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| Hawai'i Sunsets from the house. Who could ever get tired of this? |
I'm not totally a rookie when it comes to fly fishing for bonefish. I've caught a few in Mexico, but it has been a loooong time ago, and only a few. So in my honesty, I consider myself a "Rookie". Now, fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I'm on a Hawaiian flat and trying to catch a Bonefish.
Wow, what can I say, other than...it's a legit challenge. Anyone who's ever fished the flats of Oahu on their own trying to DIY quickly understands that it's no joke. Considered by many experienced bonefish fisherman, to be some of the spookiest bones on the planet, I can concur! For me, 100% of the time, they saw me before I saw them.
Now, I do like a challenge, that's why I opted the DIY route this time around. That and the fact that I didn't have free reign to fish all day, everyday, while we were in Hawaii. We had family time, my wife ran a marathon with 43,000 of her running friends, we had a Pearl Harbor tour, you get the picture. I set aside at least three times to fish and just had to go regardless of the tides or conditions.
My first encounter of seeing the "Heineken" green color flash, set me up for failure. I was advised when looking for Bonefish that are almost invisible that if you see a "Heineken Green Colored Flash" that that was a Bonefish. I had been slowly and painstakingly shimmying my way along the flat as to make as little to no noise as possible. At times even just standing in one spot without moving for twenty - thirty minutes. Felt like forever. Just combing the area, and waiting, then waiting some more. Then out of now where I see the flash, coming at me and just to the left side about 10 yards away.
I was prepared for the moment. I had been waiting, had my line stripped off the reel, holding the fly in my off hand, ready to let go, then sweep into my back cast, and with one false cast sending it to the target. For months, every thing I had read or seen on YouTube had taught me to lead these fish a good bit. So I did, I cast about 8 - 10 yards in front of the Heineken green flash and low and behold, I cast right on top of the other 4 to 6 bones that were traveling with that Heineken, single flash that I thought was a single. Ended up being a 6-pack that I never saw and...GONE! I never saw the other fish while combing the area, only that one green flash. I wonder how many fish I actually scared off that I had no clue were there? Probably better off that I don't know.
Those fish were GONE. When I say GONE, I mean GONE! As they went their separate ways at Mach speed, one of them broke off towards me and swam right broadside in front of me, I could almost have touched him. It seemed like he was swimming in slow motion, looking up at me with that big beaty eye as if to say... "not today, nope...not today!" He was HUGE. Of course he was, why wouldn't he be? I'm sure he gave me the stanky eye as he glided by. I will forever remember the size of him as he stared me down while gliding by.
I was shaking in my Korkers Salt Sneakers, that by the way are awesome, and super comfortable. I highly recommend them. It took me a better part of 30 minutes to calm down. My heart was pounding, I was talking to myself, out loud, nobody cared, I was by myself out in the middle of this flat. Who cares! It was awesome! I had never seen a bonefish that big. My estimation (we will never know if I am right or not, but it's my story) was he was 7 or 8 pounds, maybe even bigger, definitely not smaller.
Hawaii is famous for big bones. Many are caught in the double digit size. My understanding is that the average fish is around 6-7 pounds. The largest bonefish recorded being caught was a stunning 18 pounds 2 ounces back in 1954. Don't cha just wish?! Imagine catching a Bonefish, nearly 20 pounds, that's massive.
So, now I'm keyed on the the Heineken color. Didn't see another Heineken color flash until the third day of fishing. Again, it was only one flash and again, it was GONE! Not even a chance to make a cast. I believe, due to the tide height, in all my rookieness (sp is horrendous, but I don't care), I was wading too deep and as superb as their eyesight is, I'm sure he/him/her/she/they/them spotted me before I spotted it/them. Anyway, GONE!
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| I wouldn't know personally, but having a second rod ready to go is essential, things can happen fast on the flats, is the rumor on the streets. So, I was ready! |
To pursue these ghost of the flats beast, I was set up about as sweetly as you can get. I took two Winston Air 2 Max rods, one, a 9' 8wt and the other, a 9' 9wt. What an absolute dream it was to cast these rods. I would fish these rods anywhere on the planet in the appropriate application. I do a lot of cycling and there's a feeling you get when your in your groove, you feel like a machine. This is what it was like casting the Air 2 Max. I felt like a machine, just in the rhythm of it all.
