Tarpon Season, Key West

Here’s a photo I came across from one of my old Key West files. This was taken six years ago at the height of tarpon season off Key West. That’s me posing with thirty pounds of a sixty pound male tarpon that had a bad day off the Marquesas. The other half of this fish was swimming towards Cuba, safely tucked away in the stomach of a twelve-foot hammerhead.

Every tarpon guide in Florida has photos like this. Shark attacks are part of the game down here, that’s because a struggling tarpon on the end of a fly rod is like a clanging dinner bell out on the flats. The amazing thing about this picture is that this particular tarpon wasn’t even hooked.

My angler, the incomparable tequila-meister, Mr. Jos Arets of Holland, and I were poling on the east end of the Marquesas when we saw a huge commotion about fifty yard off our bow. The tall, yellow fin was slashing back and forth so quickly that I could have water skied behind it. Big hammerheads on the flats are rare for most of the year but tarpon season is a different story. This one had slammed into a school of migrating fish and singled out the weakest one. The tarpon gave it his best for over a minute but the big shark kept pushing him shallower and shallower until it finally snagged his tail.

The final moments were an amazing few seconds of froth, mud, and then a plume of blood, which happened no less than ten yards from my bow. Jos even captured the entire attack on video. The shark tore the tarpon in half and left his front end floating at our feet. I pulled it onboard for a few quick shots, its gills were still moving, and dropped in back in the water so it could feed the rest of the food chain.

That was one of my best memories from my ten tarpon seasons in Key West. I’ve been away from it for the last four years and I’m looking forward to spending a few week back in the fray this coming Spring. If this is something you’d like to try feel free to contact me at a gmckee1@hotmail.com.

Slumpbuster!

I'll be the first to admit that I've been in a slump with bonefish recently. The damn things have eluded me so much lately that I've started to believe in unholy angling conspiracies. I've fished with great anglers during lousy weather and lousy anglers during great weather this month and I haven't landed a single bonefish in nearly two weeks.

Enough was enough and I finally had a day to myself and hiked down to Encampment Beach this morning. My favorite school of local bones was sitting there waiting for me in the high-tide surf and I hooked this fish on my third cast. He was a real turbocharged example of this species and nearly dumped my Sage 3400 reel of all its backing.

So the good news is that there are still catchable bonefish on Vieques. Fortunately or unfortunately, you might just have to hike down to the beach and go after them on your own.

Wahoo In The Rain

A rare day of steady rain didn't stop my buddy Capt. J Fergeson of Amity Charters from heading offshore out of Esperanza earlier this week. His group of three anglers from Indiana got into some excellent wahoo action and brought this nice twenty pounder for dinner. Wahoo are one of the best tasting fish in the ocean as well as one of the most exciting to catch. Their speed is unbelievable and I've never seen anything peel line of a reel quicker. Vieques is particularly good for whahoo right now and their cousin the kingfish. Capt. J is running the only dedicated offshore boat on the island so if you're looking to head out to the deep water and bring home something like this give him a call at (787)502-3839.

Key West Tarpon Season, 2009

Tarpon Season in Key West has always been a Three Ring Circus with the main acts being the fish, the anglers, and the guides. Put them all together for almost four months a year and it was an insanely entertaining and undisciplined time to be on the island. I was in the thick of this for ten years, fishing and guiding from 1995 to 2005, until I finally felt that the insane were overrun by the undisciplined.

When I left Key West for the unspoiled flats of Vieques I swore I’d never look back. Of course, looking back was the very first thing I did, and still do it every day down here. I constantly talk about Key West and compare it to Vieques on almost every single charter that I run. I’ve also been fortunate enough to get back to my old home island in the Keys a couple times each year and catch up with my buddies like Irish Kevin and Capt. Mike Bartlett.

So right now I’m in a position to be in Key West with my new flats boat by early May of this year, which is also the height of tarpon season. As of right now I’m open for guiding on the tarpon flats of Key West for at least five of the best weeks this coming Spring. The annual migration of these fish lasts until early July and most resident guides will be booked up well in advance for this. Since I’ll be booking these trips myself the rates will be $350 for a half day and $475 for a full day.

If anyone is interested in fishing Key West for the coming tarpon season please feel free to either call me at (787)435-4833 or shoot me an e-mail at gmckee1@hotmail.com.

Fifty Feet

In salt water fly fishing, a lot of folks will tell you that you need to make at least an eighty-foot cast in order to catch anything on the flats. You’ll read this in the magazines and hear it from a lot of saltwater guides. That’s a very demanding and discouraging requirement at the same time, but in my experience it’s simply not the case.

Probably ninety percent of the bonefish, tarpon, and permit I’ve caught over the years were hooked within forty feet of my boat. This is a cast that anyone can make. Even if you’ve never touched a fly rod before, a decent guide or instructor can get you casting out to forty feet within an hour. The trick is to do it quickly and accurately, and this is the part that takes a fair amount of practice.

