Once upon a time, in a land far away from the frigid Alaskan winter, an intrepid angler perched on the bow of a flats skiff, scanning the gentle currents of the Caribbean Sea for a break in the glassy water. She waited patiently, 9-weight in hand, for a series of silver tails to break the surface. She had sand between her toes and salt sun-dried into her hair, but she didn’t mind. For here there lived a wondrous fish, a fish with scales the color of the ocean, a sleek and powerful fish that had captured her imagination during the blowing snows of January. The fish reminded her of the waves and the tides, of the warmth of the sun and the smell of the hibiscus and plumeria flowers that grew in these verdant landscapes. She knew from fish tales of old that if she worked hard, practiced her cast, and focused all of her energy towards this goal that one day her chance would come. She would catch a bonefish….
At Fishe, we’ve been dreaming wintertime dreams and longing for the opportunity to travel South to chase these legendary fish. Fishe Founder Linda Leary remembers fishing off of North Caicos Island, watching dawn break over the ocean as she traveled out to the flats and sneaking up on foot to cast at pods of tailing bonefish that were feasting on shrimp in the shallows. She remembers the incredible adrenaline rush of hooking into a fish: “Once they hit, hold on and keep your knuckles out of the way because they run like a freight train!” These memories inspired Linda to develop a pattern that would do justice to the ethereal translucency of bonefish and to their grace and speed, while also capturing the vibrant colors and lush vegetation of the tropics. Working on this project has cheered our team during these last few months of cold and helps us imagine that we are once again free to explore parts of the world that are different from our own. Based on an extraordinary watercolor painting by Fishe artist, Irene Meniconi, we are excited to present to you the newest member of the Fishe family and the third fish pattern of our Saltwater Line: Beauty and the Bonefish.