Trevor is an avid fly angler, and having been set up by me to fish for reds with another guide (and having a great trip), we decided to try something different.
On our way out, We started off the day seeing a large creature wallowing in the shallows near the MHC port.. I was thinking large shark before the gentle giant stuck its head out of the water and took a breath – it was a very large manatee! What a beautiful, sweet animal – we took a few pics and warned a few boats of its presence before carrying on. There is a possibility that this manatee is the famous wandering “chessie” due to a large scar on its back. I sent pics to a friend at the USFWS for possible ID. It is unfortunate that NC state officials have told me they are “concerned” (and not excited) about the presence of manatees migrating to NC.
With manatee numbers increasing in Florida we are seeing more of these guys every year, and just last year there were 2 or 3 in Atlantic beach including one in the canal where I keep my boat! So special to see!
Back to fishing – the schooling Spanish and blues were scarce this morning but the inlet was loaded with schools of….bullet mackerel. There have been a lot of these guys around this year (otherwise i have only ever seen a scant few) and other than a couple if morphological differences they look like little albacore. They are not as good a fighter as an albacore but do pull harder than a Spanish – they took flies well and Trevor had a good time with them.
But we really wanted to do something else – after a decent run it was on to something I’ve been working on for several years. Sighting casting to bonnethead sharks. They make showings in the summer and it took some research and time on the water to figure then out – a particular fly used in a particular way will interest them.
Long story short – we saw a bunch, had 6-7 takes, broke off 1 and landed one biggee at about 17lbs (that’s a big bonnethead!). Excellent fight in shallow water!! Trevor did a great job for me – good caster who really knows how to feed fish/understands fish behavior. Great job!!
