Bonefishing Turks and Caicos

The new website is up and running! Check it out

http://www.bonefishunlimitedturksandcaicos.com

Irritation is the name of the Cudas' game

  Hooking a Cuda in the 40 + inch range has nothing to do with luck. Luck is nothing but the resin of hard work. Feeding a large cuda is no easy feat. Curious and hesitant by nature a Cuda senses the angler from the get go. For this reason spotting a floater that is slowly swimming along from afar could present the opportunity to ring the bell for supper. The angler that can shoot the entire fly line can negotiate a presentation like a stealth bomber. This time of year the trade winds are persistent, making these casts difficult. The past year and a half or so I have almost given up on the increasingly rapid two handed strip. If I do this method one might want to throw a massive mend in front of the boat in hopes of pulling this cruiser away from the skiff. More often then not a Cuda will chase the fly all the way up to the boat with no dice, but a peering eye. A lot of the times it is physically inhuman to strip fast enough to get a Cuda to bite. Lately I have taken the permit approach. Hit him on the head and let the marabou do the rest. Tick Tick Tick with a flick of the wrist and bam.
  When hunting Cudas on the flats one must study bonefish patterns. Especially on an outgoing tide. Channels is also the name of the game.  Channels in the 8-15 foot range encompassed by flats on either side and the occasional structure below. Having a nearby bonefish aggregate site (usually a deep hole or impression within a channel, a spawning hole or place to meet before the show. Sometimes I will drive through the middle of the channel before I poll it. Call me crazy but I do believe this helps stimulate the bite on given conditions. Hence the irritation being the name of the game.

Avery caught her first Bonefish. Half hour later ohhhh Baracuda! 

Aves with her double header! 

Well deserved rest after a day way out on the bank

On these particular conditions we had a full moon high tide working with the wind direction. Under these conditions we were able to push a few miles into this relatively shallow canal. A spot that you can only fish a couple times a year. Long story short the fish were hungry and far from wary.

The turtles are everywhere right now. Was thinking of producing a young turtle fly for big tiger sharks. Question is where to start? 

The "throwback Mullet" tied for our arriving tarpon around late march

Fish on the Mind and Line

Here are a few pics from past week. 

Wahoo! A double header!

Collecting bones 

Shrimp on the mind 

Leopard Bone

Newly painted crab patterns 

"The Big Gulp"

Alternate Flat Species

Just another day on the flats. No flat inhabiting fish could ever replace the bonefish. That being said it can be fun to target these over looked species of the shallows. It is amazing to see how different a fight a blacktip shark dishes versus one from the cuts and bluewater. It is almost as if the two are different species in every way. Blacktips of the flat are bulldogs. Blacktips of the deep are complete athletes. These bulldogs still put up a fun fight! 

bluewater fly

baby dolphin

Turks Fish Head

Have not been fishing much past few days. The time I have spent on the water was well spent. A wahoo, Cuda, and blackfin Tunas! 

blackfin

Striped Bullet 

mini sub 

Tuna on the Mind

Flew out for a blue water expedition this morning with high hopes for dolphin and wahoo. Instead I found myself hooked up with a giant 130 + lb yellowfin tuna for two hours or so.  Pulling on this heavy piece of machinery left my gut scarred and black and blue. At the two hour mark I had the fish circling 15 yards under the boat stubborn as ever. With the engine prop coming into play I stop filming. Long story short the 30 lb test line snapped. I was so exhausted at the time I cannot say how. Maybe it just pulled itself to pieces or the line rubbed on the hull. Either way just another fish of a lifetime to haunt my dreams. 

Black Tips Flying High

Snuck out for an hour or so this afternoon. Perfect outgoing tide to jump some black tips. Nothing like bowing to a somersaulting fish. Its amazing to see how powerful an athlete these brutes are. I spotted three fish in all. The feed consisted of two sharks duking it out for the fly. It's a good one.