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Amanda Willshire

@awdart

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Full time metal sculptor 👩🏼‍🏭
Part time fly fishing guide 🐠
Lives in Colorado 🏔️Loves tarpon 🩶
Slide into my DMs for art inquiries.
©awd art, llc
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The ocean breathes. As the tide was moving out, we fished the reef up to the edge. The way the water was moving looked like the ocean was breathing. I have found it’s a good idea to take a break and give your guide the rod. Rafael Sr. found what became known to us as “another effing grouper!” These fish were the biggest fly thieves at the reef. #anaa #flyfishing #fuckinggrouper #flyfishingadventures #grouperonfly by @awdart
GT, permit and a trigger… it was another grand slam kinda day. Damn, I love this place! #gt #permit #triggerfish #flyfishing #seychelles #astove #astoveatoll #gtonfly #permitonfly #triggerfishonfly #flyfishtheworld 📸: @csd817 Badass (and lucky trigger) guide: @sean_callas by @awdart
Life in the Current: “The 20-Pounder Club”, an Angler Story with Amanda Willshire at @riomarieflyfish. “I had heard from several friends that it’s a “1000-casts-a-day” kinda experience, but had hoped we would get a chance at some sight fishing. That’s when I had the idea to build an RC peacock bass. Renee ( and I took turns practicing casting to the RCPB (when we weren’t laughing at the thing) while the other one would drive it. Renee’s cast improved substantially.” -Willshire “One cool thing about this trip is the amount of information recorded on each fish caught. Lengths and weights are recorded which is important and awesome to hear that conservationists are trying to learn more to protect this incredible species.” Read the full story in the link in bio. 📸: @awdart / @rafaelnm @riomarieflyfish #Riversmith #flyfishing #peacockbass #RiggedAndReady #conservation #awdart by @awdart
Fly fishing French Polynesia Part six, day five Slide 1: Mato! This pup is a guard dog-in-training but I think he may be better suited for welcoming committee and/or guest entertainment. Slide 2: One of many species of giant clam found in French Polynesia. Slide 3: Jen (@lofgrenjen) with a beautiful Bohar. From what I have read, juvenile bohars tend to be lighter in color while adults are a brighter to dark red. Slide 4: Rafael, Jr. with the napoleon wrasse I was fortunate to catch. Slide 5: Jen releases a beautiful, light-colored Titan, aka “Moustache”, triggerfish. Titans have the distinctive mustache on their upper lip but can vary in body color. Mother Nature truly is a badass! Slide 6: Finishing up the day with another delicious meal. Stacey (@stbenham) perfectly sears steak for us. Slide 7: Two languages are spoken in French Polynesia, Tahitian and French. While no one in our group spoke much French or any Tahitian, we relied upon google translate to converse with Flo and Pierre. Sarah was the keeper of the phone for this and when Flo wanted to tell us something (which was often!) she would call out for Sarah to help her get the message to us. ***Guess the “multiple captions” only works part of the time. by @awdart
Fly fishing French Polynesia Part five, day four Getting fueled and psyched to fish another day in paradise! Flo and Pierre made sure we had ample energy for the day with a substantial and delicious breakfast. #flyfishingadventures Kay and I got to fish the “moon” again but this time we arrived when the tide was high. Kays hooks into a beautiful, dark-colored Titan triggerfish. A couple of Titans were caught that week. It is amazing how differently colored each was but both had that indicative mustache. #flyfishing #triggerfish Half of “another fucking grouper”. The shark was faster than I was. #anotherfuckinggrouper This little jobfish on the only @thechocklettfactory gamechanger I had with me. A few casts later, a larger, unknown fish kept it as I broke off yet another fish on the sharp coral. Meanwhile at another reef, Renee lands this gorgeous little Picasso trigger. Stacey and Renee were the Queens of the Picassos! I won’t lie, I’m a little green jello having fed many triggers but catching zero. Next time… 📷: @stbenham #picasso Flo and Pierre putting the finishing touches on yet another delicious supper. After dinner beers and pool. Pierre is always up for playing games! by @awdart
