Bonefish & breathtaking beauty
Bonefish & breathtaking beauty
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By John Gifford
Published: December 30, 2007
LONG ISLAND, BAHAMAS — It was the one day I had forgotten my rain gear, and on this day I needed it.
Falling first as sprinkles and progressing into a genuine tropical storm, the rain was now overwhelming the bilge pump of the skiff in which I was standing.Advertisement
The most beautiful island in the world
Christopher Columbus made Long Island his third stop, after San Salvador and Rum Cay, on his famous 1492 journey.
So enamored was the explorer that he called Long Island "the most beautiful island in the world,” naming it "Fernandina” after his mentor in Spain.
It may well be.
Bisected by the Tropic of Cancer, Long Island spans some 60 miles in length, while measuring no more than four miles at its widest point.
Though its Caribbean shoreline consists of seemingly endless miles of white sand flats and calm waters, the island's eastern side features rugged hills and dramatic bluffs overlooking quiet bays, deserted beaches and the blue Atlantic.
In one such bay, near the settlement of Dean's, you'll find the world's deepest blue hole.
This 663-foot cavern, as well as the surrounding waters and reefs, appeal to SCUBA divers and snorklers, while the island itself is quaint, quiet, and ideal for biking and birding.
A shade of blue for every day of the week
Having planned my trip to Long Island a year earlier, I thought often of the myriad scenic images I would witness as I pursued bonefish. I wasn't disappointed.
Leaving the lodge each morning, Dwayne would run the skiff across a large deserted bay and into the backcountry.
There, following the languid channels, he used his intricate knowledge of this tropical wilderness to guide us past small, unnamed cays and desolate shorelines of white sand and mangrove jungle.
As the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, the water's transformation of color became obvious.
Each bend produced a new and deeper shade of green or blue. Watching fish scoot away from the oncoming skiff, we entered a funnel of sheer limestone bluffs on either shoreline.
At this point, the bottom fell away, turning the water from emerald to indigo.
And on the horizon ahead we could see yet another progression of blue, deeper and darker, with the pelagic species of marlin and wahoo and tunas lurking just beyond in the open sea.
Turtle Rock
Dwayne waited for a day when the tide was just right to take me to Turtle Rock.
All week he had talked about this place – a simple coral formation, the size of a school bus, sticking up out of the shallow water, and nothing else around for as far as the eyes can see. And he was right.
He told me that on his last visit here, he had to leave because there were too many sharks. On the day he took me to Turtle Rock, there were no sharks, but lots of barracudas, and bonefish.
After catching two or three bones, I walked back to the boat, deposited my fly rod and picked up my camera. The scenery here was just too unbelievable to ignore.
Turtle Rock is genuinely remote and wild. I needed only to look over at the school of bonefish to remind myself of this.
The bones were surrounded by a pack of hungry barracudas, which were taking turns streaking through the school, teeth cutting, their flanks silver blurs of flashing muscle.
"Cudas like de bones, mon,” said Dwayne.
Overhead, the gulls (the laughing birds, as Dwayne calls them) floated on the warm, oceanic thermals, laughing their independence and freedom.
From Turtle Rock, on which I was standing, collecting images, I could see a school of needlefish a few feet away at the base of the coral, then a bottom of olive turtle grass.
Beyond this, the clear water illuminated beige, pink, orange, and ochre, over which the bonefish – so perfectly camouflaged – swam.
This progression continued all the way to the horizon, in every direction, all around me.
Related Topics:
Sports, Nature and the Environment, Wildlife, Hunting and Fishing, Sport Fishing, Marine Animals, Fly Fishing

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