Bonefish Flies - 5 Favorites For South Andros

Something in here's gotta work.

Compared to most in the bonefishing world, the flies that we like to fish on South Andros tend to be an unusual combination of big and light. For anglers wanting to load up a fly box before their trip, that can make it a little hard to buy commercially available flies - most widely available bonefish flies are either light enough but too small (probably designed for places like Belize and Christmas Island), or big enough but too heavy (probably designed for the Florida Keys).

Here are 5 flies that are pretty widely available that will work great on South Andros Island.

1. Tan Gotcha Yeah, we know, everybody knows about the Gotcha, and tan is a very popular color in a lot of places. What's a little harder to find is the #2 size tied with bead chain eyes (not lead eyes) - that's the one you want.
   
   
2. Veverka's Mantis Shrimp This fly is a great default option when you're fishing a flat that has a mottled bottom, with some dark areas and some light areas. It's got a relatively neutral coloration that seems to stick out enough but not too much. It's really buggy looking, and it's got those rubber legs that our fish love. #2 is the workhorse, and #4 is nice for shallower water.
   
   
3. Solitude Para Vida Here's the exception to the big fly rule. This fly in tan and #8 is a nice one to have in your box if you're doing some inland wading - walking in to super-skinny water that might barely get your ankles wet. Fish in really shallow water are sensitive to heavy flies hitting the surface of the water, so an unweighted, very small fly is your go-to here.
   
   
4. Idyl's Woolly Crab When you're fishing in deeper water (deeper for us means maybe 2-3 feet) and specifically targeting bigger fish, say on the West Side of South Andros, a crab pattern is a great option. This fly is tied with lead eyes, but that's OK here for 2 reasons - the lead is necessary to get the relatively bulky body to sink...and you're fishing this one in deeper water. Tan is good.
   
   
5. Peterson Spawning Shrimp Our fish aren't that picky, but there's something about a spawning shrimp pattern than seems to drive them bonkers. Again, #2 is your go-to size. Note that, contrary to this description on the linked site, this fly is typically tied with small lead eyes (not bead chain eyes), which are necessary to make the relatively bulky fly 'ride right' when stripped.

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Buffs - Merino Wool

Cozy, not crazy.

We've told you before that we like Buffs, because they keep the sun off, they keep the bugs off, and they're cozy when it's cold out.

Buff has just come out with a new version of their headwear product that's specifically targeted at that last scenario - cozy when it's cold out.

The Merino Wool Buff is a great option for those chilly mornings on the river. It's made of a very thin, soft, smooth wool that's comfortable and stretches really well (which is nice for those of us who need a little extra room around the neck and head).

One last nice thing about the Merino Wool Buff is that it comes in very mellow solid colors. If you're OK with the idea of covering your head and neck but would prefer to not be adorned with tarpon scales or a map of Montana, you'll appreciate that these look pretty darned normal.

They're available now - check your local fly shop.

The FTC says we have to give a disclaimer!

Sometimes people give us gear, and we write reviews of it, and then we keep it. That being said, we never write positive reviews of gear that we don't actually like.

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Global Rescue Coverage

Very pretty and very remote.

In our minds one of the keys to a great angling experience is to fish in a really remote location. It's nice not having a lot of people around, and in general, remote locations make for better fishing. Guess what - our lodges are all really remote.

On the other hand, if you're out in the middle of nowhere and take a hook in the eye or have a stroke, you'd better have a really good plan in place to get help.

We learned a little more than a year ago about a company called Global Rescue that provides medical assistance and evacuation services everywhere in the world where we operate. If you are seriously ill or injured and are more than 160 miles from home, Global Rescue will advise and transport you to the hospital of your choice - free of charge. After doing our research, we decided that these service are so important that all of our guests should be covered.

Starting in January of 2010, all trips with Deneki Outdoors include Global Rescue coverage at no additional cost to our anglers. It's as simple as that - you're covered.

To learn more about Global Rescue, have a look here.

Fishing trips are all about good times, but a little peace of mind never hurts, does it?

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What Do Wild Steelhead Mean To You?

Photo: MoldyChum.com

Any of you out there who are interested in steelhead in the Northwest, particularly in the state of Washington, listen up.

We've been doing some work with our friends at Trout Unlimited and MoldyChum.com to provide the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife with information about how important wild steelhead are to anglers who fish in Washington. Starting right now, you can respond to a survey on MoldyChum.com about wild steelhead in Washington, and your vote will go straight to the WDFW. We think you should vote.

With that, here's more from the boys at Moldy Chum about the survey.

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Tis the season to gear up for Winter steelheading. For us in Washington, it comes in two phases - the hatchery run followed by the wild run. And when Moldy Chum prioritizes its calendar weekends for the next six months, February, March, and April take pole position. It's not a priority fueled by quantity or percentages but rather one defined by experience. It is this experience that has incented Trout Unlimited and Moldy Chum to ask for your help.

We invite all Moldy Chum friends and followers to take 1 minute to answer this survey that asks how much anglers in Washington state value wild steelhead as opposed to hatchery-reared fish. The data gathered, non-scientific though it may be, will be provided to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“We’d like to find out just how important the experience of catching a wild steelhead is to the recreational angler in Washington,” said Rob Masonis, vice president of Western Conservation for TU. “From a conservation standpoint, we worry that hatchery fish are diluting wild stocks and reducing the hearty nature of steelhead in the Northwest. But we recognize the overall importance of steelhead to the recreational angler. I guess it boils down to a simple question: would you rather catch a wild fish or a hatchery fish?”

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To respond to the survey, click here. Thanks.

More On Convservation

Bonefish And Tarpon Trust Week At Andros South

Bonefish Catch And Release Best Practices

TU Fishing Report From Alaska West

Dreaming Of The Dean - Part 2

Charles and a different kind of BC West fun.

