly you are using. I once had the feeling my fly was neglected, that was when I used a common pink color. As the bottom is rocky and corals and weeds growing around, most of the flies I tie are darkish. Colors as olive, grey, brown, red and black al seem to work. The patterns all are easy to tie. Crazy Charlie, Clouser minnow style: Take a hook, tie on some hourglass or bead chain eyes. Then tie in a body of a dark color (some dark colored buck tail or dark dubbing) along the shank. Then a wing of the same color or a bit lighter (buck- or calf tail), add some flash to the wing. This will do the trick. You might want to use several different weights, maybe even add a bit of lead wire to your flies, because of different depths and conditions. When the water is calm, you don't want your fly to make a hard splash. When there is surge, you want it to get down quicker and the splash doesn't matter that much. What you want your fly to be is an imitation of a crustacean that's making the hell out of there because there is this huge predator (the bonefish) coming his way. And as the bottom is not nice and sandy but weedy with rocks most crustaceans will be darker colored. I tie my flies mostly on size 6 hooks, sometimes size 8 and rarely on size 4. Even with a small hook you can still make flies up to 1 or 1.5 inches.
The gear
Sometimes there is nearly no wind at all, this situation is perfect for a nice 6 weight rod; if there's wind I use an 8 wt. I always use a weight forward floating line. Due to the bottom a sinking line won't be so good around here. At the end I have a 9ft leader, usually with strength of 14 or 12lbs. To the end of the leader I'll attach another foot of my tippet material. I use 8 or 10 lbs fluorescent carbon for this part, but I have to admit that I only land 1 out of 10 fish I hook. The other 9 fish I loose due to breaking off. It's not the strength of pulling; the problem is the fish cuts you off. You'll need a good reel with a good drag. I set my drag before I start fishing by attaching it to something strong and then testing it until it breaks my tippet. Then turn it back just a bit lighter. If you hook a fish here, remember not to play with it, but drill it as hard as your material allows you. Every foot it gets of your reel makes the chance of breaking of bigger. Maybe 16lbs strength material would be better to land more fish, but hey, it's a sport, so that's why I like the challenge. Make sure you have your clothing right. I fish with neoprene dive boots; a closed shoe would be preferable. A long sleeve won't be too much either, when the sun starts burning everything that's covered saves you some blisters. Don't forget to put a nice thick layer of suntan on unprotected parts at home, and then wash of your hands so the suntan won't get on your equipment. To improve the vision I always wear a cap and Polarized sunglasses, maybe think about a lighter one for that sunrise and then a dark one for later on. Sunglasses do not only improve your vision, they protect your eyes from the fly your casting. Everybody thinks it won't happen to them, but with the wind and the weighted flies you'll never know. It's better to have broken sunglasses then a real clouser-minnow-popped-out-eye.
Let's start fishing
I always try to leave home before sunrise. In the sunrise you want to be at the spot, all ready to go and usually I'll just sit next to the water watching. Take your time; make sure everything is all set to start fishing as soon as you want. I park my car in front of the wreck and walk to the sea. Then I will look to the reef and a bit to the left, but also to the shoreline. All these things can give you a lot of useful information about how the day is going to be and where the chances will be best.
Things I look at upon encountering the spot are:
- The reef, is it peeking out of the water? That means the tide is very low. Also look to the shoreline to see what kind of tide it is. The reef also is a nice barrier the waves will break on to and so it gives you information on the swell.
- Then look to the left, this water is usually less affected by the surge. Is it murky? If it is, you will already know that from that point on up till the Marriott (on your left) it will be hard to spot fish that are not tailing. I would recommend focusing on your right side most of the day then, unless the tide is low. Somehow the part to the right stays more clear. (All lefts and rights are when you face the sea)
- Look at the shoreline. With high tide the water comes right up till the white sand, but if the tide is low you'll see the first 20-40 feet of the shore covered with rocks on your right side.
