Bonefish79

6 weight, although I often put a DT5 on them for trout or a 7wt intermediate for light salt.

Christmas morning 1978, just after sunrise, low tide, my buddy Tom and I were fishing our way up the outer sandbar on the Stuckeys Flat, MM 74 just below Islamorada. Way up the flat we noticed a few flashes just in front of the Stuckey's billboard, I figured it was sunlight reflecting off wet grass sticking above the surface. As we got closer we realized they were bonefish tailing. It took another five minutes to move closer, by that time there were several hundred of them, tails everywhere in about a foot of water. At about 60 feet out Tom counted 1-2-3 and we both cast. We both dropped flies in front of the nearest fish and they jumped on them. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then the fish bolted into the middle of the school. Sounded like a bomb went off as the whole school spooked, fly reels were screaming, fish running into our lines and then silence as we both got broken off.

Ok, time to fess up. I've been throwing flies at trout for close to 50 years now and can confidently say I've never caught a trout on a traditional "Catskill" dry fly, although I've tied them for years and carry a box full of them in my kit every time I'm on a stream. I've caught plenty on terrestrials and caddis', but none on "dries". My early learning was on the streams of south central PA, Falling Springs, Yellow Breeches and Letort and those are terrestrial rich streams, and we did what folks are now calling Euro nymphing (sans bobber, we just learned to watch the line) so we never needed dries. Now I'm into soft hackles about 90% of the time and a few little blue lines that are full of native brook trout (terrestrials again), but I may have to force myself to catch at least one on a dry before I'm done.

No, nice and simple. We've got a little stream down here with natural browns and they love them. Too tight to fish with a fly rod but a 5' ultralight and 2 lb test line was deadly.

I always liked the plain old Hildebrandt Flicker Spinners.

Live shrimp or a small white bucktail. The Keys bones are suckers for those, the Aruba bones should be too.

That photo of Sarah unhooking the red is amazing, what a great day on the water.

Jim, A buddy and I basically stumbled onto the place back in high school days and were shocked to find wild browns way up and browns and rainbows down below, the fall line at Rt. 29 is a wild place. With the exception of the stretch inside the old NOL property I've fished every foot of it, from the beaver dams way up in Montgomery County down to the Anacostia, quite surprising the variety of fish in there. I haven't fished the upper since they put the ICC through, can't imagine that didn't hurt it. We're looking forward to getting out of Maryland ourselves. Sorry for the hijack NJsurfer.

Hey Jim, if you're at all familiar with Paint Branch we need to talk about it over a beer sometime. I started fishing the upper reaches back in the early 70's and had a house on the lower section in the 80's and 90's. Quite a sleeper, that stream is, and not too many people have explored it. Doug

It's getting kind of late in the year, but the Potomac is real close to Bethesda. Check out the Carderock Recreation Area or Old Anglers Inn on Google Maps, probably the best and easiest area for access. There are hiking trails and the C&O Canal that parallel the river for miles, so do a bit of hiking and pick the kind of water you want to fish. Water temp is down to 48 degrees, so it's gonna be tough. I fish a spinning rod and jigs/ plastics this time of year hoping for a walleye. It's a beautiful area no matter what.

Funny, the cast is what I've always enjoyed most. I'm almost to the point of cutting the bend off my hooks, the strike is just so cool when you're swinging flies, that's enough for me.

Good looking stream. I did the same thing, woke up thinking about a little rod I hadn't fished in a long time and spent a few hours on my local stream swinging soft hackles. Nice time of year to be out.

Layla. I copied the album onto CD and left Layla off, so satisfying.

I was gifted a couple of bamboo fly rods that the owner says were from the '20's but I can't verify that. My oldest that I can verify is a Heddon Black Beauty #17 bamboo fly rod that was built the year I was born, 1954, still tight, original wraps, cool rod.

Here's one, my FIL on, I believe, a '37