Ah, the family/group vacation. For some it conjures images akin to the Griswolds on their hapless voyage across the continent. For others, like myself, the memories are mostly good ones. I mean, there was that time I nearly died in the Smokies of a migraine so severe it was suspected of being a brain tumor. And there was the time everyone on the deep sea fishing boat got sick. Oh, and yeah, there was that first manic roadtrip to Yellowstone when all my closest friends became my bitterest enemies at various points depending on our blood-caffeine levels and body odor. But, mostly, the memories are good ones. I went on such a trip last week, and indeed most of the memories are good ones. In time, I’ll forget the ridiculous heat, humidity and crowds and just remember that first fly-caught saltwater fish.

The plan was to spend a week with family and friends, thirteen of us in all, in Destin, FL. A few of us schemed that we could fit in a bit of fishing early in the mornings. We spent our first day gearing up. I bought a TFO Pro Series 9′ 8wt rod, a Lamson Konic reel, and a matching Scientific Anglers Saltwater fly line. I had long planned to buy such an outfit for a future trip to the Keys. All componenents worked beautifully. I was really impressed with the rod and line combination. For one with my poor casting skills, I certainly could work out some line, given enough backcasting room. I’ve used Lamson reels before, and I’ve liked every one I’ve tried. The next morning we were ready to hit the water.

Go ahead and laugh. I know this is perhaps the worst photo I've ever taken. I look bald and toothless. Still, it does document my first saltwater fly rod catch. Photo courtesy my brother's cell phone.

It was hot. Damned hot. And humid. We got up at dawn three straight mornings, and it was already hot. It was difficult to tell when the sun actually rose above the horizon. The days just oozed into being, with everything, the air, the water, your skin, moving through progressively cleaner pastels until suddenly you realized the sun was high in the sky, and you were experiencing dehydration and possible heat stroke.

The first two mornings found us fishing shallow flats and inlets that we could reach from shore. We spotted no redfish. Occasional schools of baitfish scattered chased by schools of bigger fish. On the second morning I caught two ladyfish on my fly rod, my first two saltwater fish on the fly. Later we discovered that ladyfish are generally considered “trash fish,” but at the time they sure were fun. In fact, I’d go so far as to say they are excellent and perhaps underappreciated fly rod quarry. But, then again, I don’t know jack about fly fishing saltwater. They aren’t supposed to be challenging, but they sure seemed picky to us. A couple casts over them, and they moved far out of range. Of course, my poor casting skills might have played a part there. Fortunately, the casting has improved to the “Hellaciously Sucky” level, so that I was able to net at least those two fish. I think that, maybe, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll always be a sucky caster and fisherman in general. That’s not to say I’m happy that I have trouble catching the trash fish of the open seas. It’s just that I’ve come to accept it, and I’ll forge ahead, grimly, occasionally engaging in a bit of healthy self-deprecation. There was some satisfaction in that none of the other three guys caught anything at all, and they were using conventional casting gear.

We spent the rest of our fishing time dangling bait off the fishing pier in Ft. Walton. I can’t say I enjoy this type of fishing, but it does have its charms. I borrowed a rod, and I found that I constantly battled the fear that I would toss the whole rig off the pier with every cast. There might have been some sort of fear of heights causing it. I’m not generally scared of heights, but there’s just something strange about fishing 20-30ft above the water that I couldn’t quite get comfortable with. Have you ever seen a giant manta ray ghosting through clear water under the lights of a fishing pier on a still, muggy summer night? I’m talking a really big sucker. Looked like it might have gone a couple hundred pounds. No? Well, it’s pretty cool, especially when the fish aren’t biting, you’re bored out of your mind, and you had just been staring into the water far below wondering how you’d react if you fell in. I decided I’d die of a heart attack before hitting the water. In the end, we caught a dozen or so smallish fish of various species, none of them noteworthy, although I’m sure they’d argue the point.

The middle of our days were spent lounging on the beach. I stayed in the water as much as possible because it was the only place where I didn’t feel as if I was being boiled alive. We tried several restaurants. I highly recommend the buffet at Captain Kidd’s, and McGuire’s Irish Pub was pretty cool (found a nice Islay Scotch in their liquor store). Most every night found a few of us on the beach. My brother and I smoked a cigar every evening and even pulled out some bourbon one night. We often watched our friend Chad chasing sand fleas, which he planned to use for bait. On night we got in on the action. I had a heck of a time trying to keep my cigar dry while digging for sand fleas, but I managed. It ended up being a real slaughter. We must have caught 10 lbs of the things. Sand fleas, by the way, are sand-burrowing creatures of obviously extraterrestrial origin which are difficult to figure out how to place on a hook, and no fish will bite them anyway when dangled off a pier in the middle of the night.

After returning home, I sat out back smoking one of the few remaining cigars (a Rocky Patel Decade – perhaps the best cigar I’ve ever smoked) and watching the sky turn melon-colored, as Jacqulyn described it. It was hot and humid, but finally cooling a bit as night approached. I thought I’d like to be back down there, sweating and sticky, with more time to figure out those fish. Maybe next year…

Take care,
Nathan

Tags: beach, cigars, fly fishing, hot, humid, ladyfish, saltwater, sand fleas

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Fly Fishing, Trip Reports. The author is Nathan Kennedy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.