- Now look to the left, there's a frame of some tubes laying there. If the crossing of these tubes is under water, the tide is pretty high. If the crossing of the frame is above the water surface the tide is low. These tubes are next to a small kind of dam that runs into sea for about 10 ft.
The frame
So now you know a bit about the tide and the conditions. The first couple of hours I will usually walk along the shore or maybe go out a bit, but never deeper then my ankles. Very early in the morning the bones are still feeding almost on to shore, entering the water and wade will spook more fish then you imagine. The first 2 hours the way I will fish depend on the tide, after about 9 o'clock the pattern change.
Low tide (sunrise till about 9am)
If the tide is low I'll have a quick glimpse to the right side of the line from the wreck to shore (right of the start position). In this area you have to look in the white water of the waves and look to the entering waves. Try to focus on the first 50 or 60 feet of water from shore. Not often will you have the luck to see not only a tail but also the dorsal fin and the back of a bone that runs in on a wave and feeds in ankle deep water. Due to all the turbulence of the waves these bones are difficult to get to see your fly. I always try to figure out which way his direction is and then place the fly about 3-5 feet in front of him. Then just wait for him to come along and start stripping when he is not more then about feet away. If he is further away, never strip towards the fish, it will scare him. Also make sure he doesn't have to come across your line, because even the touch of your nylon leader already makes them spook. Don't forget to make sure he is alone. Although most fish don't come in big numbers, couples do cruise around together and if you overcast or incidentally spook the not seen fish, you will end up spooking both of them.
After this quick glimpse it's time to start patrolling on the beach on your left side. When the tide is low you can be sure you will see a bone tail if he's feeding in the area. Remember not to go out, stay on the shore or very close to it. At this time of the day they are closer then most people imagine. Just look over the water, from shore up to 60 or 70 feet. It's manageable to overlook this without entering the water. Then start your patrol, walk towards Marriott, On Your left side when facing the sea. I usually patrol this area from the point right in front of the wreck up to a place where a tree/bush comes so close to the water you'll have to wet your feet to pass it. There I'll turn and walk backwards. I patrol this stretch of beach in about 15 minutes, up and down is half an hour. Usually I do this a couple of times. Don't forget to look back every once in a while, it can be rewarding. This is my daily routine when the tide is not so high.
High tide (sunrise till about 9 am)
With a high(er) tide the water on your left side (when standing on the starting position, right in front of the wreck) is not that attractive in the early morning. The sun is not yet high and strong enough to spot cruising fish. It's the parts of the fish that peek out of the water that I am looking for in the first hours after sunrise. Of course one could be lucky, I have seen fish tail almost on shore it seemed, but after the first 10 feet from shore the water will be deep enough for fish to pass by without you noticing them. With high tide I tend to focus more on the right side (from start to the Baranca), where it is always a bit rougher. The waves are not blocked by the little weed reef and in the rolling waves and white waters you'll have good chances of spotting a bone that's chasing something that got pulled away from it's shelter by the surge.
The later part of the morning
After the first hours the light is turning better. The sun gets up higher and gives you a better chance to spot fish that are not tailing. Somewhere between 8.30 am and 9.30 am this part of the morning starts. If you walk left from the starting point you'll come up to a slightly deeper part, with not such a shallow reef (in between marks A and B on the map) in front of it. This part starts about 100 hundred yards before you reach two poles with flags on it that stand in the water, on the other side of the road is an apartment rental. The flags are about as far as you should put your focus. This part of the morning I still stay a shore, if you're standing on shore you got better height and this gives you better sight. Walk across the shoreline (I walk just a little more up the beach, to position even higher, and scan the water from shore up till about the distance the flags are standing. Don't be shocked if suddenly you see a bone cruising. Sometimes you think you see one, but when approaching it happens to be a trunkfish or a trumpet fish. If you see a bone, prepare to cast, make sure to look very good if there's not another one nearby. Bones on Aruba don't come in large schools, but I had it happen to me a couple of times I got locked and focused on that one fish, not noticing 1 or 2 others that were swimming closer to shore/me. As this water is more then a foot deep, cast the fly about 4-6 yards in front of the fish, they have an angle of about 45 degrees of the middle line in which they'll see it immediately. Let the fly just get down and start stripping it. If the bone doesn't react, wait for it to get a bit closer. Pulling out the entire line and making a new cast is something that will almost certainly spook this fish. In this area the water usually is calm, so the fish will be a easier spooked then in the other side, where there are more surges. Usually I'll do this for about an hour or an hour and a half. If you haven't seen any fish in that time, chances won't be big they'll show up at that place that day. Then it is better to change focus to the other part of this site. Logically if you do see fish, stay there and get it!
