Bonefishing on Ambergris Cay
The water was clear as I rode over the patch reefs near Ambergris Cay. I was heading toward some areas that I had never explored before. As far as I knew, the area had never really been fished before. I could see my island destination on the horizon and the anticipation was almost too hard to bear. As I arrived, the bow of the skiff touched the sand and I slid the anchor overboard. In front of me was a picture perfect ice blue estuary complete with tidal creek and mangrove forest. I wanted to get a better look at the creek and climbed the sugar white dune rimming the shoreline.
There they were, a school of six to ten pound bonefish were cautiously crawling toward the mouth of the creek, their backs actually out of the water. The bones were in single file as they entered the creek. I saw the lead fish; she was a monster and the one that I was going to cast for. The fly landed five feet in front of the fish and I waited for her to swim closer before I stripped the fly. When I thought the bone was on top of the fly I barely moved it. That was all it took and she slammed my crab fly! I followed in hot pursuit, and in a few minutes, landed the fish, gave her a kiss and released her back in the creek. I can’t really say how long it took to land the fish – everything was in slow motion. I was just enjoying the day. The school regrouped at the creek and I caught six more before laying the rod down.
As I started to walk back to the skiff, I wadded and collected twenty-five fresh conch – some fresh conch salad and conch fritters would be a welcomed addition to Chef Bernie’s Barbecue. I ended the day by snorkeling with the tarpon off of Tarpon Point, and at dusk, cast with Bernie for mutton snapper. It was an incredibly starry night as I reminisced of the day’s events.
Captain Byron Sewell
