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J.A.F.F.
Some stories with a point.
By Capt. Steven Lamp
11 o clock 40 ft he's tailing. See him?
................Do you see him? Make the cast. He is ready... Make the cast,
40 ft 11 o clock, you have all day.. I said to Mark as we approached our 5
th of many permit that day while fly fishing for permit in the Marquesas. 1,
2, 3, 4, still not enough line out 5 false casts (fish saw him long ago and
took off) then the cast is presented. I respond to the late invitation for
our permit friend to eat the fly with a "well lets see if there are some
more around here". I have to admit it was getting increasingly
difficult to focus on more fish as my frustrations grew with Mark as he
tried and tried to get the cast where it needed to be. It was going to be an
even longer day as this expert fly caster lets these fish continue to beat
him.
What was it that I could do to take his mind
off the fish and put it back into his casting and fishing ability? That day
nothing. Buck Fever had him by the heart. He could cast 80 ft and hit the
eye out of a mosquito in a 25 kt wind behind him, As long as it was not a
permit he was casting to.
Mark is like many anglers out there with the
same issue. They have what we guides have coined a term for called "Buck
Fever" A term borrowed from our land based counterparts to describe a hunter
that just cant pull the trigger on that buck of a lifetime. Now I have never
been deer hunting but I understand exactly what buck fever is in fishing. In
my career I have seen it too many times.
Buck fever is mostly noticed in tarpon season
as there are more cases of a client taking a monster fish on fly for the
first time. The first symptom shows as the string of fish approach he cannot
help but see them as they slightly lift their heads to take in that gulp of
air. Its a powerful moment as the angler sets him self up for the shot
on these massive fish. Don't short shot it, don't over shoot it, don't line
the fish. Oh and if they eat don't forget to strip strike and not lift the
rod tip. Nothing like the streams back home. This is the moment of a
lifetime. Here it goes.. Argghhh.. Line around his head fly in his butt and
fish never even broke stride as they swim past almost laughing. From his
anguish the client looks back at me and says, " I am sorry".
What can I say? or do? I will tell you... Almost nothing.. Till I discovered
J.A.F.F.
J.A.F.F. it stands for Just Another F.... n
Fish.. Yep, its not some zen to fly fishing just a neat old approach that my
father taught me that helped me become a better spear fisherman.
Here is the premise.. Everyone wants to catch
a permit on fly or tarpon or bonefish, sailfish ect.. or they have their own
personal holy grail that they would like to achieve in fishing. That is what
makes the sport so much fun. However.. these anglers are very talented and
can fish with the best of them. That holy grail of fishing always eludes
them for some reason. Why is that?
They want it to bad. it blows their game. the
desire to catch that permit on fly used to mess Marks cast up again and
again. It was not just with me, it was with three other guides that he
fished with. He could not get it out of his head. He was so convinced that
permit fishing on fly was hard, he made it hard and limited himself with the
number of fish he caught.
JAFF was never more evident than about two
weeks ago I had a brand new saltwater fly fisherman on my Yellowfin Bay
boat. he wanted to catch bonefish. His whole approach to this actually made
me nervous. Why, because he talked about bones like they were snappers. He
was not concerned about how to catch one, he was more concerned that we
would do something else after his first three fish. Now, as a guide, thats
some heat to put on me. I did not know how to break it to this fella that
folks catch 1 maybe 2 bones a trip on fly and thats a pretty good day with
some exceptions, I kept my mouth shut and prayed for a fish.
Well, as it turned out the bonefish were out in force.
When I called out the first shot he reared back and double hauled his way to
his first 18 inch Marquesas bonefish. He fought the fish well and we boated
it to be photo and released. He then got back on the bow and said ok where's
the rest..?? and proceeded to catch 2 more.. Were the fish easier? no, were
they coming super close? not really, it was his approach. he treated every
fish the same. he was there to catch them and not let them beat him
mentally. he had his game.
After catching his three bones he asked politely if
there was a way we could find some permit. I was all about this as I thought
he would use crab, I was wrong. he wanted to fly fish for them and spend the
rest of his day trying. We hunted and the first fish we came across he un
ceremoniously casted the same way as he did for the bonefish and hit the
permit in the head with the fly. He let out a "oh bugger" and got ready for
the next one. Nothing more, it was just a missed fish. I asked him if he had
ever fished permit before and he said yes. once a few years ago here in Key
West on a wreck, they caught 10 or so and he thought they were stupid and
thats why he wanted to try them on the flats so he would have a better
chance at catching something... He caught 2 permit that day on fly.... Not a
great cast, just a great attitude, the fish was not his nemesis it was his
entertainment. He used JAFF without even knowing it.
Mentality behind JAFF is easy. think about
the dumbest easiest fish to catch when casting to your trophy of a lifetime.
All fish like to eat, put the fly in front of him and get him to do what is
natural. Take the VOO DOO out of your fishing and relax, JAFF can help you
catch that fish of a lifetime.
Next time you are making the shot. Cast like
its practice and treat it like it's J.A.F.F. you will be surprised at how
good the shot will be and how receptive the fish will be.
Capt. Steven P. Lamp |
