Hope that you are all doing great there in Connecticut. A small report on what is going on at the Estancia, to wet your appetite.
Last week the fishing at the ranch was outstanding to say the least. Our guests caught very nice trout on the Pedregoso Creek, the Coyhaique River and of Course on the Zorro Spring Creek.
The Pedregoso was particularly productive there we have been averaging 50 trout per guest a day (between 12 and 19 inches).
At the Zorro Creek they caught an overage of 15 trout per day, they were from 16 to 24 inches. (all in dry flies, since they did not want to use nymphs).
We are starting to see some pretty good hatches in the afternoon (may flies and caddis); we expect that the fishing in the next weeks will keep getting better and better.
Now we have a group from New York and Pennsylvania, they are here for the second time and were having a blast in the Pedregoso today.
For more information, call (800-628-1447 / 860-434-9624) or email Chip Bates (chip@angleradventures.com) at Angler Adventures.
in quest of permit. The first day out, just a couple were taken, one by first time permit fisher Dr. Ralph Cifaldi. Ralph was using a crab pattern of his own concoction; a variation on the Dorsey Kwan, distinguished by a long tail of amber dyed polar bear barred with a brown marking pen.
"Tara" with a nice Ascension Bay Permit
The second day, there was better success in the group, with Ralph coming in as top rod with a “hat trick” – 3 more permit on this just his second day chasing permit! This piqued our interest a bit more in Ralphy’s unorthodox pattern.
The third day, more permit were released by the group, but again the top rod was Doc Ralph, with another hat trick! 3 days into the trip and Ralphy had 7 permit under his belt. The excitement over Ralphy’s fly grew, and being the generous soul that he is, he stayed up late cranking out more of his crab patterns so as to present each one of us with one at breakfast.
There was no doubt in my mind what fly to tie on that morning! We ran back into the bay, inside of the tip of Vigia Grande. The wind had slightly clouded the water along the south side of the bay, and my superb guide Manuel (Tarantula) worked the edge between the cloudy and the clear water. Suddenly I spotted a huge permit working up tide toward us. I called to Manuel and he kicked the boat right, and with a couple of strong pushes on the pole put me in position to intercept the fish. I launched Ralph’s fly, it landed perfectly, I made a one-foot long strip and the big fish quivered, lunged forward and ate it. It immediately took off on a searing and what I expected to be a “reel-emptying” run. But about 70 yards out, it just stopped, and slowly pulled. I looked at the bottom and it was moving. Yes, now he was just leisurely towing the boat across the bay! This went on for 42 minutes until finally we got the fish close enough to tail it. But Manuel couldn’t get it over the gunnel! Finally, he went over the side in chest deep water to “wrassle” the beast into submission. We didn’t have a boga grip, but Manuel said his largest “bogaed” fish was 38 pounds, and allowed as how this guy was just about as big! We settled on 35 as an estimate.
By the end of the week, our party of 8 had tallied an amazing 35 permit on fly, and quite a few over 20 pounds. And Ralph’s pattern accounted for 17 of these, and the fly didn’t even a name. The last evening, our group sat around the palapa having beers and trying to come up with an appropriate name for Dr. Ralph’s (a gynecologist by the way) remarkable fly. Finally John Canavari burst out, “I’ve got it! The Gyno Crab”. And the name stuck. Google it!
I can’t swear there’s something special about the pattern – maybe it was just a case of a lot of happy permit eating well. But if any fly catches any permit, I want to have it in my arsenal! Hope this works as well for you.
Fly Fishing in Chile is known for big brown trout taking big surface flies. This is especially true in the Coyhaique area of Southern Patagonia. Typically anglers thinking about Chile imagine the splashy rises of trout taking 2” – 3” imitations of Cantaria Beetle, the largest beetle in Chile. This season offers something new, potentially a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Quila Bamboo in the Paloma River Valley is seeding – an event that happens about every 15 years (estimated to take 60 years for the bloom to return to the same area). This “bloom” creates an explosion in the mouse population due to the abundance of food (Quila Seeds). This acute rise in rodent populations is a well-known phenomenon in South America, which has been scientifically documented since 1552.
Cinco Rios Chile is already exploiting the situation and catching large browns on mouse imitations, however owner Sebastian Galilea expects the fishing to peak in late February / early March when the rodent population is at its peak and the supply of Quila seeds has declined. Anyone who has fished the Arolik for Rainbows or Labrador for Brookies can testify to the voracious strikes on mice when skated over fish from an opposing bank or overhanging branch. The Paloma River, the Magote, the Rio Simpson, the Boca de Leon, and the Elizadle all have visible increases in the rodent populations and are proving productive when fished with a mouse imitation.
