Fisherman’s Coast
Fly Fishing for Coastal Gamefish
Tides for almost anywhere in the world
February 12
I've posted another Simple Flies video - the Big Ugly. This fly has become popular at numerous bonefish destinations, and all indications are that the pattern is selling well at Orvis, where it is part of their selection. Orvis is also selling some of my other bonefish patterns: Norman's Crab, Legless Merkin, and Bastard Crab. See all of my fly tying videos on the Simple Flies page.
Simple Flies: Big Ugly from Aaron Adams on Vimeo.
I've received numerous inquires about purchasing some of my photos, so that option is now available for digital images on the Stock Photos page.
I just finished going over the page proofs for my new book Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Coastal Gamefish (a second, expanded edition of Fisherman's Coast). It looks great. Three new chapters, new photos and figures. It's on schedule for a May 1 release. If you want to pre-order, you can do so on the Books page.
February 7
I will be hosting a Bonefish & Tarpon Trust trip to Pesca Maya lodge March 31 - April 7, sponsored by Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures. If you are interested in being part of this special trip, sign up soon. Participating anglers will be fishing for permit and bonefish with the goal of tagging as many as possible in ongoing efforts to gain a better understanding of movement patterns and habitat use. Plus, I will be giving evening presentations on bonefish, permit, and tarpon - their ecology, conservation, fishing tactics, and more. A portion of the funds will go toward BTT’s mission. To sign up please contact Brita Shaw at Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures, (1-888-777-5060), brita@yellowdogflyfishing.com . Cost for the 7 night, 6 day trip is $3,575 and is based on double occupancy and a shared boat. You can email me for more information as well.
February 5
An underwater video of bonefish lounging on a shallow flat. Also posted on the videos page.
February 4
I will be doing a live interview on kayakfishingradio.com on Monday, February 6, at 8pm to chat with Redfish Chuck about Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. I'll post a link to the podcast on the Jetsam page once it's posted.
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A heads up to fly anglers in the Detroit area - I'm going to be at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo in Warren, MI, the weekend of March 1-11. I'll give presentations and fly tying seminars each day, and will have a BTT booth as well. Although the event is indoors, I'm still hoping for unseasonably warm weather up there that weekend.
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I spent the day fishing some beautiful backcountry that I haven't fished in years. Way back when, I caught some dandy redfish and snook in this area. Today conditions were perfect - morning overcast gave way to sun, a nice incoming tide, the water was clear, the sandy bottom just perfect. The strong east wind whistled over the tops of the mangroves, leaving the ponds untouched. I fished this backcountry network of ponds and cuts for 5 hours today...and was skunked. I saw only two snook and one redfish the entire time. This is becoming more common place - the shallows that used to produce well here have become spotty, some once-productive locations are now usually empty of gamefish. The folks fishing bait and jigs in deeper water are still catching reds, but the flats and backcountry don't seem to hold as many fish. I fear this signals an overall decline.
This is generally true of any species - as the total abundance declines, the geographic range of the species shrinks. The occurs on a large scale as occured with Bluefin Tuna, which were once abundant in the Caribbean, but are generally no longer found there. On the local scale, this occurs as a reduction in the habitats in which the species are found. I wonder whether the lack of gamefish in the shallows signifies a shrinking of the populations - they now seem to be most abundant in the deeper water, and less abundant in the shallows. I guess we'll find out in the years to come - will their abundance also begin to decline in the deeper areas.
February 1
In a recent email exchange with Pete at FishingJones, I was giving him some grief over not snagging any swag at the recent Fly Fishing show in Somerset, NJ. He said "...with 19 rods I think I've over-saturated my house and my wife's patience." I hear you, Pete. But I just couldn't help myself and gave this response, which I decided to post since it may be valuable advice for other fishing addicts out there with non-fishing spouses: "You just made your first mistake in the art of obfuscation as it pertains to the spouse. You actually counted the number of rods you own. Rule one = Never Count! Then you can always honestly say - "I'm not sure" when asked how many rods you have, so you can never be blamed for getting another. It's like going to the grocery store and getting a gallon of milk because you thought you were out, but it turns out there is still a half gallon in the fridge at home. That's OK, you'll use it eventually."
