MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
I did a recent podcast, and we got in to the topic of fishing for Permit ( you can listen to it here if you feel inclined……https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/remote-no-pressure-fly-fishing-podcast/e/66863900?autoplay=true). I was making the point that in order to keep your sanity, you have to get beyond thinking that the only measure of success was catching one. Dylan at Fly Water thought I should do a short post about how this relates to flats fish in general, so here goes.
BONEFISH: If you are new to Bonefishing, and going on one of your first trips, rest easy. Practice your casting, cast at targets, and once on the flats listen to your guide. Breath deep, and do what you know how to do. Land the fly in front of the fish, strip, strip strip……Chances are very good that you will hook a good number of fish, and even land some.
PERMIT: This is where you have to step things up!! Everyone wants to land a Permit, but ask your fly fishing friends how many Permit they have landed, or for that matter even hooked. It is tough, enough so that it can make anglers go partially insane. Here is my advice. Look for your measure of success to be enticing a Permit, to notice, and then follow your fly. Think about it. Everything can go wrong before this happens. The Permit can blast off the flat for no apparent reason, it can spook from the shadow of the boat or your line in the air. It can freak out when your fly lands, and go batshit crazy when it sees a glint of flash from your leader. The Permit game is about numbers….chances. If your chances turn in to follows, all you have to do is find a fish willing to eat.
TARPON: Tarpon, in many places around the world, are pretty willing fish. Most times, getting them to eat is not the problem. That said, things can go mighty wrong in the first 20 seconds after megalops inhales your fly. There are few fish that make things so difficult immediately. They have hard mouths, so anglers have to strip set. Then, Tarpon almost always jump, and you are supposed to “bow.” Yeah, good luck with that. And then, they take off and all of that line you have on the deck starts jumping high in the air, often tangling around the reel or rod butt. It can be a total shit-show, but man is it worth it. I once had a guest on a Cuba trip say she was disappointed in the Tarpon fishing. I said, “have you hooked any yet?” And she answered, '“Twelve! But I haven’t landed any!” Again, manage your expectations. The hardest part of landing a Tarpon is managing those first few seconds. If you can stay calm, and do enough right to get one on the reel, your chances of landing it go from 20% to about 70% I would say.