Cinco Rios – $3,675 US per person based on double occupancy & two anglers per guide
January 1 – 15 – 4 anglers
January 15 – 22 – 2 anglers
January 22 – 29 – 6 anglers
January 29 – February 19 – 2 anglers
February 26 – March 5 – 6 anglers
Paloma River Lodge – $3,250.00 US per person based on double occupancy & two anglers per guide
January 1 – February 12 – 8 anglers
February 12 – March 12 – 4 anglers
Cantaria Beetle of Southern Chile
Estancia del Zorro – $3,675 US per person based on double occupancy & two anglers per guide
While Cinco Rios’ sister lodge may not get to experience the boom in mice, the estancia is home to the famously productive Zorro spring creek. These are the last spots available for the 2010 – 2011 season:
Kevin Sheehan and his fiancée, Brenna Wiberg recently returned from a fabulous trip to Turneffe Island Resort the week of April 9 – 16, 2011. Kevin fished with veteran Turneffe guide Clinton Wade (a.k.a. KP), and landed 4 out of 6 permit hooked, including the beautiful 30 pounder pictured here!
Nice fish Kevin
Despite it still being early for tarpon on the Turneffe Atoll, KP managed to get Kevin into about a half dozen tarpon up to 80 pounds (he landed 3 including one to fill out a Grand Slam!).
Kevin spent some time chasing the bones, landing a bunch up to around 7 pounds, and devoted time to coaching Brenna (previously a non-fisherperson) into her first bonefish! (She fishes now!). AND, Kevin was perhaps most excited about seeing and hooking, not 1, not 2, but 3 of the extremely rare Turneffe Golden Bones (more on these guys in a future post). Only a handful of these are landed every year, and Kevin has vowed to get one on his next trip (which they’ve already booked – their honeymoon in 2012!).
The following recap of Angler Adventures owner Chip Bates’ trip to Turneffe Flats Resort appeared as a newsletter in September 2010. Kevin Sheehan’s recent report got us excited about the summer tarpon fishing on Turneffe Atoll as the numbers of large, migratory tarpon rapidly increase over the next few months. Enjoy!
My son Tyler wanted to catch a big Tarpon on a fly and I wanted to wade flats for Bonefish and Permit in case the Tarpon weren’t “on”. We had a week in August between Tyler’s summer job and school.
The Turneffe Islands have a migratory population of big Tarpon that usually arrive in May and remain through most of October. Bonefish and Permit are year round. On paper, it appeared that that Turneffe Flats Resort had what we were looking for. In reality, it was better than expected.
First, it’s great bonding to travel with your son. Because of his work and college schedule, we hadn’t done this since high school. Secondly, Tyler and I love the fishing lodge schedule: up early, eat, fish, eat, and to bed early. Well, that’s where we differ…at least I was in bed early.
We were assigned Dubs as our guide. Dubs is an upbeat, happy guy who takes his fishing seriously. The only disappointment of the trip was that neither of us landed a Permit. Not for lack of trying. We had multiple, if not dozens, of shots daily. We’ll save the Permit for another trip.
Chip's 8 lb Belize Bonefish
We warmed up on Bonefish and caught plenty. Turneffe Flats has some of the best wading anywhere, but we also poled some deeper flats for larger fish and caught bones up to 8 lbs. To me this was a delightful way to fill in the gaps between Tarpon and Permit.
One afternoon about 3:00 PM, Dubs suggested the tide was good for Tarpon. We motored back to a large creek, adjacent to the lodge, that connects the ocean to the lagoon. This creek is too deep to pole, but it’s crystal clear. As we approached the creek, Tyler spotted something break the surface at a distance.
We stopped and looked but could confirm nothing. We continued towards Dubs’ favorite Tarpon spot. Dubs dropped anchor and asked Tyler to cast his intermediate line perpendicular to the current, let the fly sink, then swing in the current on the retrieve. While Tyler was straightening his line, Dubs saw activity in the area we’d just come from. Next we saw two 100 lb Tarpon come completely airborne like dolphins at Sea World. Holy #$*@!, we all said in unison. Up came the anchor and we got our butts to that spot in a hurry. For the next 45 minutes it was mayhem. Big Tarpon everywhere around the boat, under the boat, airborne on both sides of the boat, all chasing big needlefish and ballyhoo. It was one of the most incredible sights I’ve seen in lifelong fishing career.
