GUIDE SIDNEY THOMAS, ANGLER CURT KILLAR AND THE BONEZILLA CAUGHT AT WATER CAY LODGE A FEW WEEKS AGO IN JUNE!
Here is the story of how this monstrous fish was boated in Curt's own words:
Benchmarks or goals can be great motivation or a curse. If you golf, you will completely understand my analogy. As my golf game improved, I became more obsessed with breaking 100 then 90 and then 80. I worried more about my score than improving the aspects of the game that make you a better player. After telling my golf pro friend that I had a double bogie on the last two holes to shoot 81 and missed my goal of breaking into the 70's he said to me, "Just let it happen". I was so concerned with my score that I didn't concentrate on the moment of playing those last two holes. Now with a single digit handicap, that advise is carried in my game.
I caught my first bonefish on Grand Cayman Island in 1990. For years, I had been obsessed with catching the elusive 10 pounder. I have caught some "nice" bones over the years but not the "fish". The more I worried about the big one, the less likely it seemed it would happen. In the last couple of years, I have become much more interested in the experience of the perfect bonefish scenario than the number or size of the fish. Great light, perfect tide, single tail, a long, precise cast, and adjusting the presentation to entice him to eat are what is important to me now.
But now it was June 20, 2013. I was fishing out of Water Cay Lodge with guide Sidney Thomas. I was fishing with my fishing partner Tony "Breakfast Fly" Vadella. We had had a great morning of fishing. Sidney was locked in and the tide was good for the fish. It was now afternoon with a little more than a moderate breeze coming in from the east. As with all great guides you fish with, they just factor in all the conditions and have an idea were they want to fish. Why he decided to pole to that area will always be a mystery to me. He poled into the wind for a quarter mile without seeing a fish. I would have turned around, but Sidney must have know that little depression was there in front of that creek. Thank goodness he pushed us that far.
The cloudiness of the water was a great indication that "they" were around.
"Bonefish eleven o'clock" Sid called out.
I could see the group of fish with some VERY large fish on the feed. Now I would love to tell you I picked him out of his friends, but the fly was on target and soon, a fish was off and running.
"Guys, I think this is a big one", I said.
But since there were more fish in the area, Tony took to the casting position and Sidney was focused on getting him hooked up. Neither of them paid to much attention to the fight I was enjoying. After several minutes, Sidney did see my fish and his demeanor completely changed.
"That's a big fish!", he said.
I could tell it was large as the boat was drifting in the direction of the fish so we were gaining on him.
"I don't jump off the poling platform for any fish." Sidney explained. "I do not want you to try to land this one or touch the leader. I will cradle him."
Just then I got my first real look at him because of the angle of the sun. What struck me most was the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin. Now, I GOT nervous!
It seemed like it took forever for Sidney to put his hands on that fish. He gently lifted the fish up for us to measure and take a few pictures. The fish measured 32 1/2" nose to inside fork with a 21" girth. A true "Fish of a Lifetime". To know I was part of Sidney Thomas' best ever bonefish on a fly is the most rewarding part of the whole thing. The fish was easily revived and released. And as for catching a 10 pound bonefish, "it just happened".
-Curt Killar
...and thanks to Angling Destinations and Sidney Thomas at Water Cay Lodge!
