# Just back from a little warm weather flats fishing



## DLJeffs (Oct 18, 2021)

Spent a week on the north end of Abaco chasing bonefish and whatever else we happened to see. Had some thunderstorms in the area for the first couple days but still managed to find fish every day. Sometimes they found us like this 7 ft lemon shark. I've always wanted to hook a spinner shark on fly and did that this time. It busted the handle off my fly reel. We found a few tarpon too and I jumped a 100lb'er, that was fun while it lasted. Oh, and I had a bonefish eat a big popper while I was chasing spinner sharks - that was a first. Man, that get away escape felt great.

Reactions: Like 4 | Way Cool 9 | +Karma 1


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## Mike Hill (Oct 18, 2021)

Danged, that looks to be a good sized bone!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## DLJeffs (Oct 18, 2021)

Mike Hill said:


> Danged, that looks to be a good sized bone!


I guess 6 - 7 lbs. Saw a few bigger. This area has a lot of bigger than average bonefish. I finally caught a spinner shark too. Probably 90 - 100lbs. Pretty cool shark, really sleek and fast, like a mako. I was trying to get one to come up for a big foam popper I had and these bonefish would come up chasing the popper. One finally ate the popper. That was a first. Besides, the popper barely fit in the bonefish's mouth. I'll get photos later.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Nature Man (Oct 18, 2021)

Looks like a great time had by all! Where is Abaco? Did you eat anything you caught? Chuck


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## DLJeffs (Oct 18, 2021)

Nature Man said:


> Looks like a great time had by all! Where is Abaco? Did you eat anything you caught? Chuck


Abaco is east and slightly north of Grand Bahamas. The north side got hit really hard by Hurricane Dorian. They had 3 feet of water for three days covering the town.

One of the guys had a little spinning rod and caught a nice grouper the second day and we ate that. We all landed a few pan size snapper one day so we had a snapper dinner. We had lobster one night; conch a couple times.

Reactions: Like 5 | Thank You! 1 | Way Cool 1


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## barry richardson (Oct 18, 2021)

Green with envy! Is a spinner good to eat like a mako?


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## Wildthings (Oct 19, 2021)

That first picture's quality is awesome!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mike Hill (Oct 19, 2021)

Have some friends that use to go down there for bones. They haven't been in a few years - think they're saving up for a Christmas Island Trip for bones and giant trevally. 

What rod and reel you use for the spinner?

Bones on a popper was like a trip I had near SanDestin where we caught redfish on topwater in 15' of black water.


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## DLJeffs (Oct 19, 2021)

barry richardson said:


> Green with envy! Is a spinner good to eat like a mako?


I don't know if spinners taste good or not. I haven't heard of many people eating them. We didn't.


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## DLJeffs (Oct 19, 2021)

Mike Hill said:


> Have some friends that use to go down there for bones. They haven't been in a few years - think they're saving up for a Christmas Island Trip for bones and giant trevally.
> 
> What rod and reel you use for the spinner?
> 
> Bones on a popper was like a trip I had near SanDestin where we caught redfish on topwater in 15' of black water.


Christmas Island is a fun trip. Long travel to get there, sometimes iffy flying Fiji Air (sometimes they fly, sometimes they don't). The GT fishing there is not what it's all cracked up to be in my experience. We saw maybe 4 or 5 over an entire week, caught one. Big milkfish are readily available and would be my choice for something other than bonefish there. Also the trigger fishing is better than anywhere else I've seen.

I used a 9wt for the spinner, with 40lb wire and a big deceiver. You can play a big fish on light rods as long as you point the rod straight at the fish and only use the butt section. If you put a big bend in a fly rod, you are putting barely any pressure on the fish. Opted not to bring a 10 wt. Wished I had for that tarpon though.

Reds are known for coming up for poppers, usually not in 15ft of water. I've seen bonefish popping floating crabs but never heard of one chasing a popper fly, especially one 3 inches long with a foam head that was almost an inch in diameter. It barely fit in the fish's mouth.

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## DLJeffs (Oct 19, 2021)

Got a couple pics of the spinner shark from my buddy. You can see how sleek and fast it is, different than the black tips we see on the flats. They have an iridescence when they turn in the light.