One the first day of fishing the tide was higher than I would have liked and I mostly blind casted. Meaning, I didn't physically see any Bonefish, but covered lots of water by casting and retrieving. My strategy while blind casting was to send the cast as far as possible, strip the fly back in and send it again. Covering as much water as possible. I didn't count how many cast I'd made that day but it was hundreds. I may be under exaggerating.
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| A Needle Fish attacked my shrimp pattern, what a weird catch. Although I was intrigued by him and looked him over well, those teeth (which you can't see in this photo) are no joke! |
My blind casting strategy lacked in results of bonefish, however I was able to catch a couple of fish pictured above and below. I've seen photos of Needlefish, but to actually catch one was kind of crazy. They like to spastically jump around and you have to be careful, their teeth are for real, and you don't want to get cut by their teeth and start bleeding. I mean, you're in the ocean, blood in the ocean is no bueno. Holding that fish felt like I was holding...an alien!
Then this cute little fella, a baby Blue Fin Trevally. Would have loved to catch his great grand dad. I actually had tons of little fish follow my shrimp patterns to my feet as I stripped them in. Looked like lots of baby bonefish and baby Blue Fin Trevally. They weren't scared or spooked from me to say the least. I imagine they felt pretty safe around me because anything of any size that would eat them would be pretty spooked by me. So I was their "safe space" haha. Plus, as I shuffled my feet, I'm sure I was kicking up things they like to eat.  |
| Bauer SLT 9/11 Reel and the one and only Winston Air2 Max 990-4. A sweet combo! The combo of the Winston Air 2 Max and the Bauer SLT 9/11 reel was a match made for success. Even though on this trip I didn't hook any bones, I know for sure, had I did, I would've been in control. I have absolutely no complaints about this set up. Wait, I guess if you want me to complain about something that is so excellent, it would be that the Bauer SLT reel would have been slightly sweeter on the rod if it was Green. Green, would have matched the "Winston Green" beautifully. That's it. That's my only complaint. In even saying that, I do love the Blue/Silver color too.  Pictured above was a massive flat that I fished on the second day. Although it was nice to have a calm flat with some sunshine, I felt that I was wading too deep to easily see the fish. I would have liked to fish this flat as the tide just started to come in. There are a few channels that I feel the fish would have come up through as they scattered over the flat. On this day, I had four separate encounters with Bones. But as I stated earlier, they were on their way and not slowing down by the time I saw them. This specific flat was recommended by my friend Jeremiah, our Scientific Anglers rep, who had fish this flat and had encounters with bonefish before. I could see why. It's an awesome flat with a huge area to fish.  Another view of the flat just yards off the beach, again, I would have loved to had fished it at the start of the tide coming in after the low tide. I worked my way to the edge of the flat which took me about 3-4 hours due to fishing so slowly. Pictured below is the "Edge" which was pretty cool. Deep water and just a straight drop off. I combed the edge for awhile hoping to see some Blue Fin Trevally, but I never saw anything other than little reef fish. I made a fair number of blind cast to try and get lucky, but came up short. |
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| Worked my way to the edge of the flats. Kind of freaky standing at the edge and then it just drops off! I fished the edge for anything that would eat, but I had no takers. They must of been on diets. |
MY GEAR DUMP LIST:
RODS
- Winston Air 2 Max: 890-4 and 990-4 - In my humble opinion, probably the best casting, performing, saltwater rod on the market today. Not that there aren't other top notch rods on the list because there are, these just marry with my casting style and paired with the right lines, was an absolute pleasure to fish with. I'm not a super techy guy, in the sense of the science behind the rod. I am very thankful for those designers who are though. Without their skillset, I wouldn't have enjoyed the rod nearly as much. If it feels right, I fish right. In other words, I'm in the right frame of mind when my cast and presentation are right...and with these rods, their right as rain!
REELS
- Bauer SLT 9/11 - Outstanding reel, built very well, with super smooth drag system.
- Galvan Grip 8 - Honestly, for a sealed saltwater reel and for the money you can't go wrong with this gem.
