back from paradise

Just got back from a week at Seagrove.  Sun shone all the time (pre TS Debbie) but ocean was rough so kept the yak at Eastern Lake for fun.  Surf fishing was like having a fight with a Sumo wrestler and the sea won.  After 2 days of getting battered by waves and undertow, I decided that catching ladyfish was fun but not so much fun that I would have to spent a lot of money on Advil.  So I did the next best think, hung around the kiddie (shallow end) pool at Eastern Lake with the grand children and soaked some rays.

kayak has been on the roof rack since last week when we went to Crooked Creek and water was so low we would have had to drag the yak most pf the time and fish little - so we did what any rational fly fishing junkie would do, we wet waded and took a chance with the snakes - luckily I only saw one and it was moving faster than I was.  this week we are going to the salt water heaven (red neck Riviera for the curious) and plan to paddle around on the surf and on a really nice tidal salt water lake.  Ladyfish are on the menu ad well as little jacks and maybe some reds or specks off the surf early in the day.
The black Jeep is now official, fly fishing bumper stickers have been smeared all over the back bumper, together with the obligatory LSU alumni sticker in the middle.  Welcome to the stable.

I hate weather.com and what else?

I gotta stop looking at the 10 day forecast for Islamorada.  Every day I look, it changes from sunny to rainy to snowy (not really!) or whatever.  Maybe when I get there I'll look up with my mouth open and if it fills with water and not beer then it will be raining.  On a saner note, I did get my bonefish line today.  So I took it and my reel and went to Bass Pro where I asked for 200 yds of 20# backing (since they backordered the one I mail ordered) and the guy proceeded to put only 100 yards and tell me that that was plenty.  It looks OK but the reel is not as full as I would like it, so when my backing comes in, I'll change it to the 200 yds Lamson and the good Lord say that it will hold.  I hope the bonefish don't mind and eat my fly anyway.

Went fishing Friday with my new(used) Sage rod.  It looks like new and casts real sweet.  Caught a sunburn and a bunch of small bass.  One of my fishing buddies nailed a 5 pound bass so I know I''ll be going back to that lake.

Started packing for my trip.  Don't know how I am going to fill the body bag (actually a 42"long gear bag) I got but I can always stuff a sleeping bag in it so it will take up space and won't add a ton of weight.  This thing is so big I already have three rods, 3 reels, a bunch of fly boxes, waist pack and a bunch of leaders and crap and it has not made a dent.  I don't have enough clothes to fill it so the sleeping bag may do the trick.  Talked to son-in-law last night and he is getting real exited also.  We are going to have a blast.

Keep your lines tight,
LSU flyfisher.

Waiting for the tide - no wait that's next week!!

Time is short before I get on a silver bird and head south to where the water is salty and the sun is hot.  Tied some more flies, have lost count of how many I have now, but at least one of them must be worthy of a grey ghost taking a liking to it, or so I hope.  If not, I'm sure that Captain Bob Jones will take care of us Thursday so we will not get skunked.  I have now printed aboyut a pound of articles about wade fishing in the keys - good reading material for the plane ride.  Camping gear is growing, now I have a tent, 2 sleeping bags, a disposable BBQ grill and an ice chest.  So I am good to sleep, keep my beer cold and grill whatever I catch in the sea or at the supermarket.  Just haveto stop at the KMart on Key Largo and getmy fishing license, beer, water and whatever dry goods I will need for two days.  Decided to stay in Miami one more night with the family and also one more day to buy and eat pastelitos for breakfast.  We'll do that again when I pick Michael up on Wednesday.  Got enough rods and hopefully lines (those sh*ts at Basss Pro backordered my backing.)  If nothing else, I pass the BassPro in Islamorada so I am sure they have what I will need.  Plus hopefully they will share some wisdom when I stop by to buy some local flies and pick their brains.  My long lot LSU friend Pat who owns a lodge in Roatan, Mango Creek Lodge is tryin to make me jelous (it is working, I am saving my money) by telling me about her guests hitting Grand Slams.  To any who read this blog, have a Happy Easter Season and remember He is risen today.

Keep your lines tight and your eyes on the price.

2 weeks to Long Key, I love it when a plan comes together.

