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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Aug 15, 2010August 15th, 2010, 8:13 am EDT
So I'm getting married in 6 days, and on the 25th I'm off to Andros Island in the Bahamas for our honeymoon. Fishing is not the main purpose of this trip, but I will have a little bit of time to chase bonefish. I'll take at least one guided trip and can use their gear for that, but I also may get to do some fishing myself from the beach around our fairly remote resort, so I'm going to bring my own 7-weight for that.

I won't do very much of this, nor will it be especially serious, but I want to make sure I'm not totally wasting my time using the wrong gear. So, my questions:


  • Can I get by using my weight-forward floating trout line for this? Or will it totally fail and be damaged by saltwater for some reason? I'd rather not drop another $60-70 on a special saltwater line if possible.
  • I don't need many flies. Can anyone with bonefish experience recommend 5 or so generally good ones, the Adamses of bonefishing?
  • I don't know much about what other species might be expected near shore there, but should I bring any other flies to target other stuff? I'm interested in catching anything that swims.
  • Is there anything important to know about leader design there? Or just use something that'll turn over the fly?
  • Any other tips? Anything I should bring with me that might not have been obvious?


Thanks!
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681
GONZO on Aug 15, 2010August 15th, 2010, 11:08 am EDT
Jason, here's a link to a PDF about South Andros (not sure if that's where you'll be, but it's close):
http://www.flyfishtravel.com/Bahamas/AndrosSouth/Trip%20Planner.pdf
The "Tackle Recommendations" section seems to answer most of your questions, but Dr. Tony (Gutcutter) is probably the guy to talk to about chasing bones.

BTW, congrats!...it's about time you married that girl. (Hi Lena!)
Oldredbarn
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Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Aug 16, 2010August 16th, 2010, 3:05 am EDT
Fishing is not the main purpose of this trip


You better keep this line in mind young man! Don't follow in Tony's or my footsteps...Yes we are still happily married and probably will be for the rest of our lives, but statistics are against you here since Tony and I have probaby used up all that available mojo that was floating around out there in our universe...Do you remember that movie, "The Gods Must Be Crazy"? Well for some reason the gods have decided to look down on Tony and I with favor...Maybe they feel somewhat sorry for us and our bumbling ways who knows...He and I have lived charmed, prince-like lives in regards to the fairer sex and neither of us knows how the other one has pulled it off...:)

Here's to you two kid! Enjoy the trip and remember that weddings and honeymoons aren't really about us guys...We are basically just a prop in those parts of the play...Take it from an old dog...I mean old dude...If she's happy you will be happy too! Trust me on this one.

Just be happy that your honeymoon will take place in the "off-season" and Lena won't need to be cutting her honeymoon short so her new husband can rush back to Detroit for game 4 of the Conference Finals only to see him deflate, in overtime, when Gretzky catches Jarri Kurri with a perfect pass and an open lane to the net...It's not good to let them see you cry like that so early in the marriage.

Spence

Come to think of it...That Gonzo's walked a pretty lucky line his self if I remember it correctly...Maybe there's something to that deal about finding the right woman...Love can be a very forgiving thing and besides when you get caught out fishing after dark (Remember this is something I would never do) she'll rest easier when she realizes that the "other" woman was really a stream and not actually another woman.

"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Matthe55
usa

Posts: 1
Matthe55 on Aug 20, 2010August 20th, 2010, 4:14 pm EDT
Some Tips to Swing Hybrid Irons

Most of the people I've worked for were always on the job, they were taking care of their business. It's necessary which you know that perfect way to swing hybrid irons as well as the < />callaway x-20 irons. Or else, you may get your self driving this golf ball countless yards farther than you intended. ishiner
sfs
Gutcutter
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Pennsylvania

