In Search of World Record Bonefish
Capt. Chris Asaro
October 14, 2009
Honolulu - Saltwater Fishing Report
Last week was not typical Oahu weather. Light wind, Rain and cloud cover dominated making conditions rather difficult. World record size bonefish can be nearly impossibe with slick calm winds [luckily we rarely have these conditons]. Casts on the 'dinner plate' almost always spook the fish. This is where we like to employ a strategy called 'taking the cast out of the equation'. Basically bonefish never stop moving and the fish are lead by more than usual, anticipating where they will be.
On Monday, Capt. Terry Duffield was able to sneak out for a quick 2 hours on his favorite flat. Conditions were not cooperative but he kept positive and continued to scan for a typical oversized bonefish. Perseverance paid off! A nice group moved within sight and Coach made his usual tight loop, placing his custom crab fly gently in their path. One sharp strip and he was tight. The bone made it's powerful 'corvette on the highway' run and soon a nice 8 lb fish was boatside! In this game you are always possibly one cast from a potential world record. With that, I cannot over stress the importance of 'keeping the faith'. In a one day bonefish tournamant, I had a client win $2500 dollars after spooking every fish we saw in the morning!
Later in the week, Coach and Shane Stuler experinced those same tough conditions. With very litle sunlight, the pure sightfisherman hung around one of the whitest spots Coach could find. Persistance again paid off and Shane perfectly presented coach's crab to another 8-9 lb bone. This fish exploded on the fly and ran 'mach one' towards the jagged edge of the flat. With over 100 yards of backing out, Shane needed to apply pressure to keep the beast from cutting him off.
The hook pulled but they were all smiles in true sportsman fashion, as fooling it and experincing the run was good enough on that tough morning.
In the evening, as Coach typicaly does, he pulled out his Andros Skiff and headed to another location for sunset tailing bonefish! Shane had many shots but was unable to connect. That's fishing!
On Monday, Bad weather continued. Coach and Chris Towne from New York again had to fall back on his whitest bottoms. After multiple shots, a group of four very large fish moved into range.
Chris overshot the pack but with a little luck the fish did not spook. Coach's crab pattern got their attenton and they whirled around. One gobbled the fly but Chris hit it a bit too soon.
Another fish from he group charged over and inhaled it. With adrenalin running high, he popped off the 11-12 lb bone. On tuesday, Chris got another chance to settle the score but missed 3 takes from very large fish. For me, fooling these fish on fly is everything. Not an easy sell to the client though. He'll get 'em next time!
Honolulu Fishing Forecast:
bluebird conditions are back and hopefully to stay! I just purchased a new boat and am ready to put you on one of the largest bonefish on the planet. I will specializing on wade fishing with Coach Duff concentating on poling from his Andros Skiff www.hawaiibonefishing.com
Target Species:
world record class bonefish
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