April 10 is getting within my sights. Nailed an 8 wt on E-bay (finally), got 250 yds of 20# backing and a bonefish line coming my way. Have my flats booties and a gear bag that will hold my rods and all my salt water gear. Next weekend I’ll start packing and see what last minute stuff I need to run to Bass Pro to get. Whatever I forget, I’ll pick up at the one in Islamorada.  Still need to find some more camping furniture but between my mother’s house and my sister’s I’ll be able to beg and borrow what I need. Got a guide lined up for Thursday to make sure I don’t leave the keys without hooking up something to remember. Can’t wait to get up at the crack of dawn, walk into the water and greet the sun and bonefish as the tide comes in. Too bad Rob can’t make it (still hope he does since I owe it to him to get me hooked into this adventure.) I still feel I don’t have enough flies, even though I have tied enough to outfit a small fly shop somewhere. Maybe I’ll tie some clousers with bead eyes for a slow sink approach. Maybe I’ll do some merkin crabs just in case the good Lord wants to send a Permit my way. Right now, the anticipation is just killing me. Just have to make it through to weeks of work and then I’m out of here. Michael (son-in-law) comes in Wednesday so I have to go back to the mainland to pick him up. So if it is going to rain, let it happen Wednesday morning.

Here in Memphis the weather continues to be like the stock market, unpredictable. Yesterday we had sun and high 60’s, today we have rainy, cloudy and low 50’s. At least we are seeing enough of the sun to know that spring is coming. My cherry tree and the Japanese magnolia across the street are in full bloom, what a great and inspiring sight.

Next week I get with my fly fishing buddies to plan some smallmouth hunting and a kayak outing to a local lake for some largemouth I love spring.

Keep your lines tight.....

Chasing an 8 wt rod and other spring rites before Long Key adventure.

Need one more 8wt for the trip so I do what all other sane (or insane?) fly fishers do - try to chase one on E-bay, which is what everyone else is also doing in preparation for salt water spring rites.  It is frustrating as hell  thinking I have the rod to see it get away by someone using some kind of snipe program.  Whoever invented those should get as punishment and endless number of people cutting in from of him (or her) in the line to the pearly gates so everytime he/she she thinks is getting in, someone else gets it.  So to vent my frustration, and also since it is raining in Memphis and can't do yard work, I decided to tie some more bonefish flies I picked up from the latest FFSW magazine.  Then switched to tying some leech looking flies in preparation for spring smallies that know it is time to get frisky.  I'll post my files on my facebook page once I figure how to do the macro thing with my camera.  Did manage also to switch reservations and got a full 6 day campsite so we would not have to move on Friday and loose time on the salt.  Rob, if you are out there, let me know if you still plan to make it to Long Key in April.  Just hope for good weather (no rain) and hungry bones on the flats. Oh yeah, now I have a tent and 2 sleeping bags in Miami, things are looking up.  Still need the hot plate for Cuban cofee but I figure Wal Mart will help with that one.

Done, Delta robbed, but headed to Bonefish Nirvanna

Whoever invented the 25,000 mile award rumor must be in purgatory (or hell if he is not catholic) from perpetrating such a bunch of convoluted doublespeak.  Yes, there are 25,000 mile award tickets out there if you are willing to travel on the 8th day of the week at midnight sitting next to goats or chickens and come back 8.325 days later on a different flight whose numbers do not start with any prime number.

Well, now that I have gotten the smell of being shafted by the airline out, I can now rejoice in the fact that I have now booked my tent site and transportation to what I hope will be bonefish nirvana at Long Key State Park.  Even greater is the fact that son-in-law Michael will join me to share this zen experience (he is the SOB that got me started in this addiction so I would let him marry my daughter.)  Now all I have to do is tie a couple of hundred crazy charlies, gotchas, sweet ernies, carb patterns, shrimp patterns, other salt water fish patterns, ad nauseam, between now and April 9 when I head home to little Havana for a couple of days of cuban food gluttony a before heading south to the keys. And, since the flight is free, I can now go and buy me a 4 piece 8wt rod to add to my growing stash of drivers, wedges -no... wait.... wrong sport... I mean rods of many sizes and pieces.  Luckily, I do have a decent reel so I can't find an excuse to buy another one.  Only small details are left, such as getting a tent, what to sleep on, what to eat, etc.  Luck has it, there is a Bass Pro on the way in Islamorada or some place around there, so I can always buy the stuff and stash it at my sister's house or ship it back to Memphis.