I read a piece by Lani Waller about "Great Casts". He recounted two great casts that he had made in his lifetime. One cast was to a great fish and the other made at a casting pond in front of a peer. Great stories-both.

Lani's article got me to thinking and I do have a great cast that I made this spring that I'll share here. Hopefully you FAOL'ers will share some of your "Great Casts" too. I find it to be a facinating topic.


Cross-Channel Cast

This spring I was invited to fish on one of Bahamas Outter islands with a fellow who practically lives there. He gets to spend 3-4 months there each season. He has a personal guide and the two of them decided to teach me to fish for Bonefish. It was a new game for me. After a few gruelling days of bonefishing school we were ending the day and heading down a long deep channel leading to the inner bay and the dock. We came around a bend in the channel and the guide slowed out of courtesy for two flats boats from a popular lodge that were fishing clients up on the flats just off the main channel.

Our guide then stopped and told us that there were no bonefish where they were fishing! We had been talking on and off throughout the day about how some lodges don't put their anglers on fish. It is a crime considering the prices charged. Anyawy, he positioned our boat into the bank on the far side of the channel and told me to get up into casting position on the bow platform.

We could see the guides and patrons on the two boats watching us intently. The clients were casting plenty and yet we saw no bent rods over there. Our guide pointed to an area & then instructed me to make a very long and straight cast all the way across the channel and onto the edge of the flat on the far side. Now this was putting me on the spot to say the least. My two teachers behind me, as well as those in the two lodge boats were all "eyes on me". I am by far not an accomplished distance caster. This cast needed to be 80 feet into the afternoon breeze at a minimum! Well it was now or never. So I produced my best cast on the 7wt and off it went. "Perfect Cast !" said the guide. Speechless was my friend. "Let it sink" I counted to six or seven and got the "Ok-Strip, Strip!". Fish On! Yahoo. I connected with a 4 LB Bonefish and fought him across the channel & to the hand of the guide. As we admired that fine fish before release, both guide boats pulled-up stakes and fired their big outboards and headed down the channel.

The guide was proud of his skills in knowing where to fish. He clearly had demonstrated that skill to his peers. My friend had fought the battle of getting me tuned-in to being able to catch bonefish. Lastly, I had risen to the occasion and had made a 'Great Cast" when called upon to make it.

Rich

OK-Who Else has ever made a Great Cast ?