Bonefish Flies

[Seth]

When targeting bonefish, what flies have been most productive for you in the waters you fish on a regular basis or waters you have visited?

[Bender]

For my personal experiences i can tell that the C.Charlie in pearl or pink color with white fur wings tyied in hook #8 and silver chain eyes has work well,ok i admit that it is my number 1 fly's choice for small to medium bones in relatively deep water or srong currents.

[Seth]

Have you used patterns like the bonefish bitters in more shallow waters?

[Seth]

Do we have any other bone fishermen on the board? I am curious to know what works for you. :thumb:

[Bender]

Yes Seth, i've tried bonefish bitter in brown and olive colors tied in hook size #8-10 and i've to admit that this pattern worked well in Los Roques's pancake flats. In Dec 2005 in Punta Allen (mexico) a must to have fly was the "tailing bonefish",that is a pearl shrimp pattern with white fur wings striped in dark brown with a marker and a pink head,this fly produced a lot of bonefish there.

[Seth]

Bender, You seem to like #8 hooks. Can you explain your size choice, because I notice many guides using #4 and #6 size. Is it that they are encountering more medium to large fish?

[Bender]

It depends where i fish and the bonefish size too,i've caught large bones in L.Roques with little bonefish bitters and with G.Minnows in #8 and #6 hook size,this last one produce my bigger bone ever,a 10-11pounder,so i think that large flies are best in deeper water (and when blindcasting )and little ones are best in skinny water;with a little fly i can make a more accurate presentation without the fear to spook the fish. So if i can sightfishing i'll usually put a little fly tied in a 8 or 6 hook size ,but if i'm fishing in a deeper flats or a transition from shallow to deep water (like a drop off border)i'll usually put a bigger one ,but it is rare that i fish with a bigger hook than a #4 size.
Well this is my philosophy..,but i caught also a little bone while fishing for barracuda,the little ghost eaten a 2/0 barra fly with steel leader!

[longshot]

I think it really depends on where you are and the conditions you're fishing.I think size 8 flies would probably never even be seen in Florida.Those big fish want 4 and 2's most of the time.I've had the most luck with 4-6's in all areas I've fished.I have found that its better to have too many flies in different sizes that it is to not have the one they want.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i306/longshotspage/wedding236.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i306/longshotspage/wedding260.jpg

[Aitutakiflyfish]

I hope it isn't to late to jump in on this thread. I've been fishing not playing with the computer lately. As a guide and someone that fishes for bonefish on an average of 5 days a week here on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands my go to fly is the clouser minnow. My ususal sizes are 1's and 1/0's. Of course these are big fish, with an average being 30+ inches. I just use different colors but the same pattern. All have heavy eyes to get the fly down and keep it there. Last week was chartruese-white and before that was brown-white and yesterday it was a yellow-white. I have had clients throw all kinds of flys but it seems that the most productive here is the trusty clauser.

[Seth]

Thanks for the input Butch! You are never too late to jump in. I'm going to have to get down your way and experience those fat silver ghosts. :thumb:

[Aitutakiflyfish]

I hate to mention another forum here but check out The Fly Life Forum in the travel section. The 3 bonefish in that post were all on a chartruese-white clauser. Seth you might get lonely here being that you would be the only one fly fishing on the entire lagoon.

[No Bail]

Seth you might get lonely here being that you would be the only one fly fishing on the entire lagoon.

I don't know about that statement. It is an incredible place on earth. With a spouse's understanding I had a great time on a guided trip on my 25th anniversary. Turtles, rays and toothy critters were plentiful.

Bonefish have to be the most humbling of fish. They humbled the heck out of me. When the wind is up and the chop is bad, the efforts by me to see and cast to the silver devils were fruitless. The guide was understanding but I'm sure I tested his patience. Although it was a very difficult day to fish, I'd try it again in a minute. This time I'd bring my own gear and use a nice kayak to get around the lagoon.

To the questions, are there places around the Pacific Resort that could be wade fished, or are there places in the lagoon that are closed to outsiders, and if so, where might I find out about those locations? I'm hoping for a web site to check. I didn't have much luck finding out prior information the last time I visited. The next time I'll be calling you for a booking. I think it would be money well spent to fish the first day with you, and then play around afterward.


Aitutakiflyfish, please post some photos of the area. I can't get enough and hope to return next year.

Randy

[Aitutakiflyfish]

Randy,
I'll bet your guide took you to the flats behind "One Foot Island". He seems to stick to that area regardless of the conditions. On those windy days I just stick to the leeward side of the little island, motus. It is nice and calm and I can pole the boat along the shoreline and flats with quite a bit of area to cover.
If front of Pacific Resort is a very nice flat. The only problem there is that there are quite a few of coral heads that you can lose your fish in when they are running 200+ yards. Just down the road, walking distance, is the flat at the main warf. In the last 4 days I have landed 3 bonefish, smallest at just over 30 inches, and the largest, 2 days ago, 34 inches with an 18 inch girth. Then yesterday I nailed a nice 30 inch yellowfin trevally as it was smashing something on the white sand flat in 10 inches of water. Being this is a thread on flys I will say all these fish I caught were on a yellow-white clouser minnow with medium gold eyes on a size 1 hook.