Bottom line: Tyler jumped 4 tarpon from 80 – 120 lbs. Every fish eventually threw the fly. The frenzy petered out just before dark. Time for dinner. Dubs said the tide would be good again in the morning. He wanted to be on water before sunrise.
Tyler, Dubs and a nice Tarpon
We got to Dubs’ favorite spot in the pre-dawn light. It was beautifully quiet and calm, except for the tide. Tyler straightened his line, ready to cast the black and purple Puglisi Tarpon Streamer tied on a circle hook, the same fly the 4 tarpon ate the day before. It wasn’t long before we saw Tarpon roll in the current left of the boat. One cast and Tyler was dancing with a tail walking Tarpon that again spit the fly.
Not being a fan of circle hooks, I suggested to Dubs that we change the fly. We selected the exact same pattern tied on an Owner Aki traditional bend hook. Tarpon remained active around the boat and it wasn’t long before Ty connected again. This time the fly held through the first jump, the second and third jumps. 30 minutes later we landed this gorgeous fish, estimated at 80 lbs.
The Tarpon had stopped rolling. We were back in time for breakfast, ready to sight fish for bones and permit the rest of the day.
Belize is a great destination for anglers traveling during the summer months due to its neo to sub-tropical climate, whose daytime temperatures only vary between 10 – 15 degrees over the course of a year. This consistency makes the fishing in Belize fairly predictable, as well as productive, each month of the year. The following write up by Doug Schink (doug@angleradventues.com) on Tarpon Caye Lodge recently appeared in The Angling Report.
Tarpon Caye is a 10-acre private island situated 15 miles east of Placencia, Belize in the area referred to as “Permit Alley”. The Caye takes its name from its tarpon lagoon that reliably holds a resident population of mid size (30 – 60 lbs.) tarpon. There are also some fair to good bonefish flats in the area, but permit is the main attraction at Tarpon Caye. On the top half of the tide, permit predictably flood the dozens of flats found within a 5 – 20 minute run of the Caye. These are skinny, gin-clear ocean water flats and dorsal as well as caudal fins are frequently out of the water. While you can skiff fish, it’s often more productive to wade these firm, shallow flats. It’s not unusual to have 20 or more legitimate shots over a tide.
Love at First Sight
Tarpon Caye Lodge is owned by “Permit Guru”, Charlie Leslie who has spent over 35 years guiding permit anglers on these flats. What distinguishes the fishing program from more conventional “8 to 4” lodge programs is that they will fish the tides. ‘We do fishing here’, is Charlie’s motto, and he means it. If you are there over a full or new moon, your highest tides occur during the middle of the day and thus the best permit fishing will be during the midday hours. However if your stay coincides with a quarter moon when low tide typically occurs around midday, Charlie will schedule “split day” fishing. For example, during these tides, you might fish from first light until the permit leave the flats with the falling tide, say from 5:30 to 8:30 am. You’ll then return to the lodge for a breakfast/brunch, and a siesta. Around 2:00 pm, you’ll head back out to meet the permit returning to the flats on the incoming tide, and fish until dark.
Accommodations are in basic but comfortable double occupancy cabañas on stilts, each with full tiled bath with hot and cold water and generated electricity. The clubhouse features the bar and dining room where guests enjoy libations and excellent meals featuring the freshest local seafood.
Tarpon Caye Lodge is competitively priced and is currently offering a special for 7 nights/6-days fishing for $1,999 per person double occupancy.
Permit Alley is a challenging fishery to be sure, but if stalking tailing permit on foot on gin-clear flats appeals to you, you owe it to yourself to take the challenge!
A great example comes from a group of ours that just got back from Grey’s Point Bonefish Inn, Acklins Island, Bahamas. There is something special about Bahamas bonefishing that isn’t found wading a flat or casting to tailing fish. The charm and arms wide open welcome of the Bahamas is even more apparent in the outer islands, like Acklins. Group member Alec Kempe was describing a photograph taken after dinner on their last night said, “Shirley gave a speech in which she quoted Shakespeare from Romeo & Juliet “Parting is such sweet sorrow”; Peter baked us a wonderful cake & as a finale, Peter, Lavanda (wonderful singing voice) & Shirley sung to us. What a great show of appreciation & warmth – really a nice family!”
That being said, the other reason to bonefish in the Bahamas is, well, BONEFISH!!! Here’s a nice “10-pounder” landed by Pierce Walmsely. Alec Kempe prefaced the image of Pierce’s bonefishng with “Lemon sharks & ‘cudas were all over us that day. Gator kept Lemons from eating this particular fish with some great pole-on-the-sharks-head work.”