Reactions: Way Cool 4


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## Gdurfey (Oct 19, 2021)

Did you get to say hi to Flip while you were down there? Loved his show and the two brief encounters I had with him at Fly Fishing shows he seemed genuine.


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## DLJeffs (Oct 19, 2021)

Gdurfey said:


> Did you get to say hi to Flip while you were down there? Loved his show and the two brief encounters I had with him at Fly Fishing shows he seemed genuine.


Heh heh, no Flip wasn't there. He lives near Titusville in Florida and spends more time turkey hunting than fishing. I met him a few times when I tied flies for the Int'l Sportsmen Expos and you are correct, of all the "famous" people I met, Flip was the most genuine and humble, no put on airs about him. We tried to link up several times to fish but he was always off turkey hunting.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Gdurfey (Oct 19, 2021)

DLJeffs said:


> Heh heh, no Flip wasn't there. He lives near Titusville in Florida and spends more time turkey hunting than fishing. I met him a few times when I tied flies for the Int'l Sportsmen Expos and you are correct, of all the "famous" people I met, Flip was the most genuine and humble, no put on airs about him. We tried to link up several times to fish but he was always off turkey hunting.


I am not an autograph seeker, but I bought his coffee table book at one of the shows he was at and hesitantly asked for him to sign it. He graciously did so, but then he pointed to his wife and said she was in it and I got her signature as well. I also said I loved the episodes where they fished together!!!


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## Mike Hill (Oct 20, 2021)

DLJeffs said:


> They have an iridescence when they turn in the light.
> View attachment 217556


Would that be called Shark Chatoyance?

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## DLJeffs (Oct 20, 2021)

Gdurfey said:


> I am not an autograph seeker, but I bought his coffee table book at one of the shows he was at and hesitantly asked for him to sign it. He graciously did so, but then he pointed to his wife and said she was in it and I got her signature as well. I also said I loved the episodes where they fished together!!!


I think it's a sign of respect and approval when you ask an author, artist, quilter, etc. to autograph their work, especially if you've read the book and honestly liked it. Getting (or giving) an autograph just for the potential increase in value is the exact opposite.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## DLJeffs (Nov 22, 2021)

Just got back from Cuba. We booked this trip two years ago and had to complete it this year or loose our money. Since no flights from US, we had to fly to Toronto and then down to Cayo Coco. I have to say, the agents, hotel and security staff in Toronto were some of the rudest people I've ever met. And the systems and procedures they had in place for covid stuff and security checks were terribly inefficient. On the way home, 4 out of 11 of our group got "randomly selected" for an additional covid test (their procedure requires a test within 72 hours of arrival which we all already had in hand). Didn't matter that we were leaving again early the next morning. Oh well. The fishing was pretty good.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 4


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## Mike Hill (Nov 22, 2021)

Permit on the fly! I bow down! Crackerjack casting virtuoso!!
Grand slam?
Rosette spoonfuls - some of my favorite birds to see!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Great Post 1


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## Nature Man (Nov 22, 2021)

Incredible fishing, it appears! Probably a once in a lifetime trip! Congrats! Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mike Hill (Nov 23, 2021)

I've known a number of people who have frequently visited Cuba in the last few years, but no one who has fished. I had been wondering!


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## DLJeffs (Nov 23, 2021)

Mike Hill said:


> I've known a number of people who have frequently visited Cuba in the last few years, but no one who has fished. I had been wondering!


I caught a slam for the week, but not all on the same day. The day I got the permit I jumped a couple tarpon but didn't stay connected. I also jumped a snook that day but it was a complete surprise to all of us (guide included, just didn't expect to see a snook) and on a bonefish fly with 16# tippet so that didn't last long. Snook have sandpaper mouth like a tarpon. S'okay, I'm not that into records and slams and things.

The flats fishing in Cuba has been some of the best I've had in the last 5 years. It's not cheap to go there but the fishing is pretty darn good. If / when Cuba gets opened up and the casinos return, the fishing will most likely decline until it matches Florida now. Right now it's so tightly controlled it sees very low pressure.

Reactions: +Karma 1


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