There is one big if to this part of the morning?. If the water is murky, I wouldn't spend time on trying to spot cruising bones; that is way to hard, even for more experienced fishermen. If the water is murky between the point A and the starting point, I would recommend on putting the focus on the part between the start and the "Baranca", just like the later part of the day.
The latest part of the morning (or other parts of the day when you still got the sun very high)
This part of the fishing was almost always good to spot something. The sun is higher and burning, but the light is just perfect, coming from maybe a bit behind you or right on top. Nearly always the part of the area right from the starting point to the Baranca is good (clear enough) to spot fish in deeper water (1 till 2 or 3 feet of water). At this part of the day, depending on the tide, I would walk into the water and start making walks over the area. I would enter the water at the starting point and then look for fish, while walking in the direction of the Baranca. At the end of the area there's a weed reef (marked D on the map). I would exit the water there and walk back for another session of wading from start to D. In the deepest parts of that area you'll see some orange or yellow balls of coral (mostly brain coral). They are not real big and I think there are 3 or 4 of them lying on the route of your wading. Look for shadows or the blue-green backs of fish. I usually use a little bit heavier fly here, because the water is deeper, you want it to sink a bit faster.
Walk out a bit further (the purple line on the map below)
Casting 2-8 feet in front of a bone will usually be enough for them to see it. Don't be shocked if they strike it immediately. Be aware of the described corals, they cut you of in a blink of the eye. I would/could continue fishing here for hours. When it's midday this is the best part, because windsurfers don't pass here so often as on the left side of the starting position. When there's a little swell the waves can roll up against you, they are not that big or strong, but the splash can wet you up till the head, so keep that in mind if you go out there with electronics or other stuff that is not water resistant. If suddenly you see a lot of splashes in the area, always cast your fly to it, usually the splash are Palometas or other Jack species, freaking out on little baitfish. These jacks all are fun to catch.
Maps
This is an overview of the right side of the site. The red line marked with 1 is where you should be looking on the earlier part, this part can be overlooked from shore and in the surge/white waters you can see bones tail. The purple line is the distance from shore where I would be wading from start till D for the later part of the morning/day. D is a weed bed.
Overview left side.
I would almost always try to spot fish from shore on this entire part of the site.
From the middle between A and B, and up till C earlier in the morning. In between A and B from about 9 o'clock till 10.30 or 11.
Support the fish before releasing.
Catch and release these precious fish.
Well, that's about it....
Hopefully some people will have a benefit by reading this. If so, would you be so kind to let us all enjoy some nice pics? If anybody has comments, other tips and data,
feel free to email.
Tarpon
It must have been 6 weeks ago that I got an email from Adrian through our website. He told us that he had caught a baby Tarpon on Aruba on a previous visit.
Benny and I mostly chase Bonefish, Jack and Barracuda and I could not help getting a bit curious. Having lived in Belize before, I have had a few encounters with Tarpons before! For my friend Benny this was all quite new and after briefing him on the subject we had a new mission; Tarpon needs to be on our trophy list!
Adrian (who we would like to thank for his patience with us) mailed that he was coming to Aruba and would love to come fishing with us. As soon as we could, we met up with him and went where Adrian was successful before in the hunt for Tarpon.
