Volrrnrc
-llrrr
yfii shrouRNAL
ill
/
"]t
1"'..
ul.,4i,'
i,
-i'W:
#
tavel BIG lN JAPAN kuana,Cigarettes, and Ultraman A d v e n t u r eM E X I C A N R O O S T E R D R E A M S a n d T c q u i l aS u n r i s e s AdventureTU N D RA C H I N OO l< and the Kings of Swing E s s a yl N G U I D E S W E T R U S T S h a r k W h i s p e r i n ag n dt h e W o r s tG u i d ei n t h e W o r l d
ffillilililililillllmn
L o c a l eN A T I V E V E R M O N T B R O O K I E S a n dW i s c o n s i nM u s k yM a d n e s s PLUS MensaTrout, YankeeBonitos,and Fu11-MooninqLocals
TH E ROAD OPEN WATER
TO H E LL
guide, continuedbeyondthe rod tip, andwasgoingand going (he was laughing and hollering) and everything
Words:Ton Keer
{ABoVE} Built for speed:Justin P r i b o n i ch o i s t i n go "Little Tunny" cought o t C h o p p o q u i d d i c ko n o windy, October doy ot Mortho's Vineyord. Photo: Dove Skok.
IN rHB FALL, New England saltwater anglershave many fish from which to choose. The regal striped bassis far and away the king of gamefish,owing to its size, cunning, and rich diversity of habitat. The cannibalistic bluefish, on the other hand, trades stealth for savagery,and also can be great fun on flies and in shallow water. Squeteague-Algonquin Indian for weakfish-are harder to come by, but casting a pink shrimp into eelgrassbeds can produce explosivetakes and high adventure.The relatively predictable false albacoreand their two or three long runs followed by a twisting death spiral becomerepetitive;they also taste like an old boot. But the one inshore quarry that really gets under an angler'sskin is the Atlantic bonito (Sardasarda):sleek,fast, unpredictable,and delicious as sashimi or on the grill. In many ways, they are the northeastfly fisher'sHoly Grail. It took a friend of mine two years of regular pursuit before he finally boated a fly caught bonito. The worst time was at the beginning of the secondyear. Along a reef not far from Wellfleet we saw the typical here-now-gone-in-a-flashsurfaceactivity of breaking "bones."The tide ran strong,rolling right overthe reef. The seamswere loadedwith small baitfish (silversides), which sprayedinto the air whenevertuna coursedunderneath. But after three hours of perfect casts,the once-happyboat stunk offrustration. I thought ofJohn Milton's famous line from ParadiseLost: "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." It's how bonito anglersbecomepossessed. At some point, my friend's line finally pausedand went tight, right before a bonito felt the fly and split. Line sprungfrom the deck,bouncedoffofhis stripping
r o 8 r H r F L Y F TJsoHu R N A L
was perfect, until a tangle brewed below in the windblown running line. A spaghetti-sizedknot passed through the first stripping guide, boggeddown at the second,and hit the snake guide like a fastball into a Chatham A's catcher'smitt. The line and rod responded by pulling straight,a few snakeguidespoppedfrom the blank, and the fish broke off before motoring into the horizon. Another few months of chasingfish, broken rods, and cursing passedbefore my friend caughthis first bonito, but it was worth the wait. Perhapswhat makes the green bonito the king of inshore hard tails is their unpredictability.With dark greenstripesrunning headto tail and black prisonbars running dorsal to ventral, their markings often appear as confused as their eating patterns. Or maybeit's as simple as them not having swim bladders,often rising and falling within the water column basedon the velocity of their tail propulsion.When you hold your first bonito, you'll notice the bullet-shapedfish feels and appearsdifferent, with firm flesh, not mushylike other fish, sharp,spiky teeth, pectoralrecesses for their fins, big, bright eyes,and luminescentflank coloration that often fadeswhen closeto death. The first fish of the seasonare traditionally caught off Martha's Vineyard (Hedgefencereef) in moderately deep water on trolled umbrella rigs-colorful surgical tubing on what looks like twisted metal coat hangers; think ofthat beforeyou chasethem with a fly rod and becomeanothervictim of bonito madness. Atlantic bones are the back-alley street fightersof our inshore waters. They aren't acrobats.They don't jump and thrash like bluefish.They don't bulldoglike the striped bass.But they get under your skin, often running deep into your backing before turning back toward the boat. Other times they stop and headshake trying to severyour tippet. I've even seenthem line wrap a bell buoy to avoid capture. The Atlantic bonito is a lean, mean marauderhappy to wreak havoc on the inshore angler'sequipment,patience,and psyche.It helpsto stick your rod tip andline deepin the ocean,then you'll havea chancewhen they run under the boat and head for the prop. The season is only a few short months, so savorthe late-summer victories while they're around. Becausethe wind and snowdrifts of winter-required respitefor a seasonof bonito mishaps and flashbacks-will be here before youknowit. -