bonefish flies
I'm hoping to head out to some tropical destination next year for a couple of weeks. I hope to give the salt a try (1day), as I look around for gear I figured I should line up some flies to play with while attempting to hook on to a bonefish.
What flies would you guys recommend for bonefishing? links to recipes would appreciated.
Saltamontes
a couple more questions, would you recommend a bonefish floating or sinking line. Is a fluorocarbon leader a better choice? also what length of leader would you suggest (9ft, longer?), tapered to what "x" tippet?. Locally I fish for trout and some of the browns I catch are quite large (20" to 27"), so 3x tippet is what I often use. As you can imagine this is all new to me, and while I will not be buying a huge selection of salt gear, I would like to get something that will give me a fighting chance.
Last edited by Saltamontes; 05-06-2010 at 01:10 AM.
I started responding, then thought about it. Type the words "bonefish basics" into google and you'll get plenty of articles about it. Way more information than I'd be able to or want to type out here. It might not all be good info but after reading a couple sources/articles you'll notice trends and can always come here and ask specific questions. Fly wise, gotchas, crazy charlies, mini puffs, christmas island specials, small clouser minnows. Maybe throw in a crab pattern to round things out, but those are the basics/staples. You'll get other ideas from the articles and suggestions from people here but its a start. Also check out the fly of the week archives, saltwater patterns are marked with an *, anything that looks shrimpy is worth a try. Specifically check out Al's Shrimpf and bonefishwhisper's Electric Dread.
Short answers to your other questions, floating line is a good start, but its nice to have options. Fluoro is probably mandatory for the terminal end of the leader at least. Saltwater fly fishing doesn't really use the X system, go with lb test, 10-20lb depending on situation.
Rod and reel wise, 8 wt, and a reel with a good drag and room for at least 200yds of backing to be safe. Not everything you need to know, but I think its a good start and if you do some googling you'll get plenty of info.
be very careful with the Electric Dread...you could end up ruining your entire life by catching the trophy bonefish of a lifetime...dreads are known to slay bones in the 10-15lb range
assuming I will not hook onto a monster bonefish, what tippet size would you recommend?
Generally in the 8 to 12 lb range for tippet and most use mono. The vast majority of people use floating lines as the the bone fish are generally in water from inches deep to 3 feet. It depends on where you go for flies, sizes vary from 8 to 2. You will probably need flies with heavy bead chain eyes to almost no weight for the really shallow water.
In Belieze I caught all my bonefish on bonefish biters in sizes 8 &6 ( which represent small crabs in a foot of water or less. In the Bahamas people generally use bigger sizes. Al Campbell and others have been successful on Als Shrimpf http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying...082701fotw.php. As you search you will find that there are at least a quadrillion different bone fish patterns
I haven't used it yet, but based on some of BFW's pictures and other testimonies, I'll second or third, or whatever the electric dread. I'll be tying up a dozen or two for my next trip...whenever that may be, but you can bet I'll have some with me.
TT.
As far as fly color and size where you go will determine that.
The flies you use on a sand bottom will be different than on a marl bottom.
the electric dread will work in any color bottom and any condition...I have caught well over 200 bones on that fly alone in every condition known to mankind...I have double grand slammed on the electric dread just this yr...permit, tarpon and bones, redfish and snook, its the only fly I use on the flats to cover everything without worry...sweet
Cool Beans....Cordell, Proud of you Amigo.....You've come along way with that Dread !!!
I can't seem ta find the sweet taste of the stream
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote