Pez Vela Salsa
By Burt Turner |
Thu, 26 Oct 2006
Pez Vela Salsa
Imagine this setting: crystal clear water, solitude, 7X tippet, #20 Parachute Adams, cutthroats sipping the afternoon hatch, and the only noticeable sound is the barely audible four weight line laying out on the glass-like surface of the gold medal stream. Handel’s Water Music plays in your head. No problems, no stress, only you and the moment. Words like pure and classic, or my favorite…”real” are often used to describe this scene. It is what 99% of the world thinks about fly fishing. A River Runs Through It. Peace and Tranquility. A clip straight from Sir Issak Walton’s recurring dream.
Now, to the other end of the spectrum: a voice from above belts out “PEZ VELA”, so rudely waking you from the classic teaser-stare trance. Both mates rapidly shuffle across the bow, first mate violently reeling in the baitless teaser, your heart in your throat. You pop up from the on-deck holding area and start thinking to yourself… don’t screw it up, come on big guy, you gotta make it count. In one motion, you throw the 12-inch popper over board and shuffle your feet to the transom. Finally, you are in position to start looking for the sailfish; seeing it for the first time only amplifies the excitement. After 10-15 seconds of nerve-racking baitless teaser action, the sailfish is in casting range. The captain throws the boat in neutral and the area behind the boat turns from white froth to clear blue. Captain yells from above CAST, Cast, cast (this is what it would sound like if you fished for sailfish in a canyon)!.....3 seconds of silence, fly lands in position, breath-holding anticipation while you see the 130 lb torpedo making its way up from 20 feet below.. Strip-pop, Strip-pop, Strip-pop. Through the glass-like water, you see the sailfish’s head break the surface toward the fly. The sunlight reflecting bill pivots up and down like a surfer trying to create a wave. You breathe (since you haven’t in the last 15 seconds), quick prayer, heart stops and the voice from above once again….”HE’S ON!!!!!!” Absolute chaos ensues. From Sir Issak Walton to AC/DC! dBA 10 to dBA 120. The next several minutes involves mucho tail walking, sailfish belly flops, reel smoking, and quite a few “yeehaws” or “all rights”, if you’re from north of the Mason-Dixon line. If you’re lucky it all ends in less than 10 minutes with a quick picture, a safe release and a few fish-slim enhanced high fives, which are only cool when you are on the giving end. Sailfish on the fly, could it be any more exciting?
Now you have a visual of the one-of-a-kind Pez Vela Salsa. To the inexperienced, the scene looks like a Van Gogh (his early years no less). To those in the know, it’s the ultimate ballet in all of fly fishing. Everyone on the boat plays an important role and the feat is nearly impossible without all parties being involved. Now, it’s not always flawless or choreographed. There are times when the juggler drops a ball or the trapeze artist partakes in safety net testing, but that’s part of the entertainment. As long as the lion handler doesn’t get his head clamped down on (i.e. man overboard or an unwanted sailfish bill body piercing), it’s all good. Sailfish on the fly is about high risk, high reward.
To expand on the fact that it’s not always the metronome dance I describe above, I offer the following experience from my recent trip….
It was the last day of our trip and needless to say the fishing was red hot. Literally, there was not a five minute break in the action all morning. At times, three rods were being re-rigged while fish we coming in to the teasers, which is normally a call for panic, but not on this day. We knew that the fish would still be there when we were good and ready. It is safe to say that it was extremely rough and windy, adding a bit of complexity to the situation. Fish number 10 of the morning was on the back teaser and I was up (don’t screw it up, come on big guy, make it count). I immediately proceeded to stage right and was calm, confident and collected, having landed 8 fish in the previous 2 days. Things went very smoothly…at first. Sailfish came in tight, boat went into neutral, first mate pulled the baitless teaser from the water, and I cast to fish. Usually sailfish are aggressive when the fly first lands, but this time the sailfish decided to nudge the fly forcing me to begin a repeated strip-pop routine to get him to bite. I continued to strip until there was 40 feet of fly line in the boat. Calmly I spoke to the fish…”Please take it, things will be a little hairy if that Bimini gets into the guides. I promise a quick release.” Maybe I should have spoke Spanish, because the fish decided to wait until the fly was four feet from my rod tip with half of my leader in the guides before he inhaled the fly. The hook set was easy since there was zero slack and I had plenty of leverage. After firmly setting the hook, the sailfish initiated the Mach 3 turn and burn. As I concentrated on insuring the leader made it through the guides, the twenty-plus mph wind gracefully, and inconspicuously, picked up the line from the deck and placed it around my neck. Seriously, what are the chances of that happening? Wrapping around the rod butt or boat cleat, yes….but my neck? Come on! I felt the line getting tighter and panic was immediate. I screamed to my friend Matt, “Get the %@#& line off my neck.” There was no time for please. Luckily, he was right behind me and was able to throw the line over my head just in time (and yes, I bought him an ice-cold Gallo for that one). And when I say just in time, I mean JUST in time. The line made a bull whip-like snap as it came taut against the rod. As I write, I’m becoming short of breath thinking about what a close call that was. The alternative scenarios were not exactly ideal…choking to death or being pulled overboard and drowned, whichever came first.
Now, can we now all agree that flyfishing for sailfish is an Extreme Sport? Isn’t the possibility of violent death the core criteria? So, if you’re trying to decide between bungee jumping in New Zealand, base jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge or kite surfing in Hawaii, can I please suggest you consider the Pez Vela Salsa in Guatemala? If adrenaline is what you crave, you will be more than satisfied.
