Trash Fish
In Key West, Florida, it seems that Permit, Tarpon, and Bonefish are larger than life. If you catch them all in one day, you just completed a Grand Slam. If you catch a Grand Slam on fly, you become colleagues with some of the most talented and successful anglers in history.
I was always attracted to the Grand Slam, and I’ve notched my belt on that accomplishment a dozen or so times, but never on the fly. Growing up in Key West, my dad and I had a deal: get straight A’s and we will skip school to go hunting for a Slam.
Hunting was a perfect word for this type of fishing. Permit, Tarpon, and Bonefish are spooky and elusive. Catching them requires good eyes to see the fish in shallow water, the ability to stand and stay quiet on the boat for hours at a time, and when the moment is right, a perfect cast. If you’re lucky enough to get them to eat, you might land one of the three.
Fishing for Slams was an intense way to fish as a little kid, but I was attracted to the challenge. My dad and I caught a handful of Slams on those days that we played hooky together and I will always cherish those memories of him reaching down to grab the last fish of the Slam, hootin’ and hollerin’ over our great accomplishment.
Fast forward 10 years and a move to Bozeman, Montana, and I might be lucky enough to return to the place that I was raised every other year to fish. My fishing days mostly consist of drifting down the local rivers of the Yellowstone, Madison, Missouri, and wade fishing the spring creeks all in search of big Brown Trout. I’m certainly not complaining, but the freshwater game makes you yearn for saltwater, and vice-versa.
On the rare occasion that I am standing on the bow of a bay boat in the Marquesas, chasing after a Slam is rarely on the top of mind. Nowadays, the boat is filled with family and my Fiancé, Malynn. Staying quiet on the boat intensely fishing for a Slam isn’t what everyone wants to do.
Because of this, I’ve come to gain a deep appreciation for what the local fishing guides typically call “trash fish”: Barracuda, Jack Crevalle, and Sharks. I can understand why the guides call them this, as I once did. Any fish that detracts an angler from a Grand Slam is typically referred to as trash by the most hardcore of guides.
Barracuda are aggressive as hell, fast, explosive, and host a stunning array of needle-like teeth. They’re typically in abundance along the flats on any normal day, and they’re not that hard to catch. Once taught how to throw a lure on a spinning rod as far as they can, pretty much anyone can catch these guys, usually with an explosive bite that will make even the most stoic beginner angler flush with excitement. This is typically followed by the barracuda ripping the line off the reel and a decent fight, hopefully ending in an up close examination of how cool these guys are.
Jack Crevalle may be my favorite of the “trash fish”. Jacks are typically in schools in channels, along wrecks, or mullet muds. They most exciting way to catch these guys is for one angler to de-hook a floating lure with the bill broken off so that it scates along the surface, throw the hookless lure into a big school of Jacks, reel as fast as you can to the boat while watching fish explode on the hookless lure, and bring the whole school right beside the boat for everyone to cast a lure in and watch the fish eat it on the retrieve.
Jacks are simple and easy to catch, they offer a voracious fight, and they are a huge crowd pleaser. As I’m mostly fishing in Montana waiting for subtle bites from trout on tiny flies, a school of hungry Jacks gets me and everyone in the boat very excited.
Sharks are another level of crowd pleaser. They’re more prevalent in the Florida Keys now more than ever, and they’re easy to find and chum up right to the boat. Even my mom and Fiancé, who would both rather be sitting on the beach with a drink in their hand rather than be on the boat risking getting covered in fish blood and poop, love shark fishing. They enjoy seeing them up close and crowd next to the angler when it’s time to get the hook out, marveling at their teeth, eyes, and texture of their skin.
Don’t get me wrong- if it were up to me, I’d be on the bow with a fly rod in my hand looking for Tarpon. But the simple fact of the matter is that it’s not about me anymore. It’s about family time, having fun, bending the rod, and seeing smiles on everyone’s face. It takes an angler with an optimistic attitude to smile when everything goes wrong chasing a slam, which happens more often than not. With trash fish, everyone has fun.
A Note to the Obsessed Angler
My dad has told me many stories of his guiding friends in Jackson, Wyoming and the Florida Keys throwing their life away in pursuit of fish. Whether it be Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit, Sailfish, Marlin, the quarry really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they lost their family, friends, health, and finances because they didn’t do anything else but fish, all day, every day. Obsession is good, but just like any other addiction, it can spiral your life out of control and force you to let go of the most important things.
There’s a way to be obsessed with anything and find a balance in your family, friends, finances, and health. You have to work at it and make some occasional sacrifices along the way. If fishing is all you want to do, find a way to make it fun for those that you care about. Sure, you may not be on the bow with a fly rod in your hand searching for Tarpon, but you’re out on the water with those you love.
Communicate with your wife, kids, and family to let them know long in advance when you will be gone on fishing trips and do everything in your power to make sure that your absence is not a burden. Ask yourself what you want to be remembered by. If that’s fishing and all of the big fish you’ve caught, then great. But you may not be remembered for much else. If you want to have it all, you can. Put that in the forefront of your mind and make sure that your priorities are in check.
About The Author
Turner Rowland was born in Key West, Florida and has an avid passion for inshore and offshore fishing. After moving to Tennessee early in life, he began a life-long fascination with wildlife, hunting, and fishing that has taken him around the world to places like Bolivia, Christmas Island, Alberta, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambeze. He currently resides in Bozeman, MT where he is passionate about elk, deer, turkey, duck, antelope, and bear hunting, while also chasing after big trout on the local rivers and heading down to Key West, Florida to fly fish every chance he can.