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 Flyfishing for Bonefish...Update with pics in OP
d_striker  [Member]
12/13/2009 1:25:20 AM
I'm going to Belize on New Years day for a week. We booked this trip awhile ago. I plan on doing some fly fishing for bonefish. I've never done this before.

I was originally planning on hiring a guide but recently got laid off. I've got a new job but finances are tight. I was planning on trying to try to get into some bonefish by myself. I'll be going to Ambergris Caye. Anyone have any tips?

***EDIT***

I just got back. I had a blast and yes, I am now hooked on bonefish. I'm already thinking of my next bonefishing trip.

We had 2-3 days of great weather, 1 day of shitty weather, and the rest were not good nor bad. I hired a guide on a windy and cloudy day. Standing on the dock on the morning waiting for him to pick me up left me wishing that I could have cancelled for that day and rescheduled for another. In retrospect, hiring a guide was a waste of money.

Being out in the open flats was an amazing experience but I didn't get into any fish with the guide. I had one cast at a school of cruising bonefish. They were cruising pretty fast and I think they were already spooked. Other than that, I only caught this one mutton snapper with the guide.




I spent the rest of the trip searching for bonefish on my own both south and north of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. My bike was my means of transportation.


Then it was time to ditch the bike and walk from flat to flat in between docks.






Spotted some small bonefish about 45 ft away. I made probably my best cast of the entire trip and even remembered to strip set the hook...Eureka. This little bone was probably only 1 1/2-2 lbs but it took me into my backing on it's first run with my 7 wt rod.




I ended up catching two bones this day. These were the only bonefish I caught on my trip and I had to work for them. And then it was time to head home for the day.


I did catch quite a few yellow snapper and a tiny barracuda. When I caught it, I could tell it was something small when all of a sudden I felt my rod tip bend down to the water. I pulled it in closer and saw a larger barracuda with my small barracuda in its mouth. It finally let go when I lifted it out of the water.


And some other pics:
My gf doesn't fish but she takes some pretty good pics.


Toll bridge north of town.


Bones cruising.


I managed to smuggle a few of these back.


Some casting pics:




Man I wish you could get this in the US.
MotorcycleManiac  [Member]
12/13/2009 1:57:12 AM
You'll need a guide. It IS WORTH IT.
SpeyRod  [Member]
12/13/2009 5:28:39 PM
I have fished there. It is a huge area that you will need a guide/boat to get to the flats. It is just too thick @ the edges to drive up and fish effectively. You may be better off trying to target Barracuda at the mouth of the cay. They are more fun imho.
d_striker  [Member]
12/13/2009 7:31:38 PM
Originally Posted By SpeyRod:
I have fished there. It is a huge area that you will need a guide/boat to get to the flats. It is just too thick @ the edges to drive up and fish effectively. You may be better off trying to target Barracuda at the mouth of the cay. They are more fun imho.


Any way I can just hire out a boat to take me to the flats for cheaper than a guide? Do the flats that you fished have a name?

The guide I was going to use was $200. What guide service did you use?
eracer  [Team Member]
12/13/2009 7:46:36 PM
You say you've never been flyfishing for bonefish. If you've never been flyfishing I suggest taking a lesson and practicing a bit before you go. Taking bones with a fly takes some precision.

If you're a flyfisherman already, and just never targeted bones, then I apologize for the intrusion.

d_striker  [Member]
12/13/2009 9:13:09 PM
Originally Posted By eracer:
You say you've never been flyfishing for bonefish. If you've never been flyfishing I suggest taking a lesson and practicing a bit before you go. Taking bones with a fly takes some precision.

If you're a flyfisherman already, and just never targeted bones, then I apologize for the intrusion.



no worries. I wasn't very clear in the op.

I've been flyfishing for about 15 years. Mainly trout, steelhead, bass, Muskie/pike, and carp (don't laugh) in that order.
Addicted2Fish  [Member]
12/13/2009 11:54:20 PM
My wife and I recently fished Belize for bonefish and loved it. Dude, GET A GUIDE. Pass around a hat at work to raise the funds if need be, or sell some plasma, or put stuff on credit cards or sell something. Bonefish are virtually invisible at a distance––their mirror scales make them totally reflect the sand and water around them for the perfect camoflage––so having a guide simply to use their eyes is an absolute must have. I'd say it's almost 100% futility otherwise. I too have fished a fair bit for trout, bass, etc. but this is a totally different ballgame. A very VERY good and in my opinion superior ballgame, but different. It sure isn't dumb fishing, that's for sure. Your skills will be valuable and you'll be at a distinct advantage being an accomplished fly angler, but it's still something you want someone there with you while you're doing it for the first few times.

Don't give up, don't settle for anything other than bonefishing on the flats, that's what you want to do and by golly that's the best form of fishing there is on planet Earth. But GET A GUIDE unless you have some kind of ocular implants giving you an osprey's eyes. Get the best form of polarized and optically perfect glasses you can find, but still GET A GOOD GUIDE WITH SUPERHUMAN EYES. I cannot say it enough times, bonefish are so darn hard to see that guides will often see the shadow on the sand underneath them and not the fish itself. We had to take the guide's word for it where the fish were and adjust our casts to throw where he said to throw, and we did it and caught fish all day long.

Go get em and post some pics!!!
d_striker  [Member]
12/14/2009 12:38:09 AM
Originally Posted By Addicted2Fish:
My wife and I recently fished Belize for bonefish and loved it. Dude, GET A GUIDE. Pass around a hat at work to raise the funds if need be, or sell some plasma, or put stuff on credit cards or sell something. Bonefish are virtually invisible at a distance––their mirror scales make them totally reflect the sand and water around them for the perfect camoflage––so having a guide simply to use their eyes is an absolute must have. I'd say it's almost 100% futility otherwise. I too have fished a fair bit for trout, bass, etc. but this is a totally different ballgame. A very VERY good and in my opinion superior ballgame, but different. It sure isn't dumb fishing, that's for sure. Your skills will be valuable and you'll be at a distinct advantage being an accomplished fly angler, but it's still something you want someone there with you while you're doing it for the first few times.

Don't give up, don't settle for anything other than bonefishing on the flats, that's what you want to do and by golly that's the best form of fishing there is on planet Earth. But GET A GUIDE unless you have some kind of ocular implants giving you an osprey's eyes. Get the best form of polarized and optically perfect glasses you can find, but still GET A GOOD GUIDE WITH SUPERHUMAN EYES. I cannot say it enough times, bonefish are so darn hard to see that guides will often see the shadow on the sand underneath them and not the fish itself. We had to take the guide's word for it where the fish were and adjust our casts to throw where he said to throw, and we did it and caught fish all day long.

Go get em and post some pics!!!



Thanks for the reply! Yeah, everything I have