Bone Fishing Essentials
One of the most popular sport fish to catch is the bonefish. It is fun to go after and even more fun to catch. Out of all the saltwater fish, bonefish is the one that you must go after to say that you are an angler. Here are some of the essentials you need to know if you up for the challenge. If you want to read more about fishing for other species, click here.
One of the reasons bonefish are such a challenge is that you can stalk them and hunt them. They like to spend their days in the shallow waters like sand flats, mudflats, and mangrove lagoons. The adults travel in small schools of 5-10 fish. They can move slowly when they are feeding or looking for food, but when spooked or hooked they will run with amazing speed. They can go from 0 to 100 in an instant. This is why you need lots of line on your reel and have the drag set fairly tight.
Mainly anglers go after bonefish with a fly rod. When they are searching for food they stir up the sand or mud and then eat with their heads down and their tails sticking up out of the water. These tailing fish are easy to spot making sight fishing fun.
When walking through the sand flats you can come upon 5 or 6 tailing bonefish you can cast your fly past them and strip it in front of their noses. They casts are usually long distance so practice your long cast with a 10 weight fly rod. Once their hooked they will run hard. The amazing thing is that they may run at you or away from you or any other direction. They run so fast when they run away the reel just screams. To read more about fly fishing click here.