The colors are another reason – photo credit Alec Kempe
Grey’s Point Bonefish Inn is one of the unique destinations where almost 100% of the fishing is done wading, unless you choose to fish from the skiff. Want more information on Grey’s Point or fishing the out islands of the Bahamas – call Angler Adventures at 800-628-1447 (860-434-9624) or drop us an email at info@angleradventures.com.
The Compleat Angler and Angler Adventures present “An Evening with Eve Reilly”. Eve has been the manager of the legendary Poronui Ranch for 18 years. Poronui, remotely located in the central part of the North Island of New Zealand, was recently voted by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 10 fly fishing destinations in the world, with a team of professional guides and convenient access to many of New Zealand’s best quality fishing waters.
Join Eve Reilly and Judy Hall for presentation and hear Eve’s masterful stories of the wily brown and rainbow trout fishing in the North Island (the ones that got away and the ones that didn’t). Judy and Eve are both keen fly fishers and outdoor enthusiasts. Please join us Monday, June 27th, 2011 at the Compleat Angler’s new location, 537 Post Road, Darien, CT, 7:00 PM.
We will have some nice raffle prizes, as well as offering anyone at the presentation who books a minimum 4-night/3-day fishing package November 1st – December 15th, 2011 at Poronui will get a FREE helicopter fly out during their stay!
For friends of Poronui and Angler Adventures, this is a great opportunity to catch up, talk fishing, and maybe win a raffle prize. Call or email The Compleat Angler or Angler Adventures to reserve a spot, seating is limited.
Gerhard Laubscher of FlyCastaway is visiting Angler Adventures in Connecticut next week and giving a couple of presentations about FlyCastaway’s cutting edge fishing operations on St. Brandon’s Atoll, Mauritius and Farquhar Atoll, Seychelles. Both destinations offer spectacular fisheries that get almost no fishing pressure due to their remote locations and are priced like rare commodities, adding exclusivity to both destinations attributes (Farquhar prices at $7,500 US and St. Brandon’s prices at 6,500 Euro).
To get started, here’s the guides report from the April 4 – 11, 2012 week at Farquhar that included one of our clients, Steve Gross, who was looking to tally up as many species as possible.
Like a tide eager to begin its initial surge, our new group of guests arrived on the shores of Farquhar champing at the bit to explore the multitude of flats and species Farquhar has on offer. After our customary quick briefing and some hasty rigging of tackle, the group which consisted of 9 men and one hard core fisherwoman set out to get a brief taste of what was in store for the rest of the week. The weather was set to be stable …we were hoping for an absolute cracker!
Yves quickly enticed his first Trigger to eat the fly. Jeff joining the action as he got stuck into a Milky as they are still here and feeding hard! Clare quickly showed the boys she was here to do business by landing the first GT, sadly her Dad. Finally after countless attempts, Wayne O finally managed to land his Trigger, which has been eluding him for years. And it didn’t end there for Wayne as he recorded our first Farquhar Slam, that being GT, a Bone and a Trigger in one day. Now that’s some serious angling and bragging rights!
But back to the rest of the week, the Milkies were still hanging around and after and epic battle, Alex landed his first Milky, awesome fish Alex! His action didn’t stop there either, he also managed to land a GT and a Bone in the same day, quite an achievement. Good fishing was being experienced by all, although we did have a fair number of large GTs lost due to hooks pulling and lines breaking. Clare however had the pink touch (literally), and landed another good GT. Things were heating up and the pressure was on to get the desired species.
Ian subsequently also made his way in to the record book by landing all three of the species and Yves just failing to qualify by losing his GT. Wayne, Dean and Jeff had one truly memorable day whereby they landed 5 GTs, although Wayne did get smoked by a Yellowfin Tuna which tore off 300m of backing in less than 20 seconds late in afternoon!
2 Slams in two days. Let’s make it 4 in three days. Dean and Jeff decided they also wanted a taste of that action and had no trouble landing a Trigger, a Bone and a GT. Piece of cake, all in a day’s work at the office….these were the comments around the dining room table each evening. Steve continued his species count and landed a truly impressive Napoleon.
Last day out on the flats and Ian once again showed his metal landing a 98cm GT which was the largest of the week. Jeff and Wayne muscled in some Bumphead Parrotfish, whilst Steve braved “THE WALK” and reaped the rewards, landing Bones, Bluefin and two Blackfin Sharks. It was really good to have Steve out fishing with us after months of preparations and planning!
