well, lets put it this way; the fishing was awesome, but catching would have been even better. we got a guided trip on our first day there, but the water temps started out at 69 degrees and only reached 73. it was pretty windy and the sun stayed behind the clouds. we only saw one school of bonefish and one lone tarpon, neither of which we hooked up with. i did catch a 20 inch sea trout during the charter, but that was about it. during the rest of the vacation, my brother and i waded the flats for a few days. we saw a bunch of bonefish, as well as tons of baracuda, but we never caught any of them. All in all, it was a great vacation, and hopefully i get another chance at the big florida bones.
How good is your double haul?
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
Good to hear you got out on the water. Bummer the fishign wasn’t better though but catchin’ is only part of it 
Next time you head down that way you need to let me know. I can recommend the best guide down there. You mention water temps only getting up to 73. That is more than warm enough (even too warm to some) to see plenty of Bones. My guy down there finds fish when I think there is no possible way we would see Bone’s given the conditions (wind, cold air and water). Yest every time I fish with him we see lots and lots of fish and usually catch a few too
At least three times now we have located and caught Bonefish in water under 65F. So don’t let guides fool yoy into the “the water is just too cold today” excuse.
It might be a good thing you didn’t hook a Bonefish as that is ALL you would be thinking about from that point on
Where were you staying / fishing? Who did you fish with?
Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!
You’re right mr Pooh bah. Florida is all fished out. Better try somewhere else.
Rusty <><
Just Another Perfect Day In Paradise
if you wanna catch something ya gotta get a hook in the water
I was talking with Sandy Moret and he explained Keys’ fishing this way. He said that if you hire a Keys’ guide and you get 10 opportunities to cast a fly to bonefish, then you’ve had a good day. He said if you get 20 chances, then you’ve had a great day. He said if you get 20 chances and you land a bonefish, make sure you buy a lottery ticket on the way home.
Hey, Dr. Fish, who’s the best guide in the Keys? I’ve fished with a number of good ones.
J Castwell wrote: Florida? I’m not so sure. I think they may be all ‘bs’ and no bonz. IMHO, Beware of the hype on Florida, the keys and the flats. In my opinion, it’s getting deep.
Hype on the Bahamas? Mostly pretty straight.
Hey, J, you’re right about the number fish in the islands and other exotic destinations. But unless you’ve caught a Keys’ bone, you’ve really not caught a bone. Anyone can catch a Bahama bone, Venezueal bone, Belize bone, Yucatan bone, Christman Island bone, but it takes a real angler to catch a Keys’ bone.
Believe me, there are plenty of bones around Islamorada, but the pressure is heavy and the fish are smart. I’d take one Keys’ bone over 50 easy bones any time.
J Castwell wrote: Seems that is about the ratio, 1 in Florida to 50 in the Bahamas.
True. And that’s my point. Anyone can catch bones in the Bahamas or other exotic spots. But if you’ve never caught a Keys’ bone, you’ve never really bonefished. You make my point, j castwell.
At the price to travel and fish in these wonderful places, I’ll still take a nice batch a large bonz to maybe catching one.
Thanks anyway. To each his own.
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
Going on thursday. Should i just stay in the hotel pool?
Rusty’s right. All the guides are pains and grumpy, all the hotels are full, there is NO room, there are man-eatin’ gators in the storm drains and all bodies of water…no fish!!! Ill-tempered sharks on the flats. I wouldn’t come here if I were y’all!!
<<<<< thinks they all fled to Cuba during prohibition… had the time of my life there with da bonz, and the only tarpon hooked, ('bout 120 pounds)… headed straight back to the 'keys coasts! Wanted to try FLA bonz… but hear they are just ghosts these days :0(
Well since it’s already booked, i guess i’ll go down to Islamorada in the morning and look at the empty water anyway. Thanks for all the cheery reports on what to expect. Maybe i can use my rod to fly a kite or something. See ya on Monday. RC
From wat i saw, your all right. I’ve never been anywhere else, and i’ve only been to the keys once, but there was definitely a shortage of bones. LOTS of fisherman, but hardly any fish. Lets not be forgetting one thing though…these fish are much bigger. More size, more age, more experience. Thats just what i picked up on, correct me if im wrong.
[This message has been edited by CJR (edited 05 May 2005).]
Bones may be scarce, but there are plenty of other fish to catch. Snook, redfish, Tarpon, Jacks, yellowtail, baracuda, etc. Have fun!
Bill
I’ve also found keys fishing to be grossly overhyped. Took 4 guided trips out there, got tired of the guides telling me I’m ‘not good enough to fish there’, and will probably not go back.
don’t take it to heart. Its thier way of saying, “i can’t get you any fish.” Stick with stripers, there bigger, easier to find and cast to, and you can eat em’ (every once in a while).
Wow, this thread had grown and with being buried at the office I’ve been away from FAOL too much.
