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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
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