February 26, 2003 .   We met our Turneffe Flats guide, Mark, at 8am and headed to Pelican Caye.   Along the way, I told him this was my first time saltwater fishing.   He said “No problem”.   I told him I had practiced casting but did not have a lot of accuracy past 50 feet.   He told me "You don't have to cast far, You just have to cast to the fish."  

 

We arrived at the caye, and waded towards the reef.   The water was warm and I could not help but laugh at the folks waist deep in snow back in West Yellowstone .   Instantly I realized I should have practiced more, but I held my own.   Mark did a wonderful job explaining the basics of bone fishing while constantly scanning the flats looking for tails and wakes.   I blew up a few schools before I got the hang of it.  

 

Around noon , we saw a school of about 30 tailing bones on the reef side of the island.   Slowly stalking towards the group, we got within 40 feet of them.   After making what seemed like 1000 casts, I finally made a cast that landed perfectly, but stripped too fast and they spooked.   I was ready to give up but Mark had us wait for them to calm down.   Sure enough, within ten minutes the school was back, eagerly feeding.   Again, I cast into the group and made a few slow, short strips.   Mark saw the line tighten and calmly said “Streep set”.   Fish on!   I could not believe the power on the other end on my line.   My fish was trying to keep up with the school and I was trying to keep my line under control.   Mark saw the need to step over and crank down my drag.   I fought this bonefish for what seemed like hours, but was closer to five minutes.   I finally landed him, removed the amber bitters, and took the obligatory photos.   I could not get rid of the ear to ear smile for the rest of the day.  

 

We fished hard for the next week.   I was amazed by the numbers and variety of fish we came across.   Many more bones were landed, but none will take the place of the first.    On the flight back to the states, I realized that flats fishing was much harder than I imagined, and so much more rewarding than I ever thought.   I can’t wait to get back there next year.