The spot; where the lagoon comes out by the sea, (Benny and I could not believe that we didn't find this spot ourselves and we had to learn about it from an Englishman who lives in Kansas!) is beautiful but hard to cast from. We decided to take turns. By arrival it was still daylight and we saw no disturbance or signs of any fish. This all changed after darkness and tarpons started jumping all over the place! We where amazed that this was happing on "our island" and we never knew.
Everyone of us had a few hits on the fly, some very spectacular but we could not land them! It felt like they knew how to unhook themselves (any information on how to solve this problem is welcome). After leaving frustrated that night, we had to drink a few beers and talked; knots, flies and tactics.
The next week the 3 of us went back and had the same experience and we became even more frustrated than the first time, even the fraise "the one that got a way" turned up. The next day when Adrian left, I thanked him for helping us and promised him we would not give up and as soon we would catch one, we'll put the picture on our website. www.flyfishingaruba.com
So last night the 2 of us went out again and after a few hits and jumps, Benny managed to land this beautiful tarpon. This was by far his biggest fish on the fly rod so far and he was jumping for joy! Standing next to him I can remember some mixed feelings .I was excited / a little jealous but most of all; very proud that the man who I thought how to fly-fish over the last 6 months now is beating me in the race to catch the first Tarpon!
Greeting s Laurenz
Fly to Aruba, Aruba on the fly
Ask most people about Aruba and they typically think of white sandy beaches, warm tropical seas, balmy trade winds, excellent restaurants, casino nightlife and all the features one might expect of a tropical vacation island. They may even know that it has some of the best kite boarding and water-sports in the world. But there’s another hidden gem on Aruba that is less well known and that’s its fishing. Visitors may go on fishing trips for various bill-fish but they can also go fly-fishing. Aruba does not have the extent of fly-fishing locations as the Bahamas or near-by Los Roques but it certainly has plenty of opportunity for the traveling fly-fisherman.
The “big three” of saltwater fly-fishing; bonefish, permit and tarpon are found here and can offer lots of fun for the avid fly fisherman or someone who wants to try something different. Several fly-fishing “flats” exist along the south coast and the usual ‘crazy Charlie’, ‘gotcha’ or crab pattern flies will readily attract their attention. A small but growing number of local fishermen are finding that fly-fishing the flats “is the way to go”. Even the constant 16 knot (7.5m/s, 17 miles/hour) winds are less of a problem here as the south shore locations mean that the north-easterly winds are at your back. As elsewhere, fishing is best early morning or late in the day which means you can get out early, catch your fish, and then enjoy the beaches and the other island attractions with the rest of the family.
The opportunity to explore a new fly-fishing location with the knowledge that there will be few people around is always exciting. Aruba offers this possibility combined with many other attractions so that when that bonefish hits and you hear that ‘singing line’ or you see that jumping tarpon you’ll know why you and your family came to this “One Happy Island”.
Adrian del Nevo
Greetings,
My name is Rob Kramarz. I am a fly fisherman from the US (New Jersey) and have been vacationing in Aruba for the last 3 years now and have always had my fly rod with me. I am the type of fisherman that studies maps, charts, tide tables, and such before venturing out to fish a location I am not familiar with. By far Aruba has been the most difficult in my travels but with average success until this year. Like you stated on the site larger rods aren't needed. I travel with a 7 wt Mancini rod (custom built) with a Loomis reel and an 8 wt floating line.
Over the last 2 vacations my success has been limited to Jacks, cuda and other species mentioned with the elusive bonefish not brought to land. Let me go back a bit and let you know that I have fished with a fly rod for over 10 years, and also tie my own flies and have traveled a lot to pursue bones, permit and tarpon. I have been training this past year to acquire my fly-casting instructors certificate in the states and am a seasoned caster. My wife thinks I am crazy but I try to "build" fly boxes for all of the destinations that I have fished with the most successful flies.
