When I ran up on Terry Doyle, my first fly fishing contact in Maui, he was not sure what to think. I frantically explained that I was a passionate fly fisherman from Montana and needed to know what he knew about Maui fly fishing. He was kind enough to oblige, and while in the heat of excitement I forgot most of what he told me, but a few things did not slip by.
He told me that Hawaii bone fishing in particular was not as prolific as many other parts of the world. However, he explained that while quantity might be lacking, size is not. Then came the bad news, Maui is not really the best place to bone fish. There are many other places off the big island of Hawaii and off Oahu that have much better bone fishing opportunities. He assured me however that Maui is home to bone fish.
At that point, I really did not care. Visions of standing in my shorts instead of in my waders, virtually no gear and warm sunny days would make it worth it even if I did not catch anything. I also expected to be on my own figuring out what to do and where to fish so my chances for success remained low anyway.
He also pointed out that the reef system stretched out along the southern coastline for three miles and could be waded out to nearly 1/2 a mile. Plenty of exploring to do for sure. Composed of sandy channels and lava shelves with interspersed rocky reefs, it seemed to hold endless possibilities.
Terry asked where I was staying and I pointed to the building where our condo unit is. Envious, he explained that I was very fortunate and again pointed out that there was not a better place on Maui for fishing. You see, our condo sits just to the west of this major reef structure. Such close proximity ensured several things. One, I could be fishing in minutes, if two, the tide and weather allowed. Anytime I could sit on the lanai contemplating my next strategy in full view of my fishing spot.
After we parted ways, all I considered were the possibilities and how I should never leave a fly rod at home regardless of where I go. So I started the countdown to my next trip in the winter of 2008. I also did a few internet searches, yielding virtually nothing about Maui, but plenty about bone fishing in other parts of Hawaii.
During the course of my trip preparations later that year I met Jim and Matt at the Kingfisher Fly Shop in Missoula Montana. They fed me some details on that first meeting and assured me that when I was doing my final preparations to stop in and they would take care of everything. I don't know how to describe the amazing service. It was only days before our flight and I was provided one of the finest fly rods made by Winston a reel of course and a selection of flies as well as several spools of various line types. They have consistently done whatever they can to take care of any need I have had and with a serious focus on customer service.
So with gear in tow and literally no knowledge of what to do with it, other than what I knew to do on a Montana river we headed to Maui. In my final post, I will finally share all of my secrets about fly fishing in Maui.
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