Jason, our fly fishing enthusiast and on-the-water reporter kicked off the year with an oio that would beat most dunker’s PB.

Jason: Last week, a group of friends and I decided to wade a well known Oahu flat in search of bonefish. Many in the group were chasing their first fish of the year, and despite the wintery conditions, anticipations were running high. I decided to bring out my new rod, an Epic 411 (4 wt 11′) Trout Spey wrapped by my friend Asa, who was also part of the group. A “trout spey,” for those unfamiliar, is basically a scaled down Spey rod (two-handed fly rod used for salmon and steelhead), adapted to fish smaller rivers and streams for trout.

We arrived at the “entry” point around 7 am. One member of our group parked his vehicle further down the coastline at the “exit” point in order to transport everyone back at the end of the trip. Conditions on this morning were chilly and windy, so we knew every fish would be hard-earned. It’s well known among Hawaii fly fishers that cold weather means bonefish prefer to stay deep, with only the larger or more desperate fish venturing onto the flat to feed. The first 2 hours were uneventful, with the group mostly blind casting due to the heavy clouds overhead.

I picked one of my favorite “go-to” spots and, after what seemed like the millionth cast, I finally felt a nice take, followed by the strong steady pull of a feisty rat (smaller bonefish). The fight ended quickly, and I took a few photos of the fish and released it. I was super stoked to bless the new rod so early in the trip, and decided anything hooked after this would be a bonus.

The bonus came about an hour and a half later, when I hit another one about a quarter mile down the coast. I could tell it was a good fish by the way it took off and knew the 4 wt Trout Spey would be put to the test.

The fish made several strong runs but each time I was able to stop it, just before it reached the edge of the reef. This tug of war lasted close to 5 minutes before the fish finally ran out of gas and allowed itself to be brought in close. Despite being exhausted, it still proved difficult to land as the 4 wt lacked the backbone to control and get it to the surface. It took several attempts, but a few tense minutes later, I finally had it in the net. I don’t normally carry a scale, but my friend Glenn does, so we got a weight – 8 lbs on the dot. Not too shabby for a “trout” rod. With the tide going out, I spent the rest of the day sight fishing. Despite the wintery conditions, I managed to spot 5 fish, and even got a few follows. A third fish would’ve been nice, but under these conditions, I felt grateful to even get the two. When we regrouped at the exit point, I learned my fish were the only bones hooked. Better lucky than good!