Photo: Alfi King

Today we present the second in our three-part series by Charles St. Pierre on his trip to BC West in August of 2009.

If you haven't read part one yet, you're going to want to start here.

On with the story!

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The true Dean River “experience” encompasses a great deal more than world class steelhead fly fishing. The very tangible pulse and breath of this entire “Land of the Lost meets Glacial Rain Forest” landscape is seen, felt, and heard from everywhere and from everything. This is a place where the rain forest grows, both high and low, from and onto the shoulders of sheer solid rock. These same rock peaks, and the forest they nurture and protect, frame and tower over the entire river valley in multiple hues and textures of pale, grey slate and lush, thick green. They are immense in size, shape, and density and randomly define the horizon in every direction and seem to only reluctantly let portions of the sky itself into the valley below.

The nearby glacier and snowfields are mostly unseen from the banks of the river but the sight and sound of moving water is everywhere. While fishing the “Cottonwood” run on a lightly rainy morning, I stole a glance over my shoulder and up behind me and counted no fewer than 7 waterfalls cascading from heights of well over a thousand feet pouring themselves into the dense forest behind us. Ok, try this; close your eyes for a minute and imagine catching the hottest and most beautiful steelhead in the world in a place like Yosemite, Yellowstone, or Glacier National Parks, with only you and a small contingency of fly anglers having virtually the whole park to yourselves. Crowds here are not a problem; accidental tourists not included or allowed. Wait, it gets better…

Upon arriving at the airfield and left completely awestruck once again by the helicopter ride over the forest, mountains, and glaciers from Bella Coola and into the Dean River Delta via West Coast Helicopters, we unload and after a very short truck ride through the dense forest, we arrive at the BC West Lodge. After leaving the activities of the forest fires from the record setting heat wave of late July in the Bella Coola Valley behind us, the BC West Lodge, its guest cabins, and the surrounding grounds were both serene and welcoming, with the faintest sound of moving water somewhere not too distant beyond our lodge retreat.

We meet the staff that will be hosting us this week and are told lunch will be ready shortly and we begin to unload and distribute our gear. The four guest cabins sleep two with plenty of room for gear, clothes, firewood, and at least three bottles of scotch. I have the distinct feeling that the tongue and groove wood walls and floors found throughout the lodge complex probably came from the immediate forest that surrounds us, giving each cabin the warmth and feel of the fertility of the rainforest.

The shower and drying cabin is close by with thick cotton towels and plenty of room to hang wet jackets and waders. I was told that the food here was going to blow me away, but I wasn’t prepared for how good it really is. If you like multi-course meals of say, lamb shanks, risotto, and other gourmet fare, you’ll feel right at home here as well as your clothes tightening as the week progresses. Immediately after lunch today, we’re told, fishing will commence. No sooner are the chairs pushed away from the table than we begin to scramble to our cabins and begin “unpacking” like a group of small tornadoes blowing through a trailer park. In record time we’re ready. The BC West program here is totally unique and offers something that no other operation on the river does. Each guest at BC West will spend three days on the lower river (below the canyon) and three days fishing the water just above the canyon…

...To Be Continued.

More Guest Posts

Jason Koertge On Talking Salmon To A Steelheader

Dana Sturn On Boat Safety And...Splash!

Mike Racine - More Than A Trip Report

The Palena River

Cool scenery on the Palena

Photo: Trevor Covich

During the course of a trip with Chile West, anglers fish a variety of rivers and the Rio Palena or Palena River is just one of the many.

Flowing out from the east end of Argentina’s Vinter Lake, the Corcovado River makes a huge 180 degree turn northwest and crosses the border into Chile where the river changes its name to the Palena River. From the Argentine border, the Palena river meanders its way west some 120 miles before it reaches the Pacific Ocean.

Approximately 7 miles from the border, the river passes along the town of Palena. From here the road leaves the river and there are few access points until the river joins back up with the Careterra Austral at the Rio Frio confluence, some 40 miles downstream.

From the town of Palena and below, the river is classified as a class II – III with a low gradient as the river elevation at Palena is only around 650 feet. The average drop is about five and a half feet per mile over the 120 miles of river in Chile. Any real whitewater is above the town of Palena and into Argentina where the gradient is an average drop of around 25 feet per mile.

Working quality water slowly.

Photo: Trevor Covich

Characteristics of the river around Palena range from classic freestone runs, willow trees and farm land to dense forest, high canyon walls with waterfalls streaming down into the river. With little public access, floating the river is the most effective means of fishing.

The river is home to rainbow trout, brown trout, Chinook salmon and even an occasional brook trout. With a variety of insect life such as stoneflies, mayflies, caddis flies, midges and terrestrials such as the famous Cantaria beetle, the trout fishing methods vary from run to run - bangin’ the banks with streamers, swinging a bar, nymphing and dry fly fishing are all in play here. Every corner on this section of river offers something different from the fishing to the scenery, which is why we like it!

More On Chile West

Brian Ropp's Trip Report

Week-long Trips At Chile West

Streamers From A Boat - 6 Tips

Just Another Cool Underwater Trout Picture

We like rainbows and mouse flies.

Photo: Cameron Miller

Sometimes it's hard to pick which super-cool Cameron Miller picture from Alaska West to post, just because we've got so darned many.

Today's edition is just a nice, normal, beautiful Alaska West rainbow trout underwater shot- heavily spotted, nice red stripe, and with a very run-of-the-mill fly in its mouth. Wait a second - that's not a run-of-the-mill fly - it's a giant floating mouse pattern! That angler must have had some fun.

More Cool Pictures From Alaska

Rainbow Trout And Giant Flies

Just A Cool Underwater Picture

Alaska Fishing Pictures