Fly fishing French Polynesia Part four, day three. Stoked for another day fishing in paradise. #flyfishing #frenchpolynesia #paradise #flyfishingadventures #bonefish Rod storage. Rafael, Sr. taking us to a new spot. Tough feet! While us anglers wore fortified boots to trek through the lagoon and at the reef, the guides wore minimal footwear. The jellies are a French Polynesian staple for Tahitians and are sold throughout the islands. Johann wore these jellies walking through the rocks and old coral. (See next slide.) In the background, Rafael, Sr. and Sarah slowly walk, looking for ‘io ‘io (pronounced keo keo) which is Tahitian for bonefish. Walking on the moon. After a slow morning in the lagoon, I asked Rafael if we could head to the reef. He boated us through a pinball game of coral heads to reach this secluded reef area. The tide had already receded to the reef edge leaving a moon-like terrain with scattered pools. The reef’s edge. A few casts with the sinking line and this feisty bohar snapper eagerly at the @rioproducts “Student Loan.” This fly proved to be a super effective fly for me at Anaa. The ocean breathes. I have found it is a good idea to take a break and give the rod to your guide. You never know what will happen and it’s a nice break for the both of you. Rafael catches “another effing grouper”, the biggest fly thieves of the reef. Don’t ask me why or how but this video has gone viral in a separate post. 🤯 Meanwhile, back in the lagoon Renee and Jen were catching more monster ‘io ‘io. They grow ‘em big here in French Polynesia! 📷: @lofgrenjen by @awdart
55 seconds of tranquility for your day. This is 100 meters above one of the flats-to-reef areas we fished at Anaa. #anaa #oceanview #dronevideo by @awdart
Napoleon Wrasse. It was cloudy that day and Joseph had taken a higher perch on the old reef wall above us for a better look. Suddenly he yelled down to Rafael Jr. in Tahitian. “He’s spotted a Napoleon,” Rafael said and pointed towards a large coral head about 30 yards out. I could see it immediately along with a couple of bluefins. Those bastards. They’ll take your fly in a flash. The three fish were, as @flyfeesh would say, “over there murdering shit”. “Where should I put it?” I asked. “To the left of the coral,” he said. So that’s where I put it and as it hit the water, a chaotic boil erupted. “Stop!” Rafael said, and I let the fly slowly fall in the water. The Napoleon crept out from beneath, facing us with the fly suspended in the water between us. It looked like a torpedoic machine from the deep as it studied the fly. “MOVE IT FAST!” Rafael said excitedly! With the the first strip, the sleek shape burst forward, quickly closing the gap on the fly. BOOM!!!!! The Napoleon smashed the fly and immediately retreated toward the reef edge about 150 yds away. It was on the reel in a flash with a nice, “fuck you, too” reel knob smack to the wrist as I transitioned from right-casting to right-reeling. The 100# leader was doing its job as line slid off the reel and I reeled as I felt slack, slowly increasing the drag. Getting closer now… “STOP REELING!” Rafael yelled. The fish had gone under and through a coral head taking the line with it. Rafael freed the line and yelled, “Reel!” The fish took shelter under a larger coral several yards away. Rafael followed the line down as I kept tension. “Please let us get this fish!” I screamed in my head to the universe having already lost many fish to coral. Rafael went deeper, trying to free the fish from underneath. As he turned and rose from the water with the massive fish in a bear hug, we started to scream, “FUCK YEAH!” (I was likely the one who started that…but everyone joined in. ;) Rafael was ecstatic! The beauty of the fish was remarkable with labyrinth-like markings on its body made to look like coral it lives in. Mother Nature is a badass! Also, this is definitely a team sport. #anaa #flyfishing #napoleonwrasse by @awdart
