What are we up to?

Where to start...

A few years ago, (six to be precise)  Jeanie, Earl, Rach and I made our second trip to the Cook Islands, this time we headed out from Rarotonga to a small offshore Island called Aitutaki.

Earl and I had organized the trip under the premise that it would be a great holiday for the girls - but of course, we took fly rods... and quite a bit of tackle.  As part of our preparations we had contacted the only Bonefish guide on the Island, Butch Leone - Butch has been a huge advocate for the Bones over the years and his passion for the lagoon is well known.  Unfortunately, Butch was to head back to the U.S for the few weeks of our stay. He was good enough to share plenty of local knowledge with us, so with little option Earl and I decided to go it alone.

The goal was to chase GT's and Bones, and while our fishing wasn't hugely successful, Jeanie and I fell in love with the people and the place and came very (very) close to packing it all in to wear grass skirts and eat coconuts for the rest of our lives. Aitutaki, and the people that live there are very special indeed.

On that trip my fishing success wasn't anything to write home about, for although I'd been fly-fishing for trout for most of my life, I was a novice saltwater angler and my sheer lack of experience (and gear!) let me down. On more than one occasion we we're smashed to bits by monster GT's lurking just out from the reef, and I really had little idea what a Bonefish even looked like let alone how to fish for one.

We saw a few Bonefish out on the flats, but not many. During our stay we witnessed many hundreds of Bonefish being netted from the lagoon. I clearly remember standing waste deep on the flats, fishless, while a group of young men hoisted Bone upon Bone from their nets into small boats. And they were big, some very big...

Of course, we were the intruders, the guests, tying to catch big fish with ridiculous little fly rods - but at the time Earl and I did wonder what things would be like if a few of these boys hung up their nets and became catch and release guides - caretakers of the fishery.  They'd certainly be making a better living than the meager income derived by selling Bonefish at the local market.  But who were we to judge - their Island, their Bones and a way of life far removed from our own.

Over the interceding years we kept an eye on the Bonefish situation on Aitutaki - there were Bones caught alright, but catches continued to be few and far between. And by all reports the fish that were landed on fly were big, some well into double figures.

I had been bitten by the Saltwater fly fishing bug on that first trip to Aitutaki - and when it bites it bites deep. Over the next six years I chased saltwater species whenever I could, (or could afford it) Tarpon, Bones, Tuna, Trevally, all sorts - On Kiribas (Christmas Island), Key West, B.C, Australia and New Zealand.

But the promise that the Bonefish of Aitutaki held always played on my mind, and the "what if" discussions about the young men and the netting we're often repeated.

Six years later...

A good fishing mate of mine, Bob Wyatt, went to Atutaki for a holiday with his wife.  He took a fly rod.

On the Island he met a young man called Itu Davies. (pronounced eetoo)

Itu was one of the men I had seen netting Bonefish six years earlier.

Itu spent a day or two guiding Bob around the lagoon in search of Bonefish - after-all, Itu is one of the resident Bonefish experts.  

Bob landed 3 Bonefish - all were big, one was a double figure fish.

During their time together, Itu explaned to Bob that he was keen to hang up his Bonefish net and become a guide. Bob explained that if he wanted to do this there was a guy back in New Zealand that would probably be quite keen to help him do just that - and he kinda volunteered my services - god bless his cotton socks.

Timing is everything...

When Bob got home he told me of his cunning plan. I made contact with Itu and he was keen, and although Itu knew little about fly fishing he knows a lot about Bonefish and his lagoon and was enthusiastic to learn.

Bring in the big boys...

A guide needs top class gear. I first contacted Sage and asked for a rod and reel to take up to Itu, they happily obliged.  We then spoke to Patagonia, Costa Del Mar, and Rio - they all pledged their support, without question.

So, in a nutshell, we're off to Aitutaki to help Itu learn how to fly fish, hang up his Bonefish net and become a guide - and film the experience.
My hope is that if in some small way we can help Itu achieve this, other's will follow and more nets will be taken out of the lagoon - And a few more men will start sustainable businesses that support their families and the local economy.

It's a long way off, and a fairly ambitious (perhaps naive) goal - but that doesn't mean we don't try.

...and after-all, how often do you get an opportunity to make a difference?