Posts: 470
Gutcutter on Aug 21, 2010August 21st, 2010, 5:00 am EDT

spence - i have to admit that i am lucky with my wife's understanding of my addiction and i have been in a different situation than most. but i must confess - i waited until i was forty to get married. i was an eternal bachelor. i lived for work and fishing. i had the means and time to do what i wanted - like the keys several times each spring for tarpon and bahamas every winter for bonefish and alternating alaska with montana each summer while still chasing my central penna. hatches. i lived a charmed life - or so i thought...i basically worked every day of the year except when i "went fishing".
then i met this 23 year old and fell in love and it was all downhill from there.
when she told me our wedding date i informed her that fortunately i was already booked in the keys the following week and i just changed sleeping arrangements from a cheap motel to a fivestar and extended it from a week to 12 days and...
8 years and four kids later, i fish less but enjoy it more when i do.
so i only go to the keys once a year and i only chase my local hatches on extended weekends and i have only been to alaska twice in those 8 years and every other year for montana...
but the look on my girls and boys faces when they hook a bluegill is better than anything
jason and lena will do just fine
All men who fish may in turn be divided into two parts: those who fish for trout and those who don't. Trout fishermen are a race apart: they are a dedicated crew- indolent, improvident, and quietly mad.

-Robert Traver, Trout Madness
Oldredbarn
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Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Aug 22, 2010August 22nd, 2010, 5:08 am EDT
Tony,

I want you to know, and I mean this, that you are the roll-model for all us trout-bums on this site! It's nice for us to have something to strive for and its nice also to see that at least one of us has reached nirvana...You are our Bodhishattva! The guy who made it but has such compassion that he returns from Nirvana to lead us on our journey there...

Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Troutnut
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Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2758
Troutnut on Aug 24, 2010August 24th, 2010, 10:17 am EDT
Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm leaving for Andros tomorrow, and packing some nice bonefishing gear borrowed from a forum member. (He is welcome to identify himself, but I don't want to "out" his generosity and swamp him with other beggars!)

The wedding was amazing. The preparation was incredibly hectic but we got everything done and we (and apparently everyone else) had a really great time. I'll post a few pictures after we're back from Andros.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
GONZO
Site Editor
"Bear Swamp," PA

Posts: 1681
GONZO on Aug 24, 2010August 24th, 2010, 10:30 am EDT
Cool, Jason. Hi Lena! Enjoy the island, the sunshine, the bonefish....
Gutcutter
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Pennsylvania

Posts: 470
Gutcutter on Aug 24, 2010August 24th, 2010, 10:57 am EDT
o.k. - now that our fearless leader is off-line...
let's get a bet going -
what will be the ratio of bug photos to bonefish photos to jason and lena enjoying their honeymoon photos?
any takers?
All men who fish may in turn be divided into two parts: those who fish for trout and those who don't. Trout fishermen are a race apart: they are a dedicated crew- indolent, improvident, and quietly mad.

-Robert Traver, Trout Madness
Shawnny3
Moderator
Pleasant Gap, PA

Posts: 1197
Shawnny3 on Aug 24, 2010August 24th, 2010, 11:43 am EDT
Congrats, Jason and Lena!

-Shawn
Jewelry-Quality Artistic Salmon Flies, by Shawn Davis
www.davisflydesigns.com
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Aug 25, 2010August 25th, 2010, 2:14 am EDT
o.k. - now that our fearless leader is off-line...
let's get a bet going - what will be the ratio of bug photos to bonefish photos to jason and lena enjoying their honeymoon photos?
any takers?


Tony, I think it depends. Can Lena pry the camera from Jason's hands? We know he goes everywhere with it...:)

I think we are in for some...boring...I mean lovely honeymoon pictures...We may get a couple with him standing in the surf, you know the obligatory tight loop shot, you know, "Dear they call this shooting line...This is a double haul.", but I believe they will be posed. She will, of course, think he's just so cute...Someone stick their finger down my throat! :)

Have fun kids!!!

Spence

How did Spence get through this without some sort of naughty reference? You know he was fighting off the urge at every line...;)
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood

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