The Watery Rave

Carl McNeil is your typical world traveler, international film maker and hardcore, passionate, quit work, sell-everything-to-go-fishing-somewhere-cool fly angler. Along with his wife Jeanie Ackley—who most people regard as the person who takes his passion and morphs it into enough profit to meet the bills—the duo are the brains behind On The Fly Productions which films and produces fly fishing related DVDs—many of which are instructional.

            The impetus behind the Cook Islands Expedition, Carl has traveled extensively throughout the South Pacific and knows the customs and the fisheries well. We caught up with Carl on a late February evening when he was tying flies and thinking about a new bonefish pattern that incorporates the hair of a child—in this case, the one sleeping right next to him.

Watery Rave: Why net bonefish? I can think of 700 or so other species that are easier to catch, taste considerably better and aren’t peppered with sharp, tiny bones.

McNeil: With regard to bonefish netting you have to keep in mind that this has been a traditional food source for generations. Fishing and harvesting from the lagoon and outside ocean is part of the way of life in the islands—and quite rightly so. After all, it’s their lagoon and who are we to dictate what is eaten and what is not? It’s simply none of our business.

            The harvest of bonefish has never been all that common. It’s difficult to do and extremely hard work, and only a couple of families have the knowledge of how to specifically target bones.

            Historically bones have been netted just before spawning on the full moon (on Aitutaki bonefish spawn year-round when the moon and tides are right), and only in very specific areas.  This fairly precise knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation and primarily only within one family—the Davey family—and this is the family we follow in our film.

            It’s important to note that Itu Davey and his family are no longer netting and haven’t for over a year. Itu has been instrumental in setting up new reserve areas and protected spawning grounds.

            I like to think that the wolf is now guarding the hen house.

Watery Rave:  I’ve eaten bonefish cakes in The Bahamas, and my recollection is of a fried fritter-type thing that pasted super fishy aftertaste to the roof of your mouth that remained there for about three days. How are they eaten on Aitutaki?

McNeil: Bonefish are usually eaten raw in a dish called ‘Ika Mata’—Mixed with lemon or lime juice, coconut milk and onions.  I’ve not eaten bonefish Ika Mata, but am a big fan of just about any other fish prepared this way—-it’s delicious!

 Watery Rave: Out of 2,000 inhabitants on the island, what made Itu stand out as someone who might be a good candidate to be a fishing guide and protector of the resource?

McNeil: Itu was the only possible candidate to protect the fishery and become a guide—no question. He is an extremely experienced bonefisherman and by far the most knowledgeable on the Island. His ability to spot and distinguish fish on the flats is nothing short of phenomenal.

            Just to give you an idea, Itu can spot fish with the naked eye better than any man can, and when we slapped a pair of Costa’s on his face, I swear he had X-ray vision.

            He’s been poling a flats boat since he was a very young boy, so the boatmanship side of the business was just second nature. All up, we knew we’d all be onto a winner if we could take the most effective bonefisherman on the Island and help him become a guide. 

Watery Rave: Describe Aitutaki, the food and the culture.

McNeil: Sit back, close your eyes and imagine your perfect island paradise, now multiply it by 100,000. I’m talking white sandy beaches, swaying coconut palms, an azure blue lagoon and the heady fragrance of frangipani hanging in the air. Now add beautiful, friendly locals, throw in a big bonefish or two and wash it all down with a Pina Colada—that’s Aitutaki. Perfect.

Watery Rave: Even a rock sticking up in the middle of the ocean has more than one fish species around it. What else is there to fish for on Aitutaki?

McNeil: The Central Lagoon is teaming with all the types of fish you’d expect from a tropical island. If bonefish aren’t your bag, the lagoon also plays host to some very big giant trevallys (think 50lb+) and half a dozen other trevally species.  

            Then there’s milkfish of unbelievable proportions that are seen regularly, and if you’re into gear fishing on the outside of the reef you’ll find tuna, wahoo, mahi mahi  and all manner of toothy critters. 

Watery Rave: How is the flight from New Zealand to a remote South Pacific island?

McNeil: As far as trips go, getting to Aitutaki requires a few fairly straightforward plane flights—the last in which resembles a flying pencil.  

            What does make things interesting is wrangling over 200kgs of film equipment and paying a king’s ransom (in excess) for the privilege. It took a full day and three flights to ferry our gear on the last leg of the journey.

            Fourteen pieces of luggage equates to just over 3 trolleys piled high—and all this while reigning in a rambunctious 3-year-old…and we all know how much fun it is to fly these days.

Watery Rave: The locals make a form of home brew by fermenting oranges for several days. They call it bush beer, and it’s supposed to be a stretch from the microbrews we find in the states. Have you tried the bush beer?

McNeil: Personally I’d highly recommend laying off any local brew just about anywhere in the Pacific. 

            A few years ago on Kiribas (Christmas Island) a visiting angler bribed the locals for a bottle or two of the local fire water called Totti.  They reluctantly obliged. 

            Now Totti is a highly suspect brew distilled from the sap of freshly cut palm leaves.  The sap is collected in old bottles placed under the dripping wounds on the tree. After a week or so, it’s done its thing and is ready to drink.

            The problem is fresh palm sap is irresistible to the totti beetle—a small biting bug. Newbies learn about totti beetles pretty quickly—these are the ones that when slapped on an arm or leg squish out an acidic substance akin to battery acid.  It burns baby, really burns—honestly.

            Anyhow, during the fermentation of the totti juice a few bugs inevitably fall into the bottles, they and their battery acid are fermented along with the juice. Then, of course, someone takes a guzzle.  It burns on the way down, and apparently—burns on the way out too—-quite badly in fact.

            So no, I stay off the bush booze and drink bourbon and watered down cola like most of the locals. Hey, it’s not nearly as exciting, but at least nothing drops off when you have to pee.

Watery Rave: What do the bonefish of Aitutaki eat—food and fly-wise?

McNeil: When you’re a 10 pound bonefish you get to eat whatever you like. 

           Bigger fish in deeper water take baitfish imitations and larger crabs in addition to all the usual bonefish fare. A 2/0 Clouser Deep Minnow often does the trick there.  

            Right up on the flats, shrimp, small crabs and sand-worms are on the menu. Crazy Charlies and Gotchas in size 2 are the way to go here—just as would be expected on any bonefish flat just about anywhere in the world.  

            We did come up with a pretty specific pattern…The Crazy Itu—but you’ll have to watch the film to see it, or make a visit.

Watery Rave: How does one come up with the idea for the bonefish cam?

McNeil: I’m not sure how much I should give much away about BoneCam—it’s a closely guarded secret—a piece of high-tech gadgetry dreamt up over too many late night drinks and engineered in my workshop. Basically it’s a miniature Hi-Def camera in a waterproof housing. The camera is then mounted on a buoyancy-compensated fish-friendly harness and attached to a tracking device so that the camera can be retrieved later.

            The results we got absolutely floored us—to be honest I never thought it would work. After seeing the results, we now have a few more tricks in store for BoneCam.

Watery Rave:  Is the lagoon on Aitutaki wadeable, and if so are there any sharks that might opt for penance by taking a leg or calf?

McNeil: The Lagoon is perfectly wadable and almost munchy-free. Personally I’ve never seen a shark in there, and there are very few who have. The occasional reefy (reef shark) might get in over the coral, but they’re the Labradors of the shark world and nothing to worry about.

            Then again, I’d recommend footwear in most places around the lagoon on the off chance you might meet up with a stonefish, but again it’s pretty uncommon.