Monster Bone

These last few days have been Jim’s first experience with bonefishing. There have been frustrations, tangles, bad casts and all the rest that goes with chasing the ghosts of the flats. Today however is a day he will never forget. We were working an ocean flat on the incoming tide. The rest of the guys were going further toward the mangroves where it was getting a bit tricky wading with the mud. Jim’s first experience with wading in the mud was not a good one so he was not about to follow them. I pointed out a sand bar where he could wait and watch for fish coming in on the tide. He did just that and at one point was bending over slapping at the doctor fly’s on his lower leg. He was still bent over when he looked up and this huge bone was 20 feet in front of him. He stayed in that position and froze until the fish turned and moved a few feet away. The cast was short with one strip and the action began. I will go into more detail later regarding the humurous release and such but the fish was measured on his fly rod and a tape put to the rod back at Hank’s where it measured a whopping 41 inches. It was caught on a #2 pink rabbit w/rubber legs. When I tied it on this morning he looked at me as if I was nuts. He now thinks I should be canonized for saint hood.