I have a few comments on this. I have been blessed to have traveled a bit and have caught Bonefish in the Bahamas, Belize and in Florida. I hate to disagree with some here but OVERALL the Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay Bonefish are harder to catch on the fly and here’s why. These fish see a LOT more boat traffic and flies than do the Bone’s in other locals. Also, Florida Bay, WITHOUT QUESTION, holds the largest number of MONSTER Bonefish. I’m talking real, measured, weighed fish in excess of 11 pounds. I have been blessed to catch a couple of these pigs (up to 31" L, 19.5" / 12lbs +, measured, tagged and released). I have seen quite a few BIG fish in the 12 - 15lb range. You simply cannot go anywhere else and see as many truly trophy sized Bone’s as you will in Florida Bay. These are OLD fish and they are very educated and therefore very tough to take on a fly (and not really much easier on bait). I know several fly anglers who have traveled to the Bahamas, Belize and Venezuela and caught lots and lots of Bonefish with no prior experience. That simply will not happen if you toss a newbie on the front of the boat in FLA Bay (for the most part) no matter what guide they are fishing with. Granted that there are days in FLA where the Bone’s are fat and happy and will eat, eat, eat but this is not commonplace as it is elsewhere.
Despite what some have said above, there are plenty of Bone’s in South Florida. Now, there certainly are not the clouds of fish that you can see in some areas of the Bahamas and Belize but there are good numbers of fish.
My last 4 or 5 trips for Bonefish on Florida Bay were in February of '04 and '05. On two of those days we saw close to 100 fish with an average size of 6-8lbs and lots in the 8-11lb range. On 2 more of those trips we probably saw an average of 40 - 50 fish (same average size). One the other trip the conditions were not good (high winds and 48F air temps) so we only saw a dozen or so fish but the ones were saw where pigs in the 8 - 13lb range. There were other fish but conditions made sight-fishing very difficult. Down there we typically see singles, doubles and small groups of fish (5 - 10 fish). You don’t normally see the massive schools of 30 - 100 fish as you may in other places like Belize.
My real point is that YES, there are plenty of Bonefish in South Florida. If you want to catch numbers of fish (2 -6lbs) then you should head to Belize, the Bahamas or Venezuela. You’ll see lots of fish, have lots of opportunities and the fish come to the fly MUCH easier (usually). Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with these “smaller” fish. Even a 2lb Bonefish is A LOT OF FUN on the fly rod. In these places however, you are far less likely to hook into a real pig over 10lbs but it all depends on what you are looking for.
Now, if you want a real challenge, want to see some true MONSTER Bone’s and are OK with the fact that chasing trophy fish like this WILL result in a much lower catch rate then Florida Bay is the place. I really enjoy catching them and I’m now at the point where I want to test myself and hunt that fish of a lifetime. I have seen the 15 pound giants down there (saw one that went 15lbs 2oz being weighed on a certified scale, get tagged and released) and I want one on the fly.
It’s all up to the angler. There is no right or wrong school of thought here. You just need to decide what you are looking for is all.
I’m hopping on a plane this coming Tuesday and after a few days of meetings I’ll be settling into a rented house on the ocean near the famed Seven-Mile Bridge for a week! I may chase some Bone’s on this trip but it’s a family outing so it’s more of an action/catch’em up deal so Tarpon and Sharks inshore and Dolphin offshore are the soup de’jour.
Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!
“If you can get a chance and your casting is up to ‘salt-water’ proficiency, make the trip.”
Hit the nail on the head! I have been fishing the Keys for over 15 years, one of the biggest reasons an angler comes back unsuccessful comes down to their own ability. Saltwater flats fishing is VERY DIFFICULT! If you can’t double haul, cast in the wind, or cast accurately, don’t waste your time or the guide?s time. There are variables that are beyond your control…weather, tides, etc. One reason the guide may get frustrated with an angler is that the guide is busting his ass to get you into a fish, polling a boat around is hard work. If the guide says your casting stinks, it probably does! PRACTICE CASTING! The Keys fishing is not over hyped, trust me, but it?s not easy. If you can’t make the casts you?re not going to be successful. Put in some practice time before hand, and practice right. Practice in the wind, the weather is not always perfect.
Josh [url=http://www.rogueflyshop.com:13862]http://www.rogueflyshop.com[/url:13862]
With all do respect, when i took atrip down there, our guide only gave us 1 shot at bones, and 1 chance at some trout, jacks, etc. I’ve been fly fishing for a while now, and double hauling isn’t a problem. Maybe in most cases your right, but i know my capabilities and have no problem confessing to any faults. The simple fact of the matter is that i didn’t get many chances.
If you don’t find fish to cast at it doesn’t matter how good of fisherman you are!
What was the weather like when you were there? What month were you there? To see that few fish, something must have not been right…
Josh [url=http://www.rogueflyshop.com:4ef52]http://www.rogueflyshop.com[/url:4ef52]