To the ends of the earth for this? Almost ...

“Strip! Strip line!’’ I pulled a length of line from the rod’s base, dragging my fly toward me. My rod jolted with energy. The line became tight, rod flexed nearly in half, and the gears in my reel began to scream as cord peeled out. The fish nearly took my entire line.

It was the first hour of my first day of fishing on the trip.

After 20 minutes of tenuous reel adjustment, feeding line in and out, I pulled the four-pound bonefish into Sawyer’s boat. This was my first bonefish, fulfilling a desire to catch one that dates to when I was 8 and became obsessed with the creature after seeing it on the cover of Fly Fisherman magazine.

Bonefish are one of the world’s most sought after game fish. These saltwater prizes thrive in warm equatorial water, perhaps most abundantly in the Caribbean, and are so fast and fight so hard they can empty the reel of a lucky angler in 30 seconds. When weather is pleasant, they glide out of the deeps to cruise the flats, shallow stretches of water that surround many tropical islands. These flats are often only a few feet deep and can stretch out a mile or more into the ocean. But even smaller flats can yield large, plentiful bonefish, assuming the guide is right and the crowds are small. Under the right conditions, even a beginner fly fisherman can have good luck.

Bonefishing is an elite sport. The fly rods used have price tags stretching into the thousands. It’s a low-yield form of fly-fishing, which leads most people to hire a guide. Plus, you have to get to the destinations, which are typically remote. And then there’s the cost of lodging. While there are many options, an underculture of pricy bonefish clubs exists, where plush lodging, fine dining, and top-rated guides can be bought for $10,000 a week. This doesn’t describe Green Turtle Cay.