Thursday, May 31, 2007

Bonefishing in Mayaguana - 2007

Curtis Creek, Mayaguana Bahamas
I've decided to blog some highlights of my trip to Mayaguana. I am creating an annotated gallery to include all photography. When that's done, I'll post a link. Until then, I'll start with what this trip was all about: bonefish!

Bonefish - Mayaguana 2007
This fine specimen ate my #4 deep water shrimp fly, which is a variation of a Gotcha. Notice how it matches it's habitat, and it's hydrodynamic shape. They're like underwater cruise missiles. They race away with your fly at up to 32 feet per second. On the first run, that can be hundreds of yards. That is only part of the thrill.

Bonefish - Mayaguana 2007 - Grey Ghost of the flats
Bonefishing is hunting. There are no blind casts. You have to find the fish and present the fly in a way that does not spook this extremely wary fish. It takes nothing to spook them right off of the shallow water flats where they feed. This means that seeing them before they see you is critical. (On this trip, we waded.) Notice the chrome sides. They reflect the bottom so perfectly that often their shadow is the first thing you notice. This is not the bait soaking, gear chunking fishing. It's an active hunt and stalk.

Bonefish - Mayaguana 2007 - Release
All the bonefish we caught were handled gently and quickly released unharmed. It is best to keep them in the water while you remove the fly and take a quick photo. (My father shot the bonefish pictures.) This particular fish was caught and released on a Curtis Creek flat on a day where we had wind gusting to 25 mph and torrential downpours. I was lucky to spot and seduce this fish in a small window of sunlight. The wind, however, never let up. It took some stealth stalking in order to position myself upwind and present the fly to the fish. That is what bonefishing is all about. More to come, as I have time to upload and write...

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Back from an adventure


Back from an adventure, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

I'm back from a pretty rough fly fishing adventure on Mayaguana (a very small island of the Bahamas). I have lots of pictures and thoughts to process, but I will post a gallery soon. We had good fishing on a few days in spite of the weather...more on that later.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Hatched


Hatched, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

Looks like three of them hatched. Here is the mother on the nest. I'll post another picture when I'm back from Mayaguana. I hope there will be three feathered babies to show off.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

The Shining Cuckoo Clock


Here's Johnny!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Oh, right...it's noon. All work and no play... Yeah, you get it. Link

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Slow Week - Mayaguana in 4 Days

I haven't been doing that much this week besides working on the bass boat (more on that later) and preparing for my trip to Mayaguana. I'm meeting my father there to do some fly fishing for bonefish. I practically grew up with a fishing rod in my hands, and I started fly fishing exclusively almost 10 years ago. I caught my first bonefish on the fly two years ago on Cat Island in the Bahamas and I've been hoping to return to spend more time wading the flats in pursuit of these wary fish. Hopefully the weather will be partly to mostly perfectly cloudy.

Things will continue to be slow here until after Memorial Day. After that, you can expect lots of photos and video from the trip. Speaking of fly fishing, here's a creation I tied myself for winter redfish in Homosassa, FL.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Video Friday: The Tortoise and the Hair Cat


IN UR YARD, BITIN' UR KITTAH!!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

A Misfit


Sawyer on the Scotty Bed, originally uploaded by Lallee.

My parents recently adopted this yellow lab. His name is Sawyer and he actually has a bed that is big enough for him. It wasn't in the right room, so he made do.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Front Porch Nest


Nesting, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

I've been meaning to photograph this cardinal's nest on my front porch for a few weeks. The pictures isn't the greatest, but it was cold and very windy this morning. I didn't want to get too close and cause her to leave the eggs. I'll try to get a quick picture of the eggs when she's gone.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Cockpit


Cockpit, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Floppy the Moth


Floppy the Moth, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

This moth somehow ended up on my enclosed back porch. He doesn't seem to work right and just flops around (hence his name). I carefully moved him into my garage so that if he musters up some strength tonight, he can leave and go on with it's journey to find a sexy mate. Fly on Floppy, fly on.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Explore


Explore, originally uploaded by michael rupert.

Hopefully I'll be doing a lot of this over the weekend.