Tracy&James | Thursday, 16 November 2017
Looking at the many FB posts recently from exotic shores has resulted in James and I discussing our target species for the next year as we’ve already booked to go back to the Bahamas in Spring 2018.
Primarily my target for our salt water trip is to catch a large shark, that is not just hook and play one (as I have previously done) but actually get it to shore and have a photo with it (and not lose it due to the leader being cut somehow). I also want a big barracuda; I have caught many small ones but have yet to hook and catch, what James calls, a decent sized one, typically above 10lbs. Once they get to this size they are extremely difficult as they’ve seen many lures and flies and have probably been caught more than once.
In order to catch either of these, I need to practice my ‘short’ casts with a big fly on a 10wt rod as generally the fish come in reasonably close and the first cast counts – they’ll either take it or ignore it (and maybe need a series of casts to entice them to take). I am pretty good with casting long distances with heavy flies, but those quick short casts with not much fly line and a wet chicken of a fly can be tricky especially when I get excited that there’s a potential to get a big fish. That’s when I can easily forget that the cast should be smooth and relaxed and I suddenly speed up and mess up the shot, which really annoys James as such opportunities are rare.
I also would love to catch a bonefish greater than 10lb (one that is actually 10lb+ and not a guide’s version of 10lb+ when they’re trying to impress their clients), however I’m just as happy chasing bones every day regardless of their size as they are so much fun to hook and play. They can move and change direction so quickly, playing a bone can be so exhilarating!
On another subject, that of roadkill as Gary wrote about earlier in the week, James and I once hit a very depressed deer whilst driving to a fishing spot at 4am. As it was 4am James was driving enthusiastically down a local country lane when we spotted a deer on our side of the road. We could see that it looked very sad and was clearly looking for an opportunity to end it all. James moved the car to the far side of the road to avoid a collision but the deer had other ideas, it made a full speed dash followed by a sprinters dip in order to get its head in front of the car. At least it was quick, and on the way back we noticed that someone had removed it from the verge where we left it, so hopefully the venison was good!
Have a good weekend, hope to see you at iFish if you’re going,
Tracy