Oblivious

“So, what’s the big deal with catching a five pound fish in five inches of water?” If you have to ask, you’ve never been bonefishing.

AS SEEN IN THE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2007 ISSUE 

“There he is…Nine o’clock…Twenty-five feet. Nice fish headed right for us. Cast…Cast”

Those were the exact words my guide muttered as we poled onto the crystal clear Stock Island flat just east of Key West. We had only been fishing for minutes when the shadowy figure meandering off our port side came into perfect view. It was a loner, but a famous seven or eight pound Florida Keys bonefish nonetheless, and surely enough to get my adrenaline pumping.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I calculated the bonefish’s speed and direction and zeroed-in on an imaginary “X” three feet up-current of where I believed the mirror image would appear. For the first cast of the day, my execution was flawless. The tailless shrimp landed precisely where I had hoped it would.

The instant the crustacean’s sweet juices infiltrated the flooding tide; the bonefish lit up with dark vertical bands and began its ritualistic pursuit like a hound dog hot on the trail of a fleeing fox. Snout tight to the dirt and swiftly moving back and forth in a seek-and-destroy sort of pattern, the hunter, intent on finding its prey, methodically closed the gap to within inches.

Motionless, I stood on the casting deck of the HPX with rod tip aimed directly at the circling silhouette. I swear when I tell you I was holding my breath. As the seconds ticked by in what felt like super slow motion, silently I hoped the grazing fish would inhale the shrimp and take off on the sort of screaming run these magical shallow-water opponents are known for.

As luck would have it, the fish did find the shrimp and in the blink of an eye and one quick bump, the eager-beaver snatched the critter between its rubbery lips, crushed it with its powerful jaw muscles, sucked it off the hook and kept on going- completely oblivious that it nearly felt the sting of a razor sharp hook. Ironically, I was the one that had just been played.