The fish turned then followed

As we crept slowly across the flat in about 15 inches of water, we could see tailing bones rooting about in the soft bottom or around the mangroves, for crabs, shrimps or any other food item they could find. After about eighty yards Chuck whispered “Good bone Martin at fifty feet 11 O’clock” However hard I looked I couldn’t see the fish “Point your rod Martin go left stop” Then I spotted the bone. With one false cast I dropped a size 6 Crazy Charlie four feet ahead of the fish waited a few seconds then gave a long slow strip. The fish turned then followed. I let the fly sit, the bone turned downwards and savagely grabbed hold. I tightened into the fish by striking with my stripping hand. For a few seconds the fish didn’t realise it was hooked. Then it turned on the after-burners and was off at a fast rate of knots. I stuffed the rod high and let it run, watching some 100 yards of backing disappear from the reel. It was all exhilarating and exciting stuff, Nothing beats this first run of a bone. Adrenaline pumped through the veins for some 5 minutes or perhaps ten? It was a fight of give and take but the combination of balanced tackle and an angler who wasn’t going to let the fish win started to take its toll. In another couple of minutes or so the fish, weighing about 7lbs, was mine. Over the past ten years fly fishing for bonefish has been growing in popularity, today it seems every fly fisher wants to chase the bones. This is easy to understand as the sport takes place in warm tropical waters, where the bone is highly rated as a tremendous sports fish which eat artificial flies with gusto. According to Joe Brooks in his book Salt Water Game Fishing (published by Harper and Row) he writes on page 288, that the first recorded bonefish taken on a fly was caught by accident in 1926, by Colonel Thompson fishing with veteran bonefishing guide J.T.Harrod at Long Key in Florida when fishing for tarpon. On the same page he writes, “The first tailing bonefish to be fished for deliberately were taken by Joe Brooks himself when being guided by Captain Jimmy Albright in Islamorada Florida in 1947”. In the 1950’s I read an article by Joe Brooks on bonefishing which fired my imagination. There are several other books by Brooks, Kaufmann, Kreh, Sosin, Wulff, Brown, Curcione and others. One of the best has just been published from the pen of Randall Kaufmann simply titled ‘Bonefishing’. Bonefish are without doubt the spookiest fish or animal I have ever hunted, They have a fantastic burst of speed often reaching 30 to 35 miles an hour. The fish has both incredible eyesight and hearing, making them a most difficult target to approach, especially by boat. They live in fear all their lives of barracuda, sharks, dolphins and ospreys who want to eat them, and the Homo Sapiens species who hunts for them with rod and line. The bonefish can be found in many tropical and sub tropical areas spanning 30 degrees North and South of the equator. Some of the best areas are the Bahamas, Florida Keys, Belize, Venezuela, Christmas Island, Bermuda, Cuba Yucatan and Honduras to name a few. I have been told there are bonefish on the Gulf of Oman at Khor Fakkan. Later this year I will be doing an exploratory trip to the Gulf of Oman in search of the spooky bone’s.This article is based on my experience of bonefishing in the Bahamas – one of the most delightful fishing locations in the world. The warm waters in the Bahamas vary in colour from light green to deep blue, and every shade in between, with beautiful white coral sandy beaches straight out of Robinson Crusoe with miles and miles of flats to stalk the bonefish. It’s very rare to see another angler during a days fishing. One of the biggest problems facing the bonefish angler on the flats is wind. It’s very rare to have calm days. Usually the wind will be blowing at 5 to 10 miles an hour and often winds of 20 to 25 miles an hour will be encountered. Bonefish don’t often move slowly in a straight line but take a zig zag course, often moving quite fast. Trout fishing on rivers is very easy compared with the bonefish. Fishing from a flats boat with a guide, the guide will use the clock face system to guide your direction using the bow as 12 o’clock. One moment he will whisper “bonefish at 10 o’clock 40 feet”. The next second he will perhaps say 2 o’clock 25 feet then it might be another instruction 12 o’clock 50 feet. This is very intense fishing and you have to be spot on with your casting. Spotting bonefish on your first trip is the most