Bonefish ~ A Main Target of all Saltwater Fly Fishermen

Bonefish as the name suggests have lot of bones and not a good eating fish.

Majority of the people consider them as trash or junk fish. They can be found throughout the world in most tropical and subtropical seas. But they’re a superb shallow-water game fish pursued by most saltwater fly fishermen worldwide for its sizzling runs when hooked.

Characteristics

They have an elongated slender body with a single dorsal fin and deep forked tail. The mouth and teeth are small with a prominent snout. They have a silvery lower body with grayish-blue on the upper part.

Diet

Small crabs and shrimps are their main diet, though they feed on shellfish, worms, small baitfish and squids too. They are bottom feeders, often digging into the sea bottom with its snout and tail-up.

Schooling Fish

They are often found in schools, ranging from a dozen to a big school of hundreds of fish. Sometimes they can be found in pairs or singles, usually the larger fish. Their average size is about 2-10 lbs. but they can reach weight of 16 lbs. They are fast swimmers and at time they can be very elusive.

Hotspots For Bone

Bonefish fishing has becomes so popular worldwide that some sport anglers are willing to travel great distance and spend big amount of money hunting them. Though they are scattered all over the world some hotspots like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, Central America, Bahamas, Florida, the Christmas Island hold some of the world records and in great numbers.

Fishing Tips

They can be easily spooked and they are always in constant state of alert. Good stalking skills and great patience are both needed to catch them. One way of locating them is their projecting tails or the columns of stirred-up mud. They are best pursued with light line. In most situations a reel with a smooth drags able to hold 200-300 yds. of 8-12 lbs test line are much needed.

Fly fishing is the most popular method to fish for Mister Bone, though some anglers may prefer the use of spinning tackle. They can also be caught by natural baits like prawns or clams.

Tackle

For fly fishing equipment I use a 9-wt rod with floating line and a 30 lbs. test leader. There are quite a number of fly patterns that can be used but those that imitate crabs and shrimps are the best. My favorite fly to provoke and catch bone fish is the pinkish Crazy Charlie with a no. 2 or 4 hook. The size of the hook depends very much on the size and place you’re fishing.

For spinning tackle, a rod of 6-8 feet, medium-action with matching reel capable of holding 300 yds of 8-12 lbs test line is enough.

Bonefish when hooked can runs like a bullet-train. It can easily empty your reel in no time. A 4 lbs. fish can easily strip away more than 100-200 yds of line in its initial run. It’s any serious sport fisherman’s dream of having a go with this hell of a fish.

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