The clear advantage to spinning gear over fly tackle is the wind. There is usually a 10-20 mph wind blowing on the Turks and a spinning rod gives you much more control than you could ever get from a fly rod. And yes, I can hear the fly fishing enthusiasts challenging me on that fact but I know what I prefer. My first fishing excursion was a half day trip with a guide who brought me a few miles outside the harbor. There was no wind – one of my only times bonefishing where there was no wind – and he proceeded to point out bonefish ahead of the boat which I would cast to. It took about an hour to adjust my style of fishing to being a bit stealthier as bonefish do spook easily. Finally my first bonefish was hooked.
Sure, I have seen how they run when hooked on television shows but none of that prepared me for the wild ride this fish put on.
On our last trip in January we caught 21 bonefish the first day all ranging between 2.75 – 5.5 lbs. The second day we fished for bigger fish only landing 10 of them and lost three that we could see weighed in excess of 7 lbs.
When not fishing with a guide there are plenty of ‘drive-by’ fishing opportunities on the island of Provo.