Fly fishing French Polynesia Part three, day two. Renee and I fished with Rafael, Jr. and Joseph on the second day. We started in the lagoon which turned out to be a little slow in the morning. Rafael spotted this blue trevally, also known as a banded trevally, and with a quick cast, it was on. Another one to add to our group’s growing species list!! #anaa #flyfishing #flyfishingadventures #trevally #bohar 👍🏾 After a slow morning, we decided to head to the reef. WHAT A SIGHT!!!! There were fish everywhere! I was so excited to go for a parrotfish but they wanted nothing to do with my flies. Just a few casts at the reef’s edge and this beautiful bohar quickly smashed the ugly fly I had tied. Another 👍🏾 up from Rafael! A few minutes later, Renee reeled in this gorgeous peacock hind grouper (Cephalopholis argus). Little did we know, this would be the first of several grouper caught by our crew. These little fly thieves sure are pretty! There were many sharks at the reef (and in the lagoon for that matter). Just before Renee got this video, three shark had chased a bohar I had hooked. I relieved tension on the line and the fish quickly found refuge in a small crevice. Rafael was able to pull the bohar from its hiding spot after scaring the sharks away. Renee with a GORGEOUS reef bonefish! Welp, time for yet another leader. Note: bring LOTS of 20# leaders next time. Finishing up a delicious meal of fresh tuna and pommes frites. Flo and Pierre are incredible hosts! So gracious to open their home for anglers visiting Anaa. by @awdart
Effing grouper. 😂 #anaa #flyfishing #flyfishingadventures #grouper #frenchpolynesia by @awdart
Fly Fishing French Polynesia Part two: Day One Daybreak at Flo’s. Each morning started with caffeine at 5 so that we were with the guides by 7. #flyfishinglife Our morning commute to the “marina”. Rods down. #flyfishing The “marina”. That blue is mesmerizing. A few quick minutes off the boat at the first spot. Gregory spotted this solo bonefish immediately. I got eyes on it, made a cast and the line went tight! They make ‘em big here! #bonefish Lunch. This friendly guy and his dogs stopped by to say hi and shake our hands during lunch. Everyone here is so nice. Fish on! Renee with a big bonefish! That’s why they’re called the phantom of the flats. #bonefishonfly Bocce was a nightly event when it wasn’t raining. Pierre is a total shark. #bocce Catch of the week! This delicious tuna fed our crew throughout our stay at Flo’s and Pierre’s place. What a magical week! #gratitude by @awdart
Fly fishing French Polynesia Part one I was recently in French Polynesia with my partner, Renee, and four friends that I met through volunteering with @castingforrecovery. We spent 10 days exploring and fishing enchanted islands and waters. There is so much (but not too much) to share about our time there. Plus, I suck at this sort of thing, so I am posting in “parts”. This being part one: Papeete and arriving Anna. >•<Everyone is greeted with beautiful Tahitian music when arriving at the airport after a long(ish) flight. I say “ish” because it’s only 8 hours from SFO. *This was before we knew our bags had not boarded the plane with us in SFO. After arriving at the Intercontinental (sans bags but full of optimism about what the next week would bring) we checked in and settled down for a tropical night cap. *The no bags thing was really kinda super stressful. But it all worked out. But PHEW! Especially since there is one flight per week from Papeete to Anaa and other outlying atolls. We had about 36 hours to kick it around Papeete. We purposely built this “cushion” into the layover in case anything came up. I highly recommend doing so if you decide to do this trip. We filled our “cushion” day by visiting the local market and checking out the local art and music. All that after a trip to the hotel gift shop for clothes. Bags were scheduled to arrive that night. All of the artists selling Ukuleles were also playing the instruments. Walking around and experiencing Papeete at a slower pace was a nice break in travel. The cushion day proved to be a much appreciated chill day. Sunset at the Intercontinental. On our way to Anaa! Arriving at Anaa! Home for the week. Beautiful. Just beautiful. Flo and Pierre. The best hosts. I can’t wait to go back. Stay tuned for parts two through… who knows. Lots of fish to come. #tahiti #flyfishfrenchpolynesia #flyfishingadventures #flyfishing #frenchpolynesia by @awdart

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