Want to not catch me? Read and learn.
Don’t want to catch a bonefish? Pick one or more of these simple tips and you’ll be not catching fish in no time!
- Wear wading boots in the boat. If you’re casting from the boat and you’re wearing shoes of any kind, you won’t know if you’re standing on your fly line. Always, always, always go barefoot when fishing out of the boat so you can feel your line if it’s underneath your feet.
- Use a fly that’s too heavy for the water you’re fishing. At Andros South, we chase bonefish in really skinny water. Use that lead-eyed fly that’s designed for deep water in the Florida Keys, and you’re guaranteed to scare the crap out of a bonefish in 6 inches of water.
- Look only at the fish you’re casting to. Most bonefish like to travel together, and if there’s a fish between you and your target, you’re going to line him and they’ll all spook. Scan the area between you and your target before you cast.
- Cast too far. If you’re properly set up on a flat, most of the fish you encounter will be swimming towards you. If you cast too short, just leave it and that fish just might swim right up to your fly. If you cast too long…you line ‘em and you might as well take a seat.
- Don’t pay attention to your stripped-off line. If you’re in the boat, your line should be neatly piled on the deck or on the bottom of the boat. If you’re wading, your line should be looped behind you in the water. If your excess line is wrapped around your buddy’s boat bag, or underneath the boat, or around a cleat or a hinge, or snagged on a mangrove shoot, well, you might hook him but you’re not going to catch that fish. So pay attention to your stripped-off line.
Got any firsthand input on more ways to not catch a bonefish? Leave a comment and help us all out!
More Bonefishing Tips
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I am not a fisherman, but I love seeing how you are applying some of the things Darren is teaching in the 31DBB
Thanks Lorraine – your blog looks great too!
Andrew
Here’s my feedback on how not to catch a bonefish… Recalled from my very first wade on a beautiful sunny day, no wind, on a flat up in Grassy Creek, if I’m not mistaken….
Angler: “Wow, this is cool. It’s beautiful.”
Guide: “Ya mon. It is.”
Angler: “Think we’ll see any bones?”
Guide: “Maybe mon.”
Angler: “Hey what kind of bird is that?”
Guide: (no reply)
Guide: “Bonefish. 150’. 11 o’clock. Get ready mon.”
Angler: “I can’t see him.”
Guide: (no reply)
Guide: “Bonefish is 100’, mon. Still 11 o’clock.”
Angler: “Still can’t see him.”
Guide: “Ok, mon. De bone is 75’, 12 o’clock. Cast.”
Angler: “I can’t see him.”
Guide: “He’s 75’, 12 o’clock, mon. Cast.”
Angler: “Crap.”
Guide: “He’s 60’ mon. 1 o’clock. Moving right. Cast now.”
Angler: “I can’t see him. Where is he?”
Guide: “He’s 50’, mon. 2 o’clock. CAST NOW!!”
Angler: (false casting about 20times) (no reply) (casts blind in the general vicinity)
Guide: “MON! You lined him!!”
Angler: “Dude, I never saw him.”
Guide: “I know, mon.” (laughing) “Next time, mon.”
I have lived on South Andros for the last 6 years. Let’s just say I have come up with more than a few ways to blow a shot at a bonefish.
The first I will share is to get some sort of smelly gunk on your hands and ultimately your fly. If a bone charges up behind your fly and then suddenly turns off or spooks it is likely he caught a whiff of SPF50 or something else that does not smell tasty to him.
Racine, that was hilarious! That sounds about right. However, the guide should have told you when to drop the fly. I regularly have clients catch fish they never see till we land them, all by merely following instructions like:
"Ok, point your rod, more left, there."
"Cast now… little more to your right… OK DROP IT."
"Wait… strip, strip, STRIP LONG, HE'S GOT IT!"
Anyways, good blog here and great info.
Thanks WindKnot, and thanks for weighing in.