8 Tips for increasing your chances of catching Bonefish on the fly.
Presented by Ross Reels.
Make sure you are fishing bonefish waters.
We spent the last week fishing down in Belize with GofishBelize, and we had a bonefish on the line within 15 minutes of our first day. Belize is home to millions of bonefish and is a great place if you want to give this fish a shot. The Florida Keys and the Bahamas are also great areas to target this fish. There are some solid DIY options, but if it’s your first-time bonefishing we would recommend going with an experienced angler who can show you the way, or with a guide.
Have the Right Gear
Using the proper gear is essential when it comes to saltwater fly fishing. Our Go-To bonefish setup on this past trip was an 8 weight Thomas and Thomas Exocett, with a 7/8 Ross Reel Evolution. We were also throwing a Scientific Anglers Amplitude Grand Slam Fly line, with a 12-pound tapered leader. You don’t have to have the best of the best to catch fish, just make sure you are throwing a rod that can handle a good size bonefish, anyone who hooks a bonefish for the first time is always surprised by this small fish’s strength, they are torpedos. Also having a good pair of polarized glasses will be essential, because if you can see the fish your chances of catching them greatly increase.
Use the Right Flies
Luckily, bonefish aren’t too picky, especially when you compare them to Permit. A shrimp fly that has some weight to it will do the trick, but also make sure you have an idea how fast the fly sinks. Sometimes bonefish are tailing in half a foot of water, and other times they might be in 5 feet of water, so understanding what depth your fly is at is important. You want to make sure your fly gets in front of the fish’s face.
Practice Your Casting
Your biggest enemy on the flats will be a poor cast, especially when you are dealing with wind. We recently asked Capt. Will Benson how people can improve their cast and Will said practice casting into the wind. Practice making shots that you will get on the water. Stand on a cooler in the yard, throw a 40 ft cast into the wind, then pick up your line and throw another cast directly at 9 o’clock. Also make sure you practice how to shoot casts at different times, 12 o’clock being directly ahead of you.
Listen to Your Guide
Chasing these fish on the flats is teamwork. Your guide not only has the advantage of being on the poling platform, but they also are trained to spot these fish, make sure you listen to them and don’t get frustrated if something goes wrong. It’s essential that you can work together to have the most successful day on the water. These fish are extremely hard to spot so your guide will be your eyes.
The Strip
A proper retrieval and hook-set is crucial when targeting saltwater fish. If you are a trout fisherman, you need to throw everything out the door that you have learned about setting the hook. If you try and “trout-set” on a bonefish, you will most likely pull the fly out of the fishes mouth. The best tip I can give you is to keep your rod tip pointed low at all times, heck you can even put the tip in the water. When you are retrieving your fly you want to have long slow, smooth strips teasing the bonefish to take the fly. When you feel pressure at the end of your line continue to strip the fly, you can also increase the speed here. When you feel enough pressure… pull back hard on the line one last time and now you can slowly raise your rod when you feel the fish is hooked. From this point on you need to keep the pressure on the line, and point the rod tip in the opposite direction that the fish is running.
Line Management
Line management is crucial, especially when you hook a bonefish on the front of a flats boat. Make sure your line stays organized, and you are not stepping on it. Most people have a tendency to take too much line out, just use what you need. When the fish runs, stay relaxed, keep your rod high in the air, you may need to lift your feet up to let the line go through the guides, and make sure the line is not wrapped around the rod. The most important thing here is to stay calm. When the fish starts to run, make sure you have a decent amount of drag, and keep your knuckles away from the reel, they can really put on the wheels during the first and second runs.
Proper Release
After fighting a bonefish make sure you are quick when releasing them. Try your best to keep them in the water, and if you have a pair of pliers ready to pop the hook out that will be the quickest. Wet your hands and let him swim free. If you want to take a photo try leaning over the side of the boat vs’s a photo of the fish in the boat. These fish are very susceptible to predators on the flats, especially once they have been exhausted.
Photos and story by @jzissuÂ
Be sure to tune into our Instagram for more behind the scenes of the adventure to Belize: @flylords!
And thanks to Ross Reels, for making this article possible.
Isaias Miciu Nicolaevici was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and then spent his early years the mountains near Cordoba, Argentina, until his family moved to San Martin de los Andes. There, in Argentina’s northern Patagonia region, he discovered the passion for fly fishing, the outdoors, and photography that he so vividly expresses in “The Way it Used to Be†(p. XX). Nicolaevici’s photographic skills have taken him to exotic destinations in Brazil, Russia, Africa and the United States; and earned him assignments with brands like Beretta, Eddie Bauer and Jeep, as well as many outfitters around the world.
I have been working as a photographer since 2006 so 12 years now… 10 years specialized in fly fishing and outdoors.
I was not born in Patagonia but I call home San Martin de los Andes. Which is in northern Patagonia on the Andes mountain range in Argentina (pictured above). I’ve lived here since I was 8 and of course, it influences my photography style. Not only has it influenced me but also given me a direction with my career as a photographer.
I was 12 years old when I first tried flyfishing, and I remember my first trout on a fly perfectly…. Hard to explain how excited I was cause I felt like I had really bad luck catching fish before that!!!
I guess shooting fly fishing it is different because I feel something for FF which I don’t for any anything else, so then the expression becomes easier for me…. But, I do love anything outdoors, especially anything that happens to be with gauchos, horses, anything that merges well with the wild landscapes and keeps a classic aesthetic! At the end of the day, I just realize that the light is always what moves my “eye-feelingsâ€.
My greatest accomplishment is to have well survived these days and formed a family. Living only as a freelancer photographer without moving much from home, which I love… My goal in the future is to merge artistic photography with fishing photography. Enough so my customers can come down to Patagonia to get their fishing-portraits done and be known as a sort of personalized fine art photographer.
It is hard to pick! Not because I have done too many good ones, but because it somehow meets a limit, otherwise I always can keep improving my “best†shot. But if I have to pick maybe the one, it is above.
First find what really “moves your feelings†on photography subjects, something that you feel part of it, whatever is: first go and do that in the first person. Find your goals, be consistent and work hard on it. Don’t choose only what is better paid, cause over the time you will hate your own routine.
Patagonia is still one of the very few places in the world that is simple, authentic, raw and not too populated. Where still you can see the wilderness without too much of the human been changes… I just published a photo essay in the Outlaw magazine which is called “the way it used to be†written by Eric Ladd. It speaks about Patagonia from a non-citizen eye…
I’ve always dream to be outside with a fishing rod and my camera, doing both at the same time… it took my years to learn I was WRONG! At least in my case I’ve found that if I really want to put all my attention into one, then I need to leave one of them at home. 
Today it is the boom of the home-made beers here… So Any local beer in town is pretty good, there’s one from the next town (Junin de los Andes) which is called Paihuen, I like it a lot!
Well… Only God knows what’s next, but I’m planning to consolidate on fine art printing through the winter incoming…
