Guides fish hard, but for some, “fishing hard” goes further than just the effort they spend on the water. Captain Conway Bowman falls into the latter category. Bowman is a Southern California native, captain, and mako shark fly fisherman. Makos are among the fastest and baddest fish in the ocean, taking the meaning of “fishing hard” to another level. In his pursuit to tangle with makos, Conway is demanding of his gear. From fly reels to boats, everything needs to be built to withstand the abuse of the Pacific, including the engine. Since 2003, Bowman has relied on Mercury Outboards, and in a recent conversation, he told us why he chooses Mercury.
Mako Madness
San Diego and much of Southern California are unique in that deep pelagic waters are found in close proximity to the beach. In some places, just a mile offshore equates to 1,000 feet of water. For Conway, this means tangling with mako sharks in his backyard and getting creative with his boat setup. “Having such deep water so close to shore allows me to approach these fish (mako sharks) in a smaller boat like a center console or hybrid bay boat,” says Bowman. ” There’s really no place in the world where you have the dynamic of large game fish that close to shore, and that’s why it’s such an appealing place. For anglers and me as the captain, this means short run times and more time spent fishing.”
On the water, shark fishing may seem pretty straightforward. Put out a chum slick, drift for a while, and eventually a hungry, ravenous shark will make its way to the boat. According to Conway, that is far from the case. “Mako shark fishing is much harder than it seems. In my fishery, you have to hunt these fish and understand how to find big predators. They’re a pelagic fish and are constantly on the move.” In just a day, makos can travel 30-plus miles. For Bowman, this means fishing every day to stay on the fish.
In a likely area, Conway will set out a chum slick. As the currents and winds spread the scent through the ocean, sharks will close in on the boat. He then readies a custom one-piece, 20-wt equivalent rod he makes himself, paired with a floating tube fly. As the fish approaches, Bowman makes a cast, strips the fly, and lets it flutter on the surface. “Over the years, I’ve observed makos come into the slick and chase a bird. They don’t like them in the slick, and I think that’s what the flies imitate. The makos will either eat them (birds), or they’ll push them out,” says Conway. “When they eat the fly, it’s a really soft take, almost like a brown trout rising on a grasshopper, but that could be a 500-pound fish doing that.” What happens after is far from subtle.
A hooked mako shark can clear 800 yards of backing and fly line within minutes, all the while jumping 20 feet in the air. “Even with a 20-wt equivalent rod, you’re still fishing the ultimate light tackle on a giant game fish. It’s like hunting an elephant with a BB gun. The rod is just a tool to hold the fish there. The boat is what you’re fighting the fish with.” When the boat is the tool to land a 500-pound fish, a reliable motor is everything.
Why Mercury?
Since 2003, Conway Bowman has been running Mercury Outboards. At the time, he was one of the only guides running a Mercury in SoCal’s salt. “When I first started using Mercury, nobody used them out here in the saltwater, nobody. It was all bass guys on bass boats in freshwater. I was one of the first guys out here on the West Coast to use them in the salt, and I’m still using them today.” Conway currently powers his rig with a Mercury Verado 300 XL, a perfect balance between power and reliability.
Conway’s Verado 300 is mounted on a Caymas hybrid bay boat. The boat is rather bare bones with no T-top and an open deck layout. This is by design to minimize the boat’s profile and avoid spooking makos. “Since makos are predators, they don’t like things looking down on them. A higher elevated T-top, they see, and they come in really deep. So my boats are designed to sit lower in the water, and that really helps bring in those big fish.”
For Conway’s fishery, a dependable motor is essential. In over 20 years of using Mercury’s, he’s never had one fail. “Mercury’s are, for me, totally fail-proof. They are reliable,” says Bowman. “I’m on the water every single day, and I need a totally reliable outboard motor to get the job done. Whether it’s chasing down mako sharks or going for bluefin tuna, I need a motor that starts every time.”
While reliability is key in a motor, a plethora of other features make the Verado perfect for mako shark fishing. Conway’s engine is paired with the Mercury Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS) System. DTS is a digital throttle system, relying on a wiring harness, rather than traditional throttle cables. The results are instant engine responses and no missed shifts. Bowman chose this motor because, “It’s silky smooth. If I need to chase a fish, I can get up on step instantly. Makos can swim 40 miles an hour. So the boat’s ability to maneuver, chase fish, keep angles on them, and close the gap to get the release is all essential. That’s why my boat and Verado are so great.”
From Motors to Makos
Fly fishing for mako sharks is the epitome of big game fly fishing, but for Conway Bowman, it’s his life. “The ocean is freedom to me, that’s what it is. What I’m doing, there are no boundaries, there are no guardrails. In a way, the mako shark is kind of a metaphor for me because that creature has no boundaries, no guardrails. It’s doing what it wants to do with nobody telling it what to do.” Every day chasing sharks, Conway proves this point, pushing the limits of what’s possible on a fly rod, and every day he relies on his Mercury to do that.
