INTRODUCTION TO "BONES"

The world's best Bone fishing is concentrated in a band (BONEFISH BELT) that stretches Southeast from the Bahamas through Florida, Cuba, Mexico's Yucatan, Belize, the Honduran out islands, Bermuda, rim of the Caribbean, parts of the Pacific and Indian Ocean and the eastern Atlantic Coast of Africa.

While "Bones" are plentiful throughout the Keys, the flats between Key Biscayne and Big Pines Key have the largest population and fish in excess of 10 pounds are relatively common. PERMIT  are found in the same waters as BONEFISH.

WATER TEMPERATURE limits are usually 68 F to 85 F with the best fishing early and late in the day. Below 68F "BONES" won't move up on the flats.  When they move up on the shallows it's generally with the rising tide and leave with the ebbing flow.  Though BONEFISH can be caught throughout most of the year, spring and summer months are by far the best with May and June being the ideal time.

MUDDING
BONEFISH FEED on shrimp, crabs, baitfish, mollusk, clams, sea worms, and urchins. This bottom feeder, while searching for food, stirs up bottom sediment creating clouds of "BONEFISH MUD." This is called "MUDDING" and takes place in 4 to 5 feet of water.  Darker fresh mud orients the angular to the general direction that BONEFISH are moving.

TAILING
Another way of spotting "BONES" is "TAILING." Having a sucker-like mouth which aid them in bottom feeding sometimes results in their tail breaking the water's surface in shallow water. "Tailing" and "mudding" can add excellent and exciting results to fly-fishing for BONEFISH.

In addition to "tailing" and "mudding" you spot BONEFISH by seeing its gray shadow or the fish itself or by spotting the wake of the fish.  Anytime you see a wave in the opposite direction of other waves it could be a swimming fish.

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