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Bonefish Video

I had my airline tickets to Florida and was already going through my normal route in my head. Everglades to Key West and back again. Through the years, I have come to know a couple flats and spots on both the Gulf and Atlantic side of the Florida Keys fairly well. But, I was looking for a change. I was a bit bored with my beaten path and I was looking for a new experience. I definitely found it. Like most things these days, it started online. I was scouring through Florida saltwater fly fishing forums and ran across a post where someone asked, “I am going to be in Miami for vacation, does anybody know any good bonefish flats in the Florida Keys?” Of course nobody is going to tell strangers exactly where their good flats are, hence there were not many responses. In fact, there was only one. The response read, “Why go to the keys, you are surrounded by bonefish right here in Miami.” I was immediately intrigued by that comment; it seemed so matter of fact. Even more intriguing was the name of the author, “Bonefishwhisperer.” I tried scouring other threads and boards for other posts from “The Bonefishwhisperer” but found nothing. Then, my friend Dave called me and said, “Hey aren’t you going to Florida? You should check out this dude’s website, he calls himself The Bonefish Whisperer.” It was really kinda strange and I told Dave about the post I had just read a couple nights before and my efforts to find something more on this dude. So, when I got home I went right to his website and low and behold there they were. The biggest bonefish I had ever seen and lot’s of them. I read through this guys stuff and now I was really intrigued. He moved to Miami from Alaska, fishes the craziest bonefish patterns I have ever seen and that he invented, fly fishes only, has nothing more than a canoe and a homemade push pole

and learned everything just by spending countless hours on the flats and learning how the tides and fish work. This was just the change and experience I was looking for. So, I immediately called him. There was no bs, we set up a date and time to meet and that was that. On this first trip down, I was with my friend Ed. As Ed and I weaved our way through the streets of Miami we had no idea what to expect. We finally arrived on location and there was Cordell (aka bonefishwhisperer). He was just as amped up to fly fish as we were and it was obvious. No frills, this guy was the real deal. A canoe and homemade push pole strapped to his car, a can of flies and we were off to the flats. Well we did stop to put some air in his tires. We were on the water in no time and I was casting to a giant permit within minutes. Ed and I both learned so much that day. I personally learned how to pole, read skinny water better than I ever had and finally felt as though I knew what I was looking for. Cordell got us several good shots at bonefish and permit. I hooked one, but couldn’t close the deal and then we had to fly home. I got back home and back into my normal flow of things, but I could here the whispers. Those flats were calling me and I needed to get back down there to get just a few more shots at those amazing fish. So, a month or so later I returned. This time Austin was with me. I called Cordell to fish but he had other stuff going on but he said, “Dude, you know how to fish it. Just take my canoe and push pole.” So that’s what we did. Austin and I spent 5 days learning the flats and that fishery from sun up until sun down. We got pretty good at poling, spotting the sneaky bonefish and got a couple to eat our flies. It was simply amazing and like all great fly fishing trips, time flew by. On our final day, Cordell was able to come down to the flat and watch us pole around, dial into some bonefish and see Austin hook up and land a bonefish. That was really the best, because it all came full circle. If not for Cordell, there is no way I would have ever figured out that game on my own. He taught me all the stuff that he learned on his own and I absorbed it like a sponge. Then Austin and I were able to refine our knowledge and put all of that knowledge to use by ourselves. But, like I said, ultimately our success was a result of starting with Cordell. I almost felt as though the bonefish that we were fishing to were Cordell’s. So, we all admired Cordell’s ability to move from Alaska and figure out all the bonefish stuff on his own and in a way that made sense to him and felt grateful for the opportunity to meet and learn from him. Thank you Cordell, it is experiences like these that keep the flame of fly fishing burning for me. I am a believer in The Bonefish Whisperer.