Changing the Game! Hawaiian Bonefish
/Setting the Example
Experienced Hawaiian fly-fishing guides and anglers who have fished in different parts of the world agree that the bonefish in Hawaii are different. They don’t behave like the bonefish found in other destinations. They don’t readily bite, they spook easily, and they grow exceptionally large.
I can only base this on the stories I’ve heard from anglers who have fished with me. They talk about fishing in Belize and catching dozens of small bonefish with ease. Each angler describes these as “different fish” after struggling to catch a single Hawaiian bonefish.
Some have spent tens of thousands of dollars chasing bonefish in remote parts of the world, only to arrive in Hawaii and find themselves struggling to catch even one of our giants.
For the most part, Hawaii hasn’t been a destination that anglers readily travel to specifically for bonefish. We’ve done our fair share of marketing to put Hawaiian bonefish on the map, yet Hawaii is still being discovered as a world-class bonefishing destination.
Through our daily Instagram posts, YouTube videos, and multiple IGFA world-record bonefish catches, we’ve helped bring attention to Hawaii and attract anglers from around the world.
Being part of this journey has been an incredible experience.
It feels as though we’re changing the way people catch bonefish and setting an example for the rest of the world. We’ve created bonefish flies specifically for Hawaii, challenged established myths, and changed the equipment we use.
We’ve gotten rid of extra tackle and returned to the fundamentals, minimizing what we carry and focusing on what we truly need to catch giant Hawaiian bonefish.
Imagine that.
After all these years, we’ve accomplished things on the fly that no one else has ever done. That says a lot about how far we’ve come, and we’re still changing things.
Heavier flies, heavier leaders, bright-colored clothing, sunscreen-coated flies, double goldens, and stronger hooks are just a few of the new concepts and developments we’ve introduced.
We’ve even reached the point of developing a fly rod specifically for the fish here in Hawaii.
Keeping it simple, making it stronger, and creating three different 8-weight rods that satisfy individual casting preferences have become the foundation of this project.
Over the years, I’ve personally purchased just about every kind of fly rod imaginable. I’ve broken almost every one. There have been a few rods that cast exceptionally well and were strong, but for the most part, advancements in rod technology have often resulted in rods becoming lighter, thinner, and more fragile.
One nick on a rod can turn a once perfect 4-piece rod into a five-piece rod.
So, is technology really worth it when we’re chasing giant bonefish with increasingly fragile equipment?
We rush to purchase the newest, most technologically advanced fly rods, hoping they’ll improve our casting. Yet sometimes those advancements seem to come at the expense of strength and durability.
When fly-fishing for bonefish, I believe in keeping things simple and making sure your equipment is dependable at all times.
As anglers, we need to trust our equipment.
Understanding the strength of the drag on your reel, the breaking strength of your fly line, the connections between your backing, leader, hook, and fly rod is essential. You need to know how much pressure you can put on a fish and how far you can push your equipment before reaching its breaking point.
Your equipment should become an extension of you.
When everything works together, everything flows. It’s a synergistic connection that develops when every element is dialed in.
We fish for giant bonefish almost every day, and we’ve learned what it takes to be successful on the flats.
When it came time to develop our own fly rods, we teamed up with Sacred Rods, a Hawaii-based company, to create three different fly rods that are durable and exceptionally well suited to our demanding fishing environment.
Our goal was to develop the perfect fly rod for Hawaiian bonefish.
We wanted to bring all the essential elements together: the reel seat, the eyes, the carbon-fiber blank, the thread, the ceramic eyes and the epoxy. Every component was carefully considered to create a rod capable of handling giant Hawaiian bonefish.
To accomplish this, three combat veterans, professional fly fishermen, and fly tiers from Hawaii helped design three different 8-weight fly rods suited to their individual casting styles.
Each rod was designed with a different balance of action, flexibility, and performance. All three feature top-of-the-line stainless-steel guides, high-quality carbon-fiber blanks, cork grips, and smooth reel seats.
Makani Christensen (me), Joe Marks, and Elias Espiritu (Kurupt Hawaiian on Instagram) are friends and fishing partners who created our own unique Hawaiian bonefish flies.
We fish together and share a common bond: war.
We’re all combat veterans, and fly-fishing has helped each of us better manage the personal struggles and lasting effects of our experiences in combat.
We share stories, support one another, and fish together simply to enjoy life.
We can relate to one another because we’ve all been there.
Our bond runs deeper than a couple of buddies going fishing. It comes from our shared combat experiences, the struggles we’ve faced, and the understanding that develops between people who have lived through similar circumstances.
Our conversations are deep, and our understanding of one another goes far beyond the water.
The struggles didn’t end when we returned to Hawaii and became civilians again. Life after the military brought its own challenges, including learning how to live, how to cope, and sometimes simply how to survive.
Being able to recognize depression in one another, acknowledge when someone is struggling, and give that person the attention and support they need has made a difference in our lives.
Rather than brushing things aside, pretending everything is fine, or telling someone to simply be a man and get over it, we’ve learned to listen and support one another.
We’ve all struggled.
We’ve all faced moments when life seemed overwhelming.
Yet through our friendship, we’ve been able to turn our lives around, become better fathers, strengthen our relationships, and work toward eliminating destructive behaviors and addictions.
We’ve all danced on the edge of death, but we’ve chosen life.
We are friends. We fish together. And together, we’ve created something unique—something born in Hawaii and designed specifically for Hawaii.
Our flies and our fly rods are made for Hawaiian waters, for giant and powerful bonefish, and for our individual styles of casting and fishing.
Now, three professional fly tiers, fly fishermen, friends, and combat veterans have come together to produce three distinct fly rods.
These rods represent more than fishing equipment.
They represent years of experience, lessons learned on the flats, a willingness to challenge conventional thinking, and the pursuit of something better.
They also represent friendship, perseverance, and the understanding that strength isn’t simply about how much pressure something can withstand before it breaks.
Sometimes strength is about knowing your limits, trusting the people around you, and having the courage to keep moving forward.
We’ve spent years learning how to catch giant Hawaiian bonefish. Now we’re creating the equipment we believe is worthy of them.
