I woke to clear skies on our first morning at the Palometa Club and though it was still dark out, anticipation and humidity were heavy in the air. Even though we had readied gear the night before, putting fly rods put together, tying fresh leaders and fingered through each others fly boxes to point out favorite crab and shrimp patterns, everyone was up before breakfast to double (and triple) check things. We were all ready to get out on Ascension Bay to look for permit, bonefish and whatever else might eat a fly.
My roomie Matt and I were paired with guides Carlos and Sami on the first day and since Matt hadn't ever caught a bonefish, and I really hadn't caught all that many either, we decided to ease into what would become a typically tough week of permit angling with a full day of bonefish.
We motored to a couple mangrove flats picking off a bonefish here and there and then moved to another area where Matt and Sami got out on a huge shallow white sand flat while Carlos and I went across to the other side of the flat. The boat was anchored and we began slowly and methodically walking through the skinny water. We found several large groups of bonefish which numbered in the hundreds. They created tiny ripples on the water as they moved as a group from right to left and then suddenly, for seemingly no reason at all, they would abruptly turn and swim away from where we stood still waiting on them.
My roomie Matt and I were paired with guides Carlos and Sami on the first day and since Matt hadn't ever caught a bonefish, and I really hadn't caught all that many either, we decided to ease into what would become a typically tough week of permit angling with a full day of bonefish.
We motored to a couple mangrove flats picking off a bonefish here and there and then moved to another area where Matt and Sami got out on a huge shallow white sand flat while Carlos and I went across to the other side of the flat. The boat was anchored and we began slowly and methodically walking through the skinny water. We found several large groups of bonefish which numbered in the hundreds. They created tiny ripples on the water as they moved as a group from right to left and then suddenly, for seemingly no reason at all, they would abruptly turn and swim away from where we stood still waiting on them.
The morning turned to afternoon and after a quick lunch at the boat, we again went in different directions on a long walk around the flats. None of the bonefish caught (or even seen) were all that large but it was still a great day to work on shallow water presentations and intercepting singles, doubles and feeding groups. Having a kind of leisure day full of light and little wind was a stellar welcome to Ascension Bay.
A quick gear note to mention that the Swift Fly Fishing Epic 686, which was paired with a Hatch Outdoors 5 Plus and a Scientific Anglers Amplitude Bonefish fly line, were perfect for this day of bonefish. These fish in skinny water required a long light delivery which was ideal for this six weight fly rod outfit. The Epic 686 is my new favorite bonefish fly rod for these kind of situations.
Want to visit The Palometa Club? They are running several different travel specials right now for both spring and summer trips. Follow along the latest lodge news (with a heavy dose of permit photos) on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
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