Bonefish Tactics

Intro | Tactics | Gear | Flies | Trip Timing | Guides

Actually seeing a bonefish is the first hurdle you'll have to conquer when looking for them on the flats, because through photosynthesis they have the ability to slightly alter their color--lighter or darker--to blend with whatever type of bottom they are swimming over. Very often you will see the bonefish's shadow before you actually see the fish--hence the name "grey ghost."

When you are looking for bonefish, look for anything moving on the flat--shadows moving, slight changes in the surface of the water including wakes, tails, or anything else unusual. Some anglers are so tightly focused on seeing the fish itself that they miss other signs of their presence.


Bonefish move according to the tides, creeping onto shallow flats to feed on an incoming tide, and retreating to deeper water when the tide goes out. Most guides know the routes bonefish follow, and will position their boat to wait for them at the most productive locations. Alternatively, your guide may push pole the boat across a flat, searching for tailing bonefish that are feeding in the shallows.

Other fish you may see on the flats include tarpon, permit, sharks, stingrays, box or cow fish, needlefish, and a variety of others. In the upper Florida Keys, the bonefish are so big it is often difficult to distinguish them from a small shark.

Many guides are able to instantly recognize the difference, not only because they can see the fish better, but because of the way the fish is moving. A small nurse, shovelnose, or blacktip shark will often cruise steadily and confidently across the flat with a definite side-to-side swimming movement. Bonefish, on the other hand, move much more nervously, and without the exaggerated tail movement of a shark. Other species have their tell-tale signs as well, and it just takes time on the water to learn the characteristics of each species.

When hunting bonefish, the cast is critical. A river trout will usually hold in a feeding position until you either spook it, or catch it, and often you can make dozens of casts before you hook it. With bonefish--especially bonefish on the move--the first cast is the one that counts. You have to cast quickly, and you have to make it accurate.

Practising your casting is the single most important preparation you can make for a trip to the Keys. Try to hit a hula-hoop, or better yet, a dinner plate, on a windy day at distances of 50, 60, and 70 feet. Use a large fly (with the hook cut off) and an 8-weight rod to mimic the conditions you will find in Florida. Most importantly, rehearse making the cast with a minimum of false casts. One or two false casts will be all you can afford when a big bonefish approaches.

Finding Bonefish
Bonefish are constantly looking for little critters such as small finfish, shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans to eat. It's a rare occurrence to find bonefish in the same place time after time, but not rare to find them traversing the same area time after time on the same tide phase. Tidal flow and direction (incoming or outgoing) is the primary factor that determines where the bonefish will be on any flat at any particular time. That's why your guide knows where and when to find bonefish and you don't. He's taken the time to study the flats in his local area and determine where the fish will be moving during each phase of the tide.

As a general rule, bonefish move onto a flat on a rising tide, look around for awhile for food and then move off the flat as the tide begins to drop, seeking the protection of deeper water. Air temperature too can effect when the bonefish will appear on any given flat; for example, in the winter if the water gets very cold, the bonefish may wait until the sun warms the water in the afternoon before they move out of deeper (and warmer) water. Conversely, in the summer when the water on the flats gets hot during the day, bonefish may not be as prevalent during the afternoon, and your guide may suggest fishing very early in the morning to take advantage of cooler water temperatures in the shallows.

About 80% of the bonefish you'll see in the Keys will be on or adjacent to lush grass flats and nearby sandy areas. Once you or your guide spot a bonefish, it's time to plan your strategy and decide when and where to place your fly, and this is the time to be in constant conversation with your guide as he knows better than anyone what to do at this point. Remember, this is his office, and he sees anglers make mistakes every day. Listen carefully to what he has to say.

Usually, he'll tell you to put your fly a few feet in front of and slightly to one side of the bonefish, depending on what the fish is doing. If it's feeding heavily, he might tell you to let your fly drop an inch or two in front of the bonefish's nose. A feeding bonefish often buries its nose in the bottom as it roots around for food, and in this position, the bonefish is refferred to as a "tailing" or "mudding" bonefish, as its tail will often stick out of the water while it roots around on the bottom. A bonefish feeding in a nearly stationary position is usually more likely to take a fly than a moving bonefish, but when the bonefish is in this posture, it takes a much more accurate and delcate cast to successfully land the fly near the fish's nose.

If the bonefish is moving fast across the flat, there are times when your guide will advise you to lead the fish by as much as 10 feet or more. These fish can see the fly a long way off in clear water, and when they accelerate toward your fly, it's a heart-stopping moment.

Retrieving the Fly
When you get your fly in front of the fish, your next worry is retrieving the fly. Again, you need to rely of the experience on your guide. He knows more reliably than you, how the bonefish will react to a specific retrieve. With a mudding bonefish, you'll probably need to move the fly slowly, as little as an inch at a time, giving the fish time time to find your fly in the murky water. With a moving bonefish, you may need to swim the fly slowly until the fish sees it, and then strip it quickly as if to imitate a fleeing meal.

Your retrieve may also depend on the type of fly you are using. Small crabs can move quite quickly through shallow water, and a short stripping motion (6-8 inches at a time) imitates their start-and-stop movement, as well as the movement of a number of other prey species like shrimp or small baitfish. Permit anglers will often let a crab pattern fall, and lie motionless as the permit comes in for the kill, as many crabs will "play dead" or attempt to bury themselves as defensive tactic. At times, this ploy will work for large bonefish as well.

Your fly should always move away from the bonefish, never toward it. If you are 90 degrees to the fish, your cast should fall a little short of his line of travel, so the fly will move away from him, and not on an interception course. Bonefish (like most fish) are wary of objects moving toward them.

Walt Jennings is a Fly Fisherman editor at large. He lives in Venice, Florida.

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