- Ricky Sawyer poles from his platform, scanning the shallow Caribbean waters for the elusive silver-gray bonefish. (Ricky Sawyer Collection)
GREEN TURTLE CAY — “Two fish, 90 feet out. Two o’clock . . . 80 feet . . . 70. Go! Go!’’
I followed Ricky Sawyer’s directions. He was my fly-fishing guide and knows the waters around the cay better than anyone. With a shaking hand I swung progressively larger loops of fat fly line into the air, feeding it out to get my fly closer to the elusive bonefish, our targeted species.
“Lay it down now! Now!’’ Sawyer barked. I dropped the fly where he directed. I hadn’t yet seen the fish, which isn’t uncommon in bonefishing. Their silver-gray bodies blend into the ocean making them almost transparent. Often only the guide, who stands on the boat’s elevated platform, can spot the fish.
“Strip! Strip line!’’ I pulled a length of line from the rod’s base, dragging my fly toward me. My rod jolted with energy. The line became tight, rod flexed nearly in half, and the gears in my reel began to scream as cord peeled out. The fish nearly took my entire line.
It was the first hour of my first day of fishing on the trip.
After 20 minutes of tenuous reel adjustment, feeding line in and out, I pulled the four-pound bonefish into Sawyer’s boat. This was my first bonefish, fulfilling a desire to catch one that dates to when I was 8 and became obsessed with the creature after seeing it on the cover of Fly Fisherman magazine. Read more…
