"Cowen’s Bonefish Scampi was designed back in the mid 1990’s after coming back from a week of fishing at Rupert Leadon’s Andros Island Bonefish Club. Back in the 90’s the most popular bonefish flies were a Gotcha, Crazy Charlie, tan Clouser and a Peterson’s Spawning Shrimp. While fishing with a different guide each day the talk eventually came to flies for catching big bonefish and or finicky bonefish. These guys were fishing nearly 200 days per year so who would know better than them. The key factors to what they wanted was a longer wing and something that moved and breathed in the water.
When I got back home to CT I sat at the vise planning my next trip and thinking of what I had been told by my guides. Rabbit was the answer to how to make a fly move and breathe in the water. Nothing moves in the water like rabbit whether being retrieved or when at rest. Adding a polar fiber wing allowed me to have the most supple and translucent material to use as a wing. What turned out was a Gotcha on steroids of sorts." -Henry Cowen
