Species: Bonefish
Bonefish cruise through anglers dreams as fluidly as they swim the tidal flats they call home. Countless anglers have graduated from trout fishing to find their saltwater brethren, the bonefish a perfect challenge. Essential trout fishing skills and stealth are needed and put to the test, as well as new found flats tactics, when pursuing these blazing fast fish.
Riding the moon driven tides, bonefish slip into shallow banks and dine on a variety of prey. They often root their prey from the mud or sand by digging with their noses, and then after inhaling their prey they crush and grind their food with powerful plates found in the back of their throat. The bonefish diet consists of shrimp, crab, clams, and a variety of baitfish.
Juvenile bonefish tend to live and feed in large schools of several hundred or more, as they grow bigger they tend to swim in small schools of three to ten individuals, and finally by the time they reach trophy proportions, (ten pounds or better) they become almost solitary. 15 pounds 4 ounces is the men's fly rod record, and the women's fly rod record is 12 pounds 8 ounces.
In the salt water world of fish the rule of thumb is chase, or be chased.
Bonefish fall into the latter group, always on the alert for Barracuda, Sharks and other large predators. This readiness to flee accounts for their blinding speed when hooked or startled. Daily bonefish patterns consist of movement to shallow water on a rising tide followed by a retreat to deeper water on the falling tide. These movements on the high tide will often take Bonefish into vast mangrove systems and interior island flats that are often dry land on some low tides.
Bonefish caught near the Mangrove Cay Club in the Bahamas.
The first five years of a bonefish's life consists of very rapid growth, after which growth rates become very slow. The mean length of a female bonefish is as follows: 11" at age one, 15" at age two, 18" at age three, 20" at age four, and 26" at age 10. Males are slightly smaller at age than females. A bonefish will produce from 400,000 to 1.7 million eggs in a season. The juvenile bonefish hatches into a ribbon shaped larvae about two and a half inches long. This stage lasts a month or two before the larvae actually begins looking like a tiny bonefish.
Bonefish have scale free heads, but large silver scales over the rest of their body. These scales reflect whatever color the bottom is, thus making them seemingly transparent even in the shallowest, clearest waters. To be able to stalk a bonefish, present the fly, and fight the fish to hand, is certainly a fly-fishing badge many anglers seek.
Technique
Bonefish are found in two situations; cruising and feeding. In both instances they will take a fly well. Cruising fish are targeted and led out by a few feet. An angler then needs to strip the fly, moving it along the bottom. Once a fish has seen this and is following a short pause will generally draw a strike, at which time a short, firm strip of the line will plant the hook. Then it is a matter of clearing the line to the reel and watching the spool spin.
Tailing bonefish are actively feeding fish. They must be approached cautiously and the fly must be placed very close to the fish, as they are looking directly to the bottom. This behavior creates a small window for them to see the fly and the presentation must not spook them. Cast to close, and they will be spooked and vacate the area in a hurry, and if the cast is not close enough, they’ll never see it. A wonderful problem for an angler to have! When the scenario goes correctly, the catching of a tailing bonefish is a high point in any angling career.
Equipment
- 8 Weight Fly Rods
- What we use: Sage TCR, Sage Xi2, Winston Boron IIX
- 8 Weight Saltwater Reel
- What we use: Tibor Everglades, Abel Super 8, Galvin Torque #8
- 8 Weight Floating Bonefish Taper
- What we use: Scientific Angler Mastery Series, Rio Bonefish Line
- Leaders from 9 - 12 feet tapered to 10 - 12 pound
- What we use: Seaguar Fluorocarbon Power Taper Leaders
- Flouro Tippet Material
- What we use: Seaguar Tippet Material 10 and 12 pound test
- Highest quality polarized sunglasses
- What we use: Action Optics by Smith
- Flies
- Flies for bonefish are numerous, with Crazy Charlies and Clousers variations being the most frequently used. A variety of imitations that cover a variety of shrimp, crab and baitfish species is a normal fly box line up. Having a variety of weighted flies is also important as fish may be found in 9 inches of water or even 4 feet. Being able to match the bottom color is also important. Knowing the bottom color of the flats you will be fishing is a great advantage, as well as knowing whether or not the fish you are chasing prefer flashy or natural colored fly patterns.