- Tibor Signature 9/10 - (I love this real, but almost impossible to get)
FLY LINES
- Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Grand Slam WF8F
- Casted like a dream on the Winston Air 2 Max. Loaded easily, turned over the larger shrimp flies with ease! Great match for the rod.
- RIO Elite Bonefish WF8F
- Cast extremely well on the Air 2 Max, especially for the smaller shrimp patterns.
- RIO Bonefish Quickshooter WF8F
- A little heavier than the standard RIO Bonefish line, but was very nice when trying to cast in the windier conditions with the larger flies.
- RIO Elite Flats Pro WF9F
- The perfect line match up for the 9wt Air 2 Max and throwing baitfish patterns on the edge of the flat. Even though I didn't catch anything, the line loaded the rod right and delivered the flies at distance.
LEADERS & TIPPET
- Scientific Anglers Absolute Fluorocarbon Saltwater Leaders: 9' 12,16 & 20 pound
- Scientific Anglers Absolute Fluorocarbon Saltwater Tippet: 12,16 & 20 pound
- RIO Fluoroflex Bonefish/Saltwater Leaders: 9' 12, 16 & 20 pound
- RIO Fluoroflex Saltwater Tippet: 12,16 & 20 pound
- RIO Hard Mono Saltwater Tippet: 60#
FOOTWEAR:
- Korkers Salt Sneaker Wading Boots - I have foot issues, and these sneakers were amazing. As I mentioned earlier they are Super Comfortable and super light. Never had a single issue with the boots nor my feet hurting after all day of fishing. I fished in and around some pretty gnarly coral and the boots only had a few scratches. Super happy with them. If I still played hoops, I'd consider wearing them no joke!
- Korkers 2.5mm I-Drain Wading Socks - The perfect size for flats fishing in almost 80 degree water. Comfortable and kept nearly all the sand out of my boots.
GEAR BAGS:
- Fishpond Thunderhead Submersible Backpack - This was the perfect pack for several reasons. I was able to get most of my Hawaii clothes in this backpack (in case my luggage was lost), my laptop, snacks, chargers and a few other small items. It fit nicely under the seat in front of me.
- Fishpond 31" Dakota Carry-On Rod & Reel Case - Admittedly, I was nervous that I wouldn't actually be able to carry this thing on the plane. It had the essentials for fishing the flats and I didn't want it to lose it as a "check in item." But, I was happy that I did. No one questioned the size or the ability to carry it on. I put two nine foot rods, could've held more, three reels, three spare fly lines, sunglasses, Fishpond Rod Holster, leaders & tippet and more in this case with ease. Anything that had to do with fishing that wasn't considered "hazardous" was in this carry on. All of my "hazardous" gear, pliers, nippers, flies, knife, etc, was in our one family check in bag.
Key Take Away:
If you DIY Oahu bonefishing, expect to get humbled and enjoy the moments anyway.
If you DIY Oahu bonefishing, expect to get humbled and enjoy the moments anyway.
- Pearl Harbor tour of the USS Arizona - A personal highlight for my trip. Having served in the Navy, I got emotional as I stood over the U.S.S. Arizona, realizing that it still holds the remains of 900-1100 Sailors and Marines. In addition, there is still oil seeping out from the ship which sank December of 1941. Eighty Four years later and still leaking oil. I was a wreck. In the museum there is a quote on the wall that reads and is so true.
"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them."- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill of Rights Day, November 27, 1941.
- Guide or No Guide? - Definitely hire a local guide. Although I had a blast fishing the flats on my own unsuccessfully. I will definitely hire a local guide the next time I'm in Oahu. For obvious reasons I listed above but also for the sake of supporting someone trying to make a living by doing something they love. Hearing their stories. Getting to know them, and in the future, recommending them to others.
- Gear wise, I wouldn't change a thing. My gear was dialed.
- Clothes wise, I could have left behind half the clothes I brought, especially with access to a washing machine. Literally brought clothes I never touched.
Though I was able to have five encounters with these huge bonefish during the time I fished, I never caught nor even hooked one. Yet, I was an emotional mess. Heart pounding, nervous, excited, heart sinking, disappointed and beaten, yet ready to do it all over again.
To me, I was having cake everyday, just without frosting.
Takeaway:
Takeaway:
Thanks for reading.
GFS Team
John G.
"The Gorge"
Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977
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