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Belize
it!
Nada,
Nada! The tarpon win again...
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As I enter
the water I am again surprised how extremely hot it is. Not only body
temperature, but probably well beyond. The feeling is quite different, not
least because I am wearing shoes, socks and long legged trousers. Strange
but actually very comfortable.
I have seen fish right in front of me --
a school of shadows moving over the light coral sand and mud. Definitely
bonefish. The distance is probably less than 15 meters or about 45 feet,
but still I have to be extremely cautious. These fish are spooky like
nothing else.
Story by Martin
Joergensen. This story has several great pages, so be sure to click on the links in the box to the upper right to go through the story...
Cool,
clear water
Martin Joergensen photo
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My feet
in the warm water
Martin Joergensen photo
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Bounty
land
Martin Joergensen photo
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Good angle, bad distance
I prepare for a cast
working out line in a couple quick blind casts, estimating the distance,
shooting line and letting go. The fish are travelling from left to right
and while my angle is great, my distance is not. The fly falls more than a
meter or almost four feet short of the fishes' projected path.
Surprisingly they are not spooked, but continue their travel towards
deeper water. I carefully retrieve and make another cast.
This time I
am right on! The fly is light and sinks slowly towards the bottom about 30
centimeters or 1 foot down. One fish turns. Then two. Then a last one. I
strip carefully and they increase their pace, obviously competing for this
snack that literally dropped from heaven in front of them.
I take three
or four short, rapid strips and let the fly sink again. I cannot see the
fly, but see the first fish stopping and feel the contact. I slowly raise
my rod. Now the fish obviously feels it too. My line is on the water, but
only for a few seconds. Once again the force and speed surprises and
thrills me. All my casting line is gone in seconds. Not much later the
rest of the fly line is gone, and I hear the knot clicking through the
guides as the backing starts leaving the reel. The discrete sound of my
Waldron reel is soothing to the ears. And the fish still keeps
on...
Whoa!
Early
morning bonefish
Jan Jonassen photo
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A decent bone
Jan Jonassen photo
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Turbo charged
Bonefish are turbo charged! They
burst into speed and steadily accelerate into an amazing jolt of power and
velocity. It is equally pleasing every time, and I keep on finding myself
wishing for such fish in my home waters. Carp maybe, mullet perhaps, but
bonefish definitely!
The fish stops about 40-50 meters away. That is
close to 150 feet for the non-metric audience. And this is a small fish! I
gain some line, get it on the fly line and into about half of that before
it takes a typical second run for freedom. Not as long, but still
frightfully strong and fast.
I gain line again. This time I get almost
to the leader before the fish makes a few quick bucks, each time pulling
off a bit of line. It is wearing itself out. Within a minute I have it in
my hand.
Ghost of the flats it is, the bonefish.
A slender,
silver, soft-mouthed creature of great beauty. I tuck the rod under my
arm, unhook it and hold it for a few seconds before it slowly swims off to
join its brethren in the deeper water beyond.
The only substantial
evidence left is the slime on my stripping glove. No one was around to see
or photograph me. I am alone in what seems to be a tropical paradise.
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Mangrove spruce
Martin Joergensen photo
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Mini
mangrove tree
Martin Joergensen photo
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| Ambergris Caye,
Belize
I have been here for about a week, and can look forward
to one more week. The past days have been spent fishing from a boat for
tarpon and bonefish, but today we have chartered a boat to bring us to a
small peninsula close to the town San Pedro, and have been wadefishing all
day. The temperature is steadily rising, and now - around 1 in the
afternoon - it is as warm as it gets. If I look down, all I see is the
shadow of my Global FlyFisher cap.
Opposite most of the area and the
locations where we have fished bonefish the latest days, this place is
wadable, which feels great after having been limited to the narrow space
of a boat for days.
The peninsula is a part of Ambergris Caye and
island behind the barrier reef in Central American Belize. Ambergris Caye
is a paradise for those who want to enjoy diving and fishing, and even
though the tourism has definitely marked the island and its only town, San
Pedro, the ambience is still very Caribbean and laid back. We were there
in May, which is off season regarding general tourism, but in the high
season for fishing. The weather is agreeable, sunny but not extremely warm
and usually fairly calm.
Palm
Martin Joergensen
photo
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Happy me
Kim Rasmussen photo
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Kneeling
Kim Rasmussen photo
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Arial view
Martin Joergensen
photo
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