It's definitely a long conversation, but this podcast from Tom Rosenbauer at Orvis with Brian Okeefe provides some great photography tidbits. (Side note - when he's fishing, Tom's not a big talker, which is great. Now, as long as he doesn't start to do podcasts from the water....)
January 30
There are some Traveling Angler research fishing trips coming up in the next few months, part of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust's angler participation. Trips to Pesca Maya lodge in April, Belize River Lodge in May, and Abaco Lodge in June. What a great excuse for a trip - help out with tagging research and go fishing at the same time.
A number of people have asked about the sling pack I wore during filming of Buccaneers and Bones. It's a Patagonia Stealth Atom Sling pack.
My next presentation will be on Boca Grande on February 2, and will be about tarpon habitats.
I just received a copy of the cover for the upcoming book, due out May 1. Details here.
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has a cool gear give-away new membership campaign going on. Worth checking out - do the right thing and get chances to win gear and a fishing trip.
January 15
A new conservation-focused blog is now active at Tribal Bonefish. Check it out for conservation-related news.
A new feature - The Redfish Menu - in the How To section.
New Simple Flies video - Simple Baitfish
Simple Baitfish from Aaron Adams on Vimeo.
January 5
New video clips from the 2012 season of Buccaneers and Bones
Sizzle Reel
Episode 1 Preview
Episode 2 Preview
December 28
This from Bonefish & Tarpon Trust
For Immediate Release
Buccaneers & Bones Season 2
The first preview of Buccaneers and Bones Season 2 is now online. See it
before everyone else. The first episode will air Friday, December 30, at
12:30AM and 6:30AM, and Saturday, December 31, at 10:30AM and 5:30PM
(all times Eastern). Future episodes will air in these time slots in the
following weeks.
We’re also pleased to announce that Buccaneers and Bones has received
three nominations for a Golden Moose award – the Academy Award of
Outdoors TV: Best conservation series, Best series open, Best
educational/instructional series.
December 21
A new video has been posted in the Simple Flies fly tying video series. Norman's Crab is an easy to tie, very productive fly for bonefish. The fly has also worked well for redfish and sheepshead.
December 18
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has begun posting some 3 - 5 minute shorts from Buccaneers and Bones television series that aired on the Outdoor Channel in early 2011. The new season starts December 30 on Outdoor Channel. You can see the video segments from the series and some behind the scenes photos on BTT's Bucs & Bones page.
December 14
A new article from Mexico on the Permit and Bonefish tagging program. Thanks to Rafael Chacon for posting the article on his Facebook page.
December 12
A nice article by Skip Clement on the recent Bonefish & Tarpon Symposium is in the current issue of the online Fly Life magazine . The article is on page 50.
December 11
On the Web: A two part interview (part one, part two) on Chiwulff.com, and one profile (on Orvisnews.com) are now posted. It's nice when others do the heavy lifting. Phil's piece on Orvis News was great, I am now using it as my Bio on the About page.
December 6
Some more of my fly patterns have been picked up by Orvis. They were nice enough to ask me to write a story in Orvis News to promote the flies, which is reprinted below, including information on how to purchase these flies.
Crab Flies for Big Bonefish
I was recently asked, “What is your
favorite pattern for casting to tailing bonefish?”
Without hesitation, I said “A crab
pattern.” I like crabs for two reasons: they
have a high calorie content, and crabs are
almost always present in shallow water.
Bonefish are opportunistic feeders and
are able to take advantage of the great
diversity of prey they encounter on the
flats. In a study in the Florida Keys, for
example, more than 130 species of prey
were recorded in the stomachs of 385 bonefish.