An amazing week of fishing with 4 Farquhar Slams, 15 GTs, 6 Triggers, 2 Napoleons, some Bumpheads, a Milkfish and countless Bluefin, Grouper and Snapper. That is what Farquhar is all about!
The Seychelles became a bucket list destination because it’s a beautiful, remote destination with fantastic wading for bonefish on hard sand & coral flats and a variety of other species both on and off the flats that added depth to the fishery. Recently, a new fishing operation has opened on Farquhar Atoll, which has taken those credentials to the next level.
Beautiful and remote? Farquhar is called the “Jewel of the Seychelles” and considered to be the most beautiful island in the archipelago and also the southern most atoll (2 hour flight from Mahe). The staff and guests are the only people on the atoll, living in the islands only accommodations. Check.
Fantastic Bonefishing? The fishing is 100% wading. The average schooling bonefish is 4 – 6 pounds and there will be quite a few bonefish in the 6 – 8 pound range. Most anglers end up leaving the schools to find fish in single and doubles for a bit more of a challenge. Check.
Variety of Species? In addition to Bonefish, there are the normal fish you’d expect to see on a flat in the Seychelles: Shark, Barracuda, Snapper, Triggerfish, Trevally (including Giant Trevally), Milkfish, Napoleon Wrasse and Indo-Pacific Permit. The guides on Farquhar have also figured out how to catch Humphead Parrotfish, which were previously though to be uncatchable on the fly and become experts at targeting GT’s (Giant Trevally). You can also fish deeper water for Sailfish, several Grouper species, Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Job fish, and more. A client of our landed 18 different species on the fly…all with a floating line! Check.
This is truly one of the special fishing destinations in world, and the reservations book shows it – the first availability is for late-October 2013. If you’re interested in fishing Farquhar, we suggest getting started now. Like Farquhar, but more interested in Bonefishing? Check out Farquhar’s sister operation St. Brandon’s Atoll, which has better bonefishing with less variety.
#2 Simram fools 14 pound Bonefish & What’s New at North Riding Point Club
The bonefish in the photo above is a 14-pounder landed in February off the north shore of Grand Bahama. Carl Heilman, who landed this monster, also landed a tarpon (the group jumped 3 and landed 2). Chris Bamford landed the other tarpon, as well as the triggerfish, John Wilson jumped a tarpon and Scott Trerotola landed a 10 lb Mutton Snapper that was cruising behind a Ray. Each member of the group also landed several bonefish between 5 – 10 pounds.
Bill & Liz Aldendifer also had a fantastic trip to Grand Bahama. Together, they landed several fish in 7 – 8 pound range, a couple 9 pounders, a 10 pounder, and a 12 pounder on Bill’s birthday. Bill came close to having a 14+ pounder in hand, but lost it at the boat when the guide grabbed the leader. Bill, a permit aficionado, said that the 14+ pound bonefish fought harder than any permit he’s hooked, even his 30 pounder in Ascension Bay.
Paul Adams Takes Reigns at North Riding Point Club
Replacing Tim and Mercedes at North Riding Point Club (NRPC) is veteran lodge manager Paul Adams. Originally from Indiana, Paul was raised in the Bahamas, while his parents managed Deep Water Cay from 1976 – 1984. Paul attended school in McLeans Town, where he became friends with many of the famous Grand Bahama Guides, including NRPC head guide, Stanley Glinton, who taught Paul how to pole a skiff. Paul’s fly fishing instructor at an early age was none other than well known sportsman and author, AJ McClane. Paul and his wife Alison also managed Deep Water Cay for 8 years, from 1996 – 2004. Paul’s local knowledge, hands on management style and angling experience make him the perfect choice for this position.
New Hells Bay Marquesa Skiffs
North Riding Point Club (NRPC) has acquired 5 new 17-foot Hells Bay Marquesa Skiffs with 90 HP Yamaha 4-stroke outboards and new trailers. NRPC has also upgraded their fleet of vehicles with a couple of newer Ford Explorer SUVs. The boats are equipped with padded seats, leaning bar and power poles. The Hells Bay skiffs have been in use since January 2013 and clients and guides alike are raving about the comfort and speed, especially when making the run to Sale Cay.
For reservations, or more information, please call Angler Adventures at 800-628-1447 or 860-434-9624 or send us an email at info@angleradventures.com.
Paul Adams Takes Reigns at North Riding Point Club