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Have I Got a Bone To Pick...
By CAPTAIN JOE RODRIGUEZ
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Cooler weather means better bonefishing
Summer is over and the days of 90 degree or higher
temperatures are dwindling. Remember the days
you spent wondering where all the tailing bonefish
go after eight in the morning? Bonefish are not very tolerant
of hot water. If the wind is up, bonefish will often mud in
water from three to six feet deep. But,
not so in the “fall,” which marks the
beginning of the best bonefishing period
from Cape Florida to Islamorada to
the lower Keys.
Water temperature is a major factor
when bonefishing. By September, air
temperatures should be in the 80’s instead
of the 90’s as they were in May, June
and July. Also the sun is out a lot longer
in those months, which means the sun is
baking the flats for longer periods of time.
There are days during those hot, humid,
calm days that only provide a couple of
chances for hooking a bonefish the entire
day. This is not the case during the fall.
Mild cold fronts, rain and cloud
cover are factors which can work to your advantage. A few
years ago, during the Fall Fly Bonefish Tournament, my friend
Alex Cruz and I enjoyed some of the best bonefishing either
one of us had ever seen. In between periods of rain and wind,
Cruz managed to land four Islamorada bonefish and hook
several more. The “bonies” tailed and ate flies like kids eat
candy, so don’t let a little rain and clouds keep you from
bonefishing. You could be missing out on some awesome
action. Also, the days prior to a cold front and a few days
after can be incredible. I don’t mean a hard December cold
front, but the cold fronts that move
through in September. Sometimes even
mild ones in December can produce
bonefish.
Fall also brings the biggest tides
of the year. Tide and water level are
the most important keys to catching
bonefish. Pay very close attention to the
tide and water level before you start to
fish a flat. Occasionally, anglers make
the mistake of fishing a spot too early
and waste valuable time and hurt a spot.
The fish might be holding on an edge
or lake waiting for the tide to come in.
The tides for Biscayne Bay are pretty
easy to follow. Start at Government Cut
in Miami and go from there. (Example:
If high tide at Government Cut is at 7 a.m. and I want to
fish for “tailers” at Totten Key, then there is a three hour
difference.) The ideal time to fish is the last two hours of the
sunrise. The big fall tides also allow you to fish certain banks
and edges that in the summer don’t have enough water to be
fishable. These big tides mean big
bonefish. On one particular trip
with nine-time Islamorada All
Tackle Bonefish Champion Jose
“Pepe” Lopez, he caught eight
big bonefish in “Downtown
Islamorada.” The smallest was nine
pounds, the rest weighed from 10
to 16 pounds. Yes, 16 pounds! All
were officially weighed at World
Wide Sportsman. A big reason
for our success that day was his
incredible ability to catch big tailing
bonefish. Without the big tides, the
cooler water, and level of water,
however, we would have never had
the chance to catch fish like that.
Tackle for fall bonefish is
pretty simple. In the spring we
use mostly No. 9 weights because the wind is usually
blowing. In the fall you can scale down some. Lighter
winds mean smaller sticks. I like using No. 7 weights
on those slick, calm days when you’re throwing at
tailers. Keep your leaders around 12 feet in length.
Several top bonefishermen even go up to 14- to 18-foot
leaders. Everyone has their way of building a bonefish
leader. I simply use about six feet of 30-pound test,
but three to four feet of 25 or 20 pound mid-section,
and two to three feet of 12- to 15-pound test will
also do. You can go lighter on the tippet, but the fish
in Biscayne Bay and the Keys are bigger, so I choose to
go a little heavier. Use merkins and tasty toad type flies
tied on No. 2 or No. 4 hooks with extra small lead eyes
for tailing fish, to small to medium size lead eyes for
mudding fish. For shoreline fish, weighted “gotcha’s”
and “clousers” will do the trick.
For the guys and gals who like to throw bait at bonies, a
seven- to 8 ½- foot rod and reel with a quality drag that can
hold 200 yards of 10-pound test will do the job. I prefer to use
eight-foot rods if I have to make a long cast at tailers. With
the seven-foot rod you can make a quick accurate cast when
you’re fishing the shorelines. Many anglers have switched to
braided lines for bonefish. I prefer mono because of its stretch,
especially when a bonefish screams off a flat and is out 100
yards. The stretch in the mono makes a difference. Choice of
bait is simple: shrimp and crabs. If I’m fishing for big tailing
bonefish in strong current I will use a crab with the corners of
the crab cracked. Make sure you throw the crab far enough in
front and up current of the fish. Big bonies rarely turn down
a cracked crab. For everything else, from schools of tailers to
mudders in deep water, shrimp will do. Make sure you use a
split shot if you’re fishing mudders; it’s very
important that the shrimp gets to mudding fish
quickly. Use a 1/0 or 2/0 “worm style” hook.
For the crabs, I like to use a 2/0 to 3/0 size hook
depending on the size of the crab.
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