difficult thing you will have done in your angling life. You should hire the services of a guide for at least the first couple of days. They are worth their weight in gold. You will learn a great deal. Muddying the water, nervous water, tailing bones are three terms you will hear spoken on the flats. ‘Muddying the water’ is when the fish are head to hell, tail to heaven. In fact it’s the same as when carp are smoke-screening on the shallows. ‘Nervous water’ is hard to spot until the guide explains it and shows you an example. I quote from Randall Kaufmaan’s book Bonefishing with a Fly page 66. ‘Nervous water is the tip-off to underwater movement, as bonefish move, they push water and their movement causes surface water to move. The surface is not broken, only disturbed. Look for a slightly rippled water or a surface pattern that is at odds with or moving against the surrounding water. Single moving bonefish causing nervous water are difficult to spot, but a large school can be spotted from a hundred yards or more, especially if the waters surface is calm. A patch of nervous water will move around, reflect light, and sometimes take on a shade of grey, brown or green. “High frequency nervous water” is not created by bonefish, but by erratically swimming smaller fish’. Tailing bones are usually in shallow water and quite easy to spot. The first time you see them your heart rate switches into overdrive, adrenaline pumps through your veins. Your mouth will become dry, perspiration appears on the brow, your hands will start to shake as you nervously try to aerialise some line. There in front of you are a bunch of feeding bones perhaps only 20 feet away. The fish have their heads in the sand and mud feeding on clams, shrimps or crabs with their tail often poking out of the water. The first tailing bonefish I spotted were at Freshwater Creek on Andros Island I shot 30 feet of line and had a bone from that group of about three pounds – all very exciting. One thing you don’t need is a lot of equipment but what you use must be the best. Reels are most important as they have to do the most work, when a fish moves off from the starting block on a hundred yard dash the reel is certainly singing. The reel I now use for my bonefish is the Tibor Everglades. Its a magnificent bit of engineering and perfect for the job. Don’t use cold water fly lines. They become soft, often like a bit of warm spaghetti You need a 8 or 9 weight forward line designed for warm saltwater conditions. I now use the Scientific Anglers designed bonefish line, it’s proved perfect every time. Ideally, rods for use in the Bahamas need to be built for saltwater use and in 4 pieces. Baggage handlers show no respect for rod cases I use the Greys of Alnwick 4 piece Oceanic in an 8 weight – but I also carry a nine weight for use when the wind becomes too strong. Don’t worry about a 4 piece rod not being up to the job. I have used 12 weights for sharks to 110 lbs with no trouble. In fact 4 piece rods are the way to go. Other items of equipment needed are good leaders, 12′ in length with a tippet breaking strain of 8 and 10 lbs breaking strain. I used the fluorocarbon leaders from Masterline. These come in 9′ lengths and I extend them to 12′ by a double nail knot (on the butt end and not the tippet end). Polarised glasses are a must. You need two pairs, one with bright lenses and the other with dark lenses to get the best out of searching the flats under all conditions. Clothing is very important, a good hat is a must. I use one like a Foreign Legionnaires kepi. Shorts, shirts and trousers should be made from a material that has been designed for the tropics. Patagonia clothing is good, I cannot fault it. When wading the flats you need a good pair of flats wading boots. Don’t try wading the flats like the locals do on your first trip, there are lots of prickly stinging creatures.When wading the flats, you don’t walk but shuffle your feet. This way you will create vibrations and the sting-rays will move away. Try not to scratch yourself on the coral as it can be very painful. Most important is the sun screen and sun block. If you’re of dark complexion go for a factor 25 and make sure you use it liberally. My advice to fair skinned people is go for a factor of 35 to 40. Don’t think its macho not to use sun screens. Only the fools go on the flats without protection. The sun block should be used on the nose, lips, ears and any other sensitive parts of the body exposed to the sun. Want to join me on a trip?

Email: martin@flyfish.demon.co.uk