TRAVEL SEASON BEGINS – R.L. Winston Fly Rods

It’s a Pacific Northwest custom: when winter units in, anglers flee the brief days, rain, snow, and ice for white sand flats and palm bushes. It sounds inviting — until you’re a winter steelhead information, which I’m. In that case, you wait for an additional window to get your repair of sunshine beer, palm bushes, and sight fishing.
Late within the steelhead season, as soon as moss takes maintain in my beard, a sure consumer’s mantra echoes in my head:

“Tarpon and Beer. Let’s get the F$%K out of here!”

May and June decelerate for each steelhead guides and anglers, making it the proper time to sneak off to the flats. Come July, steelhead return — however after years of low rivers and excessive warmth, I’m simply satisfied: it’s additionally an excellent month to chase allow, GTs, bonefish, and anything swimming the azure waters close to the equator.

That’s my rationale, anyway. With this mentality I’ve launched into a journey throughout three international locations and two continents in an try to quell the thirst for sight fishing and chilly beer. After a fast detour east to chase tarpon and allow within the Caribbean, the journey will comply with a western trajectory. The first cease within the western leg will probably be Christmas Island, the world’s largest coral atoll, teaming with bonefish, set off and GTs. It’s been years since I used to be there and this journey, twice cancelled by COVID, is lengthy over due. Christmas Island will probably be a stepping stone of types, a resting spot within the huge Pacific between North America and the Australian continent. The logical step could be to set sail from CXI throughout the pacific for Australia, exploring the seemingly infinite atolls alongside the best way. At final that isn’t within the playing cards, no crusing expertise, this time and so after a brief return residence to central Oregon I’ll make the 14 hour flight to Australia and the notorious Blue Bastards of Cape York. In some ways Australia seems like the ultimate, ultimate frontier. An enormous, largely uninhabited nation and continent, roughly half of which lies north of the Tropic of Capricorn. With two species of allow, big trevally, the endemic blue bastard and numerous different flats and pelagic fish it’s a place that makes the hair on my arms arise after I speak about it.

Part of journey is reminiscences of the locations you go to as soon as you come residence. My home is stuffed with items of artwork, scrumptious olive oils, rocks and shells that I’ve acquired throughout my travels all over the world. Mementos, souvenirs, trinkets, no matter you name them, these things are visible, tactical and mouth-watering reminders of journeys with family and friends and have the flexibility to move me again to those locations and experiences. I can’t say that I cannot return from these journeys with comparable reminders. However, this explicit journey wanted one thing apart from a frequent flyer account to hyperlink these three unbelievable fisheries collectively in my reminiscences. No, this isn’t my pitch of a meme coin. With the assistance of Winston Fly Rods and a multi-rod tube designed to appear to be the attractive tube that each Winston rods is available in, I’ve a canvass on which I can acquire artwork, quotes and the signatures of each information, consumer and distinctive character I meet alongside the best way.

So, journey season begins. Time to mud off the passport, restock the fluorocarbon and crab flies, and pull out the 9–11 weight single hand fly rods. I’m lucky to have a quiver of Winston Air 2 Max rods able to go. If you see me in an airport, native watering gap or ready on a journey, come say hi there and add your title to what’s positive to be an unbelievable summer season.

Episode 1: Puerto Rico

First cease: Puerto Rico. Five days of off-the-charts tarpon fishing.

After a wild evening soaking within the power of Old San Juan and a morning wandering its historic streets, we hit the street to No Name Lodge in Salinas. The waterfront pulsed with weekend vibes — packed bars, music, mojitos, and locals embracing the second. We joined proper in, possibly slightly an excessive amount of, and undoubtedly slightly too late into the evening.

The very first thing that struck me about Salinas? The fishery’s unbelievable selection. Over 5 days, we poled mangrove lagoons, winding rivers, beachside flats, and a few of the most jaw-dropping white sand and coral factors I’ve ever fished. Tarpon confirmed up in all places. If you dialed within the presentation, they ate — visually, violently, and with out hesitation.

That first 30 seconds after the eat was chaos: line flying, arms scrambling, the fish launching into acrobatics.

Tarpon fishing in Puerto Rico delivers a wild juxtaposition. One minute, you’re floating alone over glassy Caribbean flats. The subsequent, you’re battling a fish beneath hurricane-damaged piers, Bad Bunny and freeway noise taking part in within the background. Somehow, it really works — and also you need extra.

The mangrove lagoons and rivers held tarpon within the 25–40 pound vary — excellent targets for the Air 2 Max 9’ 9wt paired with a Bauer SLT. The rod had the spine to deal with the battle, the sensitivity for brief casts, and the precision for lengthy ones. Lightweight and responsive, it made a whole bunch of pictures every day really feel easy.

On the beachside and barrier flats, I reached for the 10wt AIR 2 MAX. The further energy helped lower via the wind and wrangle the bigger fish. These flats held 40–50 pounders, with a number of 60+ cruising via. Not Florida behemoths, however lots sufficiently big to spike your coronary heart fee as they ghosted throughout the white sand.

And Puerto Rico isn’t nearly tarpon…

With favorable tides, we walked allow flats alongside the southern coast every morning. We noticed solo tailers within the shallows and fired pictures at fish shadowing rays and nurse sharks. Even whereas tarpon fishing, we discovered allow on the surface flats.

That’s why I saved a 9wt rigged with a crab fly, prepared on standby. I’ve grown keen on the 8’6” 9wt Max for allow — shorter, sooner, and able to producing tight loops and excessive tip velocity with heavy flies. No lobbing required. It dealt with 20–60 foot casts with ease — the candy spot for many allow pictures. I can’t wait to check it on triggers at CXI and Aussie allow on the subsequent two legs of the journey.

As traditional, the allow gained. But nobody cared. After every shut name, everybody’s eyes widened like dinner plates.

No one needed to depart. We all may’ve used a number of extra days in Puerto Rico — soaking within the views, chasing fish, and driving that tarpon-induced excessive.

Now, again residence, I’m cleansing gear, enhancing pictures, strolling the canine — and repacking.

The South Pacific is asking.

It’s journey season.