I have used and caught fish in Aruba this year (Dec 15-22) and was by far the best year. Starting out at pre-dawn and walking from the Occidental to "The Ship" I always had the vision of a big school of Jacks busting bait to the left of the ship and had my fair share of reality with it. So that mid-morning coming off of the flats heading off the beach to go make my lunch date with my wife what appears out of no where, the "silver ghost". It was cruising happily and my presence didn't seem to bother him at all. He actually got within 6 feet of me before mildly changing his direction and started to tail just 15 feet away. The thoughts started crossing my mind about what flies I had, what would work and what wouldn't, where was he going, where he had been, where could I cut him off, where could he cut me off & "oh S@%t" my lunch date with my wife. So I let him go on his merry way. I watched him tail happily as if to say "ha ha can't catch me".
Well this cat and mouse game continued for 3 days with numerous shots and other bones but that first one was the only fish that I really wanted. That one had some "shoulders" on him, so the hunt was on. Two days, four other bones but no sight of the "ONE". With just one day left to fish, bad weather the previous day, and a promise of spending the day with my wife I figured that I would pack the rod up for the trip home without catching the "ONE". After a healthy breakfast, we picked some lounge chairs next to the pool, positioned them for optimum sun, and settled in for a post breakfast nap. Well that lasted for about 4 hours but not an ounce of rest. More like a pound of restlessness! Thoughts of how it would all go down, the positioning, the fly, the cast, the blistering runs, and the release of the "ONE" causing this restlessness! The next question was "wanna" go to lunch?" and the answer from wifey was "Just go' you know you want to ..." Standing there a little confused I couldn't help but wonder what question I had just asked. So before I could ask again my wife said "you'll be miserable of you do..." and before she could finish her sentence I was up to the room and back at the pool ready to go..." ...n't.
Well the walk that would normally take 30 minutes seemed to take the rest of the vacation but I had arrived at my destination. I remember that the wind was out of the East at 20-25 kts. pretty much my max, but it was my last shot until next year. So I figured "give er hell" wading out to knee deep water that seemed just right I started the "scanning" process. The sun was at my back to optimize my polarized vision first up beach, then down beach, a little further out, what's that...oh just a cowfish... move oh baby cuda .... Move on. Well this went on for about an hour or so and I started thinking it just wasn't meant to be and out of the corner of my eye up the beach" was that a fin? Hard scanning pursued and damn it there he is "THE ONE" 90 ft and quartering toward me slightly. My position was about 80 ft from beach, wind was dead in my face, not the most optimum for a precision cast but when its the bottom of the 9th and 2 outs and runner is cruising position you have to choke up and take a crack at him. Stripping out line and judging where he's going to be in time for a cast while keeping another eye on him the wind started to drop some. Conditions started to improve to my ability and the warm up cast started in sync with the increase of cloud cover. You've got to be F****in Kidding me!!! Where'd he go. Not even a tail. Figures??? Just as I started to strip my line in defeat a glint of sun had peeked through enough to show big boy had closed to 60 ft @ 12 o'clock. One shot was all I got at the fish; wind switched to the Northeast and my perfect cast was blown 15ft off target. Standing dejected with my rod tucked under my arm he decided to change course.... toward the direction of my fly. WOW maybe I still have a chance. At this point sun or no sun I was locked on him like a teenaged boy seeing his first thong bikini. I couldn't see my fly and there was a generous bow in the line that needed to be taken in and as I was in the process of doing this the fish tipped up......strip strike and nobody was home. He was right on top of the fly & I pulled it out from underneath him. Well that irritated him enough to the point of where he would have chased that fly right up may pant leg because in about 1/2 second he had tipped again and was off to the races before I could even strip strike and the race was on. Two blistering runs into 100 yds of my backing I was thinking I didn't have a chance to land this fish. The third run I just couldn't believe that he would have found the only tree branch probably in the entire Caribbean but luck was on my side with this fish and the "ONE" had started to tire and he was finally brought to land. I knew he was bigger than the others but I wasn't expecting this. When the only way to grab a bonefish is by the tail you know he's big 9.5 lb big in Aruba? No guide? Unheard of ??? NOPE the picture will be sent as soon as possible.
Thanks and have a great new year.
Rob Kramarz <')))))))<