In most bonefishing situations, from the time your guide first spots the fish until the moment the you’ll start your cast, the average time frame is around ten seconds. You’ll have the first five seconds to spot the target and the next five to get the fly in the water and in front of your fish. This is a really narrow window.

Here’s an exercise I want you to try if you’re thinking of coming down to Vieques or any other saltwater destination with the hopes of catching a bonefish on a fly rod. To do this exercise properly you’ll need a partner, a measuring tape, two paper plates, and a stopwatch.

First, take the paper plates and find an open space, preferably outside, and measure a straight line of fifty feet, placing one plate at each end of this line. String up your 7, 8, or 9 weight fly rod with a small bonefish pattern and stand on one plate. If you’re actually outside, start with the upwind plate and aim downwind.

Next, strip out at least eighty feet of fly line from your reel. Leave a rod’s length fly line, or about nine feet, hanging from the rod tip and hold just the fly in your opposite hand by the eye of its hook.

Have your partner hit the stopwatch and start counting out loud. At the same moment you’ll start your cast, aiming for the downwind plate. When the count hits “Five“ stop your false casting and present your fly.

So how close are you to your downwind target?

If you realistically want to catch a bonefish on a fly, in the conditions you’re going to find in the Caribbean this time of year, you should be within one foot of the plate. If you‘ve reached the plate then you‘re well ahead of the crowd. If not, you’re going to be seriously handicapped when it comes to bonefishing.

So what happens if you’ve been flailing away for hours and still can’t get to the plate in those five seconds? Well then it’s time to stop what you’re doing and get some instruction. This can be as simple as going to your nearest fly shop and asking someone to take a quick look at your cast out in the parking lot.

I’ve seen a lot of self taught anglers who’ve taught themselves some seriously bad habits. If you’re one of these folks you may be totally effective with a light rod on a small trout stream but it just won’t happen on the saltwater flats. After too many years, a weak backcast becomes part of your muscle memory and this is an amazingly hard habit to break. One quick hour of being taught the proper hauling technique, in a field or parking lot, will get you punching forty feet in no time.

This is not saying that saltwater anglers are better fly fishermen. I went out to the high mountain streams of Montana last summer and was a total disaster. Fifteen years on the salt turned me into a strip-striking brute and I broke off all but three fish I hooked that week. Different locations call for different disciplines. I spent a good deal of time that week on trout fishing and came up short. Don’t make the same mistake when you come down here after bonefish. Trust me, they’re much less forgiving. Learn that forty foot/five second cast and you’ll get more than your money’s worth from any Caribbean fly fishing vacation.

Adopt This Dog, Get Free Fishing

I stopped by our local Humane Society a few days ago to see my buddy Dr. Pedro Watlington, our San Juan based veterinarian who comes over to the island once a week. The Vieques Humane Society is one of the best examples of a bunch of people doing so much with so little. Currently, they’re overrun with puppies like Aleida, the little four-month old girl pictured here.

Every dog at the Vieques Humane Society is a sato, which is the Puerto Rican word for mutt. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no sweeter animal on the face of the Earth. Three years ago Amanda an I found our dog Maggie down here, and I‘ve written about her quite a lot. She’s more beautiful, clever, and loyal than any expensive purebred could ever hope to be, and I can’t even imagine life without her. Right now there are a couple dozen dogs just like her at the shelter and you folks coming down for a visit need to stop by and take a look.

The Vieques Humane Society exists on a shoestring budget. They care for all the lost, abused, and injured animals of this island that are lucky enough to be found in time. They also spay, neuter, and vaccinate every animal that comes to their door. A lot of cats and even some horses find safety here, too.

A couple times a year the island will hold benefits like art auctions or a chili cook-off and I always donate a fishing trip as a prize. Since the shelter is in a tough spot right now I‘m going to make that an open ended offer. If you come down to Vieques and take a dog home with you I’ll throw in a free half day bonefishing trip for two.

I normally charge $300 for a this. If you ask me, this is the ultimate win/win/win situation. You get a great dog and free fishing trip, the dog gets a new home, and I get to spend time on my boat with someone nice enough to come down and adopt one of our shelter’s homeless dogs.

Not much of an angler? No problem. I’ll still take two of you out for a great half-day sightseeing, snorkeling, and beachcombing tour. Some of the most stunning parts of Vieques, like the bay and reefs of Ensenada Honda, are only accessible by boat and I can easily get you to all of them with my flats skiff.

I’m fully aware that adopting a dog is, and should be, a major undertaking. You‘re basically adding a new member to your family. Some of you reading this may want to help but simply have no room for a dog. I understand and appreciate this, and you folks can get a fishing trip, too. Write a check for $500 to the Vieques Humane Society and you’ll get the same free half-day offer. That $500 will go farther than you’ll ever know and it’s also tax-deductible.

Yes, I know that $500 is a lot of money these days, but maybe Bill Gates is reading this. Open your checkbooks and help these animals out a little bit. Let’s face some facts here; no matter how bad things might seem with the recession, no one is going to go hungry, in both the States and here on Vieques. There are piles of money available for people, but these animals will suffer without our help.