But such a large list of prey isn’t very helpful to an angler trying to select the best flies for a fishing trip. Fortunately, although bonefish have a diverse diet, a few types of prey are consistently in the top five, making fly selection easier. Chief among the top types of prey are crabs.
In my experience, crabs are almost always
present in the shallowest water. As the tide
turns to flood, hungry bonefish push into
the skinniest flats in search of small crabs
that are feeding in relative safety. In fact, I
have watched bonefish slither across shallow
flats, their bodies half exposed, to feed
on small crabs. But crabs are present in all
of the habitats used by bonefish, so every
fly box should have a selection of crab
patterns.
There are far too many kinds of crabs to
worry about imitating a particular species,
the way a trout angler would. Instead, it
makes sense to focus on the three main
groups of crabs that are eaten by bonefish,
and then use flies that mimic the general
characteristics of these groups. Within each
group, we can focus on the similarities
among the species to minimize the number
of flies we need to imitate them.
Swimming crabs (family Portunidae), mud crabs (family Xanthidae), and spider crabs (family Majidae) are the most common small crabs eaten by bonefish. Crabs from all three families are well camouflaged in their surroundings—whether they’re green in areas of seagrass, mixed tan and green in areas where coral rubble is mixed with seagrass, or tan or brown on shallow mangrove flats. In addition, although the maximum sizes of these crabs vary among species, the sizes most often eaten by bonefish tend to be similar—typically the size of a quarter or smaller.
The greatest differences among these
families of crabs involve their behavior,
which influences pattern and presentation.
Species of swimming crabs are all similar
in shape. They can be voracious predators
and scavengers, and always seem to be
on the move. Their color varies from the
olive green of blue crabs, to tan with eyespots
for some tropical species, to light tan
on the sand flats. Swimming crabs use their
paddle-like rearmost legs to swim through
the water, and they will swim rapidly sideways
to escape a pursuing bonefish. Their
move of last resort is to dive to the bottom
and either duck under cover, such as a rock,
or bury in the sand.
Because swimming crabs swim sideways, they tuck in their legs and claw on the leading side of their body, and let their legs dangle behind them on the trailing side of the body—this is the most hydrodynamically efficient orientation. The Legless Merkin (size 4) fly pattern is designed to mimic this orientation, with a generalized body trailed by a barred tail that mimics the trailing legs. This fly lands lightly, so you can cast it very near the fish. Once it’s on the water, allow the fly to drop to the bottom, and then move it with short, quick strips. Once a bonefish sees the fly, change your retrieve to a long, slow strip.
Mud crabs and spider crabs are both
walking species. They lack the rear, paddlelike
leg that allows swimming crabs to
move through the water. Therefore, mud
and spider crabs maintain a close association
with hiding places on the bottom. Mud
crabs, when chased, hide at the bases of
grass blades, burrow into the soft bottom,
or scurry under a rock or shell. Spider crabs
are especially abundant among rocks and
shells in seagrass beds and sand flats, and
on rubble flats. These species feed along
the bottom and scurry for the underside of
shells and rocks when chased.
The sizes generally eaten by bonefish range from about 1/4 inch to 1-1/4 inch across, with most crabs measuring between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch. These groups of crabs were the inspiration for Norman’s Crab (size 6), a small pattern that lands lightly on the water and is best fished by leaving it still on the bottom. The movement of the rabbit fur and rubber legs implies a mud or spider crab busily foraging on the bottom, unaware of the approaching bonefish.
If they run out of other options, all crabs will turn to face the approaching bonefish, in an attempt to ward it off by snapping with their claws, all the while moving their legs as they search for a hiding place. Similarly, swimming crabs diving for the bottom can be a blur of motion. The commotion of waving claws and rapidly moving legs was the inspiration for the marabou and rubber legs of the Bastard Crab (size 4). I’ve had great success when using this pattern for both cruising and feeding fish in knee-deep or deeper water. When you cast it close enough for them to see the fly drop, the fish will often east the fly as it drops to the bottom. If you feel like the fly needs some action, a quick strip followed by a freefall works well, with the fly typically eaten on the freefall.
