joshr
12-24-2005, 09:45 AM
Just got back from 4 days fishing with my father out of Nottage's Cottages (North Bight, just up the road from Tranquility Hill and AIBC...fished Middle Bight too a bit). Fished with guide Charley Neymour. What a trip! Despite very mediocre weather conditions (the previous week was spectacular of course....we had a series of weak fronts that made for lots of clouds), we caught a lot of bones, including some big boys and lost the fish of a lifetime.
Day 1 was sunny in the morning but we could see the front coming from the NW...slick calm morning...hit some 3-4 lb tailing fish right out front of the lodge to get warmed up....huge number of fish...very forgiving too! Then headed in to the bight...had maybe 10 fish by lunchtime, largest about 7 lbs. several 5-6 lbs. Saw a few double digit fish, but we weren't really big fish hunting on Day 1. After lunch, things pretty much shut down with crappy weather.
Day 2 was pretty cloudy, but we got lucky and had some nice windows of sunlight when there was weather all around us. Basic strategy was big fish hunting and when we saw smaller fish, my Dad would hop on the bow to take those shots. Saw some MONSTERS in the morning...I lined a pack of double digit fish (grrrrrr) and then got a nice shot at another pack of fish over 12 lbs....made a nice cast but a small fish raced out and grabbed the fly...damn! That said, a small fish in the N. Bight this time of year is 5 lbs! Then came the heartbreaker of a fishing lifetime:
We're poling along a light bottomed flat and a single big fish starts working its way towards us head-on at 12 o'clock...could see it coming from a couple hundred feet...I had no idea how big, but big. Charlie called for a long 70-80 foot cast when the fish was still 100 feet off...not much wind, so an easy cast. One strip and the fish rushed the fly, strip strike and the thing bolted out like a rocket...almost pulled the rod right out of my hand...line flew off the deck so freakin' fast and--alas--fly line wrapped around the butt of the rod and the FLY LINE snapped on impact with the sharp edge of the reel foot. Here's the real heartbreak, though: Charley said, "If you had caught that fish, we'd be heading in to call ESPN...I didn't say anything before you made the cast because I didn't want to get you all worked up, but that was the biggest fish I've seen in 4 or 5 years and probably the 2nd biggest fish ever hooked on my boat in 27 years of guiding." Of course I asked, "how big?" Charley said, "put it this way: we catch 15 lb fish here pretty regularly in the winter, and that fish was way bigger...maybe 18 lbs, definitely well over 16."
That moment the line wrapped the rod butt will haunt me for a while I guess...I'm keeping what's left of the flyline as a token. So if anyone sees a monster bone trailing 80 feet of Royal Wulff Bermuda Triangle Taper, that's my fish!
Anyway, we ended the day in a cove where wave after wave of 4 lbers were flushing out...Dad took the bow for a while play with these easier fish and had a ball catching one after another.
Day 3: worst weather day....strong north wind and clouds...yuck. Hit some 3-5 lbers in shallow protected slick water where we could see the pushes. Got a couple brief moments of visibility and stuck my first double digit bone--a 10 pounder on a tough cross wind cast that I felt good about.
Day 4: first off, my Dad took the bow for the first couple hours to hit some smaller tailers since we knew we were going big fish hunting once the sun got up, and he doiesn't really have the casting ability to target those fish. Late morning, headed to Middle Bight to hunt in 4-6 feet of water....visibility was bad...saw some BIG fish, but no real shots at them until early afternoon when I stuck a 10 or 11 lb fish that popped off. Had 2 permit rush the boat but not really a shot. Caught a few more 5-6 lbers while searching. Had to get off the water by 2:15 to run back and get to our charter flight in time.
So, overall, an amazing trip. Charlie is a GREAT guide and a plreasure to fish with. Nottages is a simple place on a beautiful setting right on the bight. We were the only people there! Good home-cooked seafood at night. Clean, simple motel style, rooms with A/C. We saw sveral double digit fish every day, and I can only imagine what the fishing must be like in good weather conditions when you have a full day of visibility...sick! Two experienced flats fisherman with good casting skills could easily catch 30-40 bones a day if they wanted numbers or if they wanted size, there's no question good casters would get a few double digit fish each in a week that time of year.