We humans created the domestic dog for our own purposes; security, labor, companionship, and pure enjoyment. They do so much for us and all that we owe them in return is a loving home. So right now, Vieques is full of great dogs in need of a loving home. I already have one and will probably take a second pup back to the States later this spring. Do yourselves a favor and stop by the Vieques Humane Society while you’re down here. Say Hi to Dr. Pedro, Emily, or Aleida, and try to come up with a reason not to take one of those animals home with you. You can also go to their website at http://www.viequeshs.org/ and donate right there.

Crime On Vieques

This is a topic I’ve put off writing about for a while but it needs to be addressed, especially for those of you coming down for the first time. Vieques is just like any small town up in America. Our population is very friendly and welcoming to visitors. It essentially acts like one large, extended family but, like any big family, there are always a few black sheep.

Let’s start with the good news first. Violent crime on Vieques is exceptionally rare. Being mugged at gun or knife point is almost unheard of down here. Compared to the rest of the Caribbean or South Florida, Vieques is very safe. The small handful of criminals down here don’t want confrontations. The use of violence or a weapon will quickly draw the full attention of the police and since this is a small island, our cops know all the usual suspects. What tourists do need to deal with is petty theft.

It’s an established fact that we do have a problem with cars getting broken into, especially while parked at the beaches out in the Wildlife Refuge. Basically, if you leave your new camera on the passenger seat of your rental car while going for a swim, you’re asking for it to get stolen. Rental cars are easy to spot and the small group of thieves down here can pick one out easily. This is no different than any other tourist-heavy beach town. The same thing will happen from Cape Cod to the Florida Keys and it’s totally avoidable.

When I head to the beaches here on Vieques to do some fishing, everything I need, other than my rod and reel, is in my pockets. My driver’s license, cell phone, small digital camera, extra leaders, and a half dozen bonefish flies will all fit into a single zip-lock sandwich bag. A pair of forceps will be clipped to my belt loop and I‘m ready to go. I leave nothing of value in my Jeep, especially since it has no top or windows anyway. In fact, I purposely keep my Jeep full of beach sand and trash. This way the local thieves never know what unpleasant thing they’re going to find if they blindly start groping around under my seats. (Click here for a good story about that: http://www.viequesangler.com/2009/01/vieques-hitchhiker.html.)

Most of the rental cars on the island are some type of hard topped SUV, and even the new canvas top Jeep Wranglers can be fully enclosed. You should never lock these vehicles after you park them at the beaches. Even if you’ve paid attention and left nothing in them, a locked vehicle actually tells a thief is that something good might be in there. The nearest rock is all they need to find out that you were actually smart enough to take your valuables with you. Roll your windows down and leave the doors unlocked anytime you park at a beaches. This way you won’t come back to a smashed window and a $500 charge on your credit card to replace it.

Your rental house is a different story. This should be completely locked up and all of your belongings placed inside every time you leave. Again, this is no different than any other vacation spot up in the States. If you go out at night you should leave several lights on, and if you have a TV or radio leave that playing at a normal volume, too. Make the place look occupied but don’t get your neighbors mad at you while your doing it. Again, the thieves don’t want a confrontation and will avoid any place that looks like someone is home.

With all of that said, every once in a great while a tourist is confronted physically. This happened recently to one of my angler’s girlfriends while she was sitting alone at Sun Bay. From the account he told me, a local junkie threatened her with a screwdriver and made off with a camera and some money, but she wasn’t touched or hurt at all. The police were called and knew exactly who they were looking for and quickly rounded him up. Her belongings were not recovered but the junkie probably got slapped around a bit after they found him. Our cops are good like that.

In that situation down here, I’d recommend fighting back. If you’re confronted at the beach by someone with a screwdriver or anything else, grab a handful of sand and toss it in their face. Then start screaming profanities at the top of your lungs. The one thing to remember is that the vast majority of criminals anywhere, including the ones here on Vieques, are lazy and stupid. If they weren‘t, they’d be out working for a living and making a lot more money. Make it an effort for them to get to your stuff and they won’t bother trying in the first place.

After nearly five years of living down here, this is the first incident with a tourist that I’ve personally been close to. It’s a black eye for Vieques but fortunately this couple didn’t let it ruin their impression of our island. I can’t stress enough that violent crime is exceptionally rare and petty crime is easily avoidable. I won’t be the only person to tell you this but pay attention to it now and you’ll have a perfect vacation down here.

More Big Bonefish

Angler X is currently hiding from the Mafia in the Witness Protection Program, but that still didn't stop him from coming down to Vieques and landing this beautiful six pound bonefish.

Actually, this is an example of how not to frame a picture, but the fish was really nice so I'm posting it anyway. Most digital cameras, even the cheap ones, have a burst setting that will allow you to to take multiple pictures each second. If you use this when taking photos of anglers and their catch, one shot will usually turn out exactly right. And the real beauty of digital is that you're not wasting film. You can take fifty bad shots and just delete them right in the camera. This way you won't get stuck with photos like the one above.