Adams Crab Selection
2 each pattern: 1 light, 1 dark
Item #6P8T | $15.95
to order, call 1-800-548-9548
November 29
A very cool ad from Patagonia, appeared on Black Friday.
November 27
Some big news in this update, and the explanation for the lack of activity on the web site: four years after Fishermanscoast.com was launched, the site has undergone a complete makeover. The site has been reorganized, there is a whole new look, and there is new content - such as fly tying videos. So explore, let me know of any dead links or other coding errors.
A friend who was surfing the 'net came across an archive of all of the old Walker's Cay Chronicles, courtesy of the good people at Hell's Bay Boatworks.
The first video in the Simple Flies fly tying video series.
Simple Flies: The Simple Anchovy from Aaron Adams on Vimeo.
October 31
There are a number of Traveling Angler opportunities through Bonefish & Tarpon Trust for the spring of 2012 - two to Belize and one to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. These trips help riase money for BTT's conservation mission and get anglers involved in the research and conservation that is occurring in these locations. Plus, on a trip that includes a BTT scientist, you will see presentations on the latest in research and conservation of bonefish, tarpon, and permit.
Some 2011 tarpon season highlights from Rich Volpe.
October 28
Understanding Tides: I recently did a podcast with Tom Rosenbauer of Orvis. Tom does podcasts weekly, often on fly fishing for trout. In this episode, he wanted to talk about how tides influence fly fishing for saltwater gamefish. Although Tom and I have fished for bonefish together many times, and tides are frequently the topic of discussion, we didn't limit our discussion in this podcast to bonefish. Any saltwater angler should be able to glean some information from this podcast.
Tagging Permit and Bonefish: I was recently in Mexico as a guest of Casa Blanca lodge, working with Rafael Chacon, the biologist Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has hired to be the feet-on-the-ground for Project Permit. I filed this trip report.
False Albacore: Now that fall is here, southwest Florida experiences feeding frenzies by a variety of species. Ladyfish are way more than common, and can save the day when other fish aren't active. But the best days are when the Spanish mackerel and false albacore are on the feed. So far this year, both of these speedsters have been abundant and hungry. I was recently able to get out with Arno Laubscher, owner of Scientific Fly in South Africa (they make some great barbless hooks that I now use almost exclusively). We found some Spanish mackerel and albies a day before a cold front swept in.
October 5
Book Update: The text for the new book (a second, revised edition of Fisherman's Coast, which is now out of print) has been edited by the publisher, and I have been through the editorial comments. Now the book goes through the design and layout process. The book will include two new chapters and all new photos to illustrate key points in the text, and will be titled The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Coastal Gamefish. The release date will be May 1, 2012.
Feeding tarpon: It happens along many coastlines during the fall, as the the hours of daylight shrink with each day, the air becomes cooler and drier. Seemingly endless streams of baitfish emerge from the estuaries, beginning migrations south or offshore. Gamefish become frenzied, gorging on the overabundance of food. Spanish mackerel and bluefish blast through schools of baitfish, only to puke up the latest mouthful, turn, and do it again. It is a season of plenty. Whether it's striped bass, bluefish, and albies in the northeast, or jacks, tarpon, and snook in Florida, the frenzied action is the same. The challenge is that the game is always moving, so a good time can be spent searching. But once the action is found, it can be quite a show.
On a recent calm morning, I was on a dawn patrol in search of late season tarpon when I found fish in full frenzy mode. Tarpon, snook, and crevalle jacks were gorging on scaled sardines and threadfin herring trapped against jetty rocks on an ebbing tide. There were no other anglers in sight.
The best sports announcers know that the most memorable moments speak for themselves, they know when to shut up. This 14 minute video contains the sights and sounds of some great fall feeding action. Watch. Listen. Enjoy. And bookmark this one for those dark days in February.