I can't believe I busted off a world record size monster, but still a great memory to have even seen, cast to, and hooked a fish like that.
Can't wait to get back!
--Josh
Day 1 was sunny in the morning but we could see the front coming from the NW...slick calm morning...hit some 3-4 lb tailing fish right out front of the lodge to get warmed up....huge number of fish...very forgiving too! Then headed in to the bight...had maybe 10 fish by lunchtime, largest about 7 lbs. several 5-6 lbs. Saw a few double digit fish, but we weren't really big fish hunting on Day 1. After lunch, things pretty much shut down with crappy weather.
Day 2 was pretty cloudy, but we got lucky and had some nice windows of sunlight when there was weather all around us. Basic strategy was big fish hunting and when we saw smaller fish, my Dad would hop on the bow to take those shots. Saw some MONSTERS in the morning...I lined a pack of double digit fish (grrrrrr) and then got a nice shot at another pack of fish over 12 lbs....made a nice cast but a small fish raced out and grabbed the fly...damn! That said, a small fish in the N. Bight this time of year is 5 lbs! Then came the heartbreaker of a fishing lifetime:
We're poling along a light bottomed flat and a single big fish starts working its way towards us head-on at 12 o'clock...could see it coming from a couple hundred feet...I had no idea how big, but big. Charlie called for a long 70-80 foot cast when the fish was still 100 feet off...not much wind, so an easy cast. One strip and the fish rushed the fly, strip strike and the thing bolted out like a rocket...almost pulled the rod right out of my hand...line flew off the deck so freakin' fast and--alas--fly line wrapped around the butt of the rod and the FLY LINE snapped on impact with the sharp edge of the reel foot. Here's the real heartbreak, though: Charley said, "If you had caught that fish, we'd be heading in to call ESPN...I didn't say anything before you made the cast because I didn't want to get you all worked up, but that was the biggest fish I've seen in 4 or 5 years and probably the 2nd biggest fish ever hooked on my boat in 27 years of guiding." Of course I asked, "how big?" Charley said, "put it this way: we catch 15 lb fish here pretty regularly in the winter, and that fish was way bigger...maybe 18 lbs, definitely well over 16."
That moment the line wrapped the rod butt will haunt me for a while I guess...I'm keeping what's left of the flyline as a token. So if anyone sees a monster bone trailing 80 feet of Royal Wulff Bermuda Triangle Taper, that's my fish!
Anyway, we ended the day in a cove where wave after wave of 4 lbers were flushing out...Dad took the bow for a while play with these easier fish and had a ball catching one after another.
Day 3: worst weather day....strong north wind and clouds...yuck. Hit some 3-5 lbers in shallow protected slick water where we could see the pushes. Got a couple brief moments of visibility and stuck my first double digit bone--a 10 pounder on a tough cross wind cast that I felt good about.
Day 4: first off, my Dad took the bow for the first couple hours to hit some smaller tailers since we knew we were going big fish hunting once the sun got up, and he doiesn't really have the casting ability to target those fish. Late morning, headed to Middle Bight to hunt in 4-6 feet of water....visibility was bad...saw some BIG fish, but no real shots at them until early afternoon when I stuck a 10 or 11 lb fish that popped off. Had 2 permit rush the boat but not really a shot. Caught a few more 5-6 lbers while searching. Had to get off the water by 2:15 to run back and get to our charter flight in time.
So, overall, an amazing trip. Charlie is a GREAT guide and a plreasure to fish with. Nottages is a simple place on a beautiful setting right on the bight. We were the only people there! Good home-cooked seafood at night. Clean, simple motel style, rooms with A/C. We saw sveral double digit fish every day, and I can only imagine what the fishing must be like in good weather conditions when you have a full day of visibility...sick! Two experienced flats fisherman with good casting skills could easily catch 30-40 bones a day if they wanted numbers or if they wanted size, there's no question good casters would get a few double digit fish each in a week that time of year.
I can't believe I busted off a world record size monster, but still a great memory to have even seen, cast to, and hooked a fish like that.
Can't wait to get back!
--Josh