I have been lucky enough in my life to catch many species of fish on the fly rod. From the usual Trout, grayling, pike and walleye that inhabit the waters near my home, to the more exotic European grayling and saltwater species such as bonefish and permit. As I get older you would think the bucket list would start to grow shorter as species get crossed off, but that’s not the case. It seems like every year somebody comes up with another species of fish that can be caught on the fly rod and on to my bucket list it goes. My list is fairly long but below is my list if I had to limit it to my top five.
Happy to cross Permit off of my bucket list.
Golden Dorado
Golden Dorado have to be number one on my list. Ever since I saw the Todd Moen video where Brian O’Keefe makes his way through the South American jungle and emerges at a stream that’s beauty rivals any stream I have ever seen. He proceeds to throw large streamers to large Dorado that proceed to crush the flies and then go crazy with runs and jumps that rival the most acrobatic trout.
Golden Dorado are a large predatory fish found in freshwater in Central America with guided fly fishing trips taking place in Brazil, Bolivia and Northern Argentina. They are not related to saltwater Dorado and inhabit waters with temperatures in the 20-28 C (68-82 F) range. They can live up to 15 years old and range in size from 3-10kg. (6-22lbs.), with the largest recorded being a whopping 34kgs. (75lbs.).
Due to their predatory nature fly fishers using minnow like streamers can expect strong fights with high jumps while fighting these beautiful fish, I hope to experience this myself in the near future.
Golden Dorado are my #1 bucket list fish.
Tarpon
Tarpon are one of the fish included in what is known in fly fishing circles as a "Grand Slam", along with a permit and a bonefish. While I have fished for and caught bonefish and permit in the same waters that hold Tarpon I have yet to cast to one. They are very migratory and I haven’t been at the right place at the right time. They are quite different in that they can live in both salt and fresh water and they have swim bladders that they fill by rising to the surface and taking in gulps of air in. This allows them to live in waters that have low oxygen levels like brackish lagoons and ponds.
Quite often a trip to look for Tarpon means poling a boat through the mangroves to a lagoon where they may or may not be. Tarpon have very large and hard mouths, hence their nickname "bucket mouth". Once hooked they are hard fighters that put on an impressive aerial display. A picture of a leaping Tarpon, no matter how large or how small, should be enough to get it added to your bucket list. Tarpon can grow to 8 feet long and weigh over 200lbs. and have been known to destroy the handle on fly rods as the rod bends deep into the butt separating the cork from the graphite.
Tarpon are acrobatic fighters.
Golden Trout
Golden Trout are the most outlandishly colored trout and probably the most difficult of the species to catch for a couple of reasons. They live in high mountain lakes that often require strenuous hikes or a helicopter ride to access them, at my age it’s going to be a helicopter ride or nothing. Introduced into Alberta in 1959 from stock from high mountain lakes in the Sierra Nevada range in California. With the short growing season at these high altitudes and the lack of angling pressure you would think these fish would be a push over but, from what I hear and have read, this is not the case.
Stories from more than one angler tell of gin clear water and inspections of perfectly tied flies, tied on invisible Fluorocarbon leaders, only to be snubbed casually for no apparent reason. Due to their short growing season, living most of the year under the ice, they do not get very large but their coloring, surroundings in which they live should get them on any anglers bucket list.
Golden Trout are remarkably colorful.
Rooster Fish
I have a Rooster Fish that haunts my dreams, while fishing in Costa Rica one time I was shore fishing from a rock outcropping with a floating Rapala, I know not a fly rod, when at the end of a retrieve I stopped to light my pipe. The Rapala was bouncing around in the water in front of me when all of a sudden a Roosterfish swam by, staring at the Rapala, then at me and was gone. I cast feverishly in the direction he swam away but to no avail.
Found in the Pacific Ocean from Baja California to Peru it gets its’ name from the large "rooster" comb of 7 long spines along its back. They can get as large as 50kgs. (110lbs.) but a great fish landed on a fly rod would be 20lbs. The one that swam in front of me was probably 5lbs, but I would have loved to have hooked and fought him. Most saltwater anglers that pursue Roosters use plugs, they cast them out as far as they can and then retrieve them as fast as they can. Catching a Roosterfish on a fly seems like it is going to take a lot of research and even more luck to cross it off of the bucket list.
Rooster Fish are aptly named.
Redfish
Redfish, also known as Red drum or spot tail bass are a gamefish found in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico. Many guided trips take place in Louisiana’s Mississippi Delta and are available to the fly fisher with a "live aboard" option being the one that intrigues me the most. Anglers eat and sleep aboard a Mothership and then take daily excursions out in the guides’ skiff to fish shallow bays and ponds of the Louisiana marsh. These copper colored fish are known for the black spot on their tail and are hard fighters. Shallow water creates sight fishing opportunities as the Redfish will often tail when feeding in shallow water. This is a year round fishery so the angler is not really constricted to a season. There are others species available to the angler including black drum, sheepshead, jacks and alligator gar. Due to closeness of this fishery and long season this is one fish I have confidence I will cross off my list soon.
Red Fish are very accessible with a year round season.
Ultimately only an unlimited amount of time and money would allow an angler to cross every species off of their list. The opportunities are endless, from giant trevally to catfish, sharks to billfish, it is endless and even if you don’t get a chance to do it is still fun to dream. Mine is a list of fish I would like to catch on a fly rod but it is really for all fisherman. What’s on your bucket list?
