In my Florida flats fishing days, I depended on an Adios. Made by Diablo Paddlesports, it is a hybrid craft, a cross between a paddleboard and a SOT kayak. It served me well, taking me to tarpon, redfish, pompano, snook and spotted seatrout. Not sure it is still in production? But if you’re looking for a shallow water, stealthy, stable, sight-fishing flats machine, this baby shines.
If you relatively new to securing a kayak on your car’s roof, allow me to offer a tip. Years ago, while living in Florida, I used my kayak nearly each single day for years. Naturally I wanted to get to the water as early as possible. Hey fishing is fishing. To avoid a rush in the morning, typically I secured the board on the car’s roof the night before. It was a great time saver. And since I lived in a gated community theft was unlikely.
In the process, however, I quickly learned something very important. The drop in air temperature overnight, while not huge, was enough to cause my kayak to shrink a smidge. And in turn the straps were no longer real tight. Now I was lucky. The ramp was less than a mile away on a 25 mile per hour side street. But if I had to go out on the main road, loose straps could cause a real problem.
Always check your kayak straps in the morning. Make it standard procedure. Believe me. And the same goes for mounting a canoe on top of the car as well. Check it. And if I was planning on going out on the main road, where the speed limit was 55, I also did something else. In the photo there are no lines off the bow or the transom. Those lines became standard procedure too.
My first post on the importance of caddis pupae goes back some 14 years ago. True. And I still feel they are one of the most valuable flies in your bag of trout tricks. Okay, I’ll even take it a step farther – I’m referring to bead-head caddis pupae.
Getting the materials Ready
Why caddis pupae? They are the majority of hatches you see on most streams. And they span the entire year. Now your collection of caddis pupae should come in wide range of sizes. Likely from size 10# on down to size 24#. So you’ll need a range of hooks and beads to match.
A Wide Range of Sizes
Spring weather in New England can be a roller coaster ride. No question. What is the old adage? “If you don’t like the weather just wait a minute.” Still I think our weather so far in 2025 has been weird.
Back in late May a Nor’easter hit! Really? Given that Nor’easter are fall and winter events, that’s strange. On the Thursday prior to Memorial Day weekend, we only had highs in the 40’s, with heavy rain driven by powerful winds. That broke a century old record! People were walking around with winter jackets on in late May. About a month later, Connecticut got hit with just the opposite – a record breaking 4-day heat wave! And get this, we had a period of 21 out of 25 weekends with rain! What’s next?
Without a doubt, this is my biggest bonefish. From the tip to tail, it measured at least 30″, and I figure it weighed around 10 pounds. The location you ask? Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas. It’s a 3 mile long barrier island to the immediate east of Great Abaco. Very peaceful, very laid-back, just you the sun and the sea. Perhaps the busiest sightseeing spot on the island is Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar, home to the legendary Goombay Smash, a high octane rum based drink capable of making you forget your name.
Now before we go any farther, let me set the record straight. I don’t have oodles of experience at chasing bones. Four trips maybe? Not because I don’t love it, mind you. You need deep pockets for this game. Just a fact of life, bonefishing isn’t cheap. And no matter how much moola you drop, be prepared for the possibility you hit a week of high wind, and see very few bones. It can happen.
On this particular day, I had hired a guide for a half-day on the water. It was morning, overcast, wind reasonably light, and the tide arriving. We fished a large flat inside a bay, open at one end to the sea . In fact you could see breakers entering. As we neared the far end of the flat, the guide yelled “big bone coming”. I looked and spotted a shadow that seemed too big for a bone. I actually thought it was small shark. But as it neared, I dropped a fly in front of it. Wham, hookup! That bad boy took off like lightening, streaking across the flat toward the mouth of bay, desperate to reach open water. It was quite a battle on a 7- weight fly rod, but all ended well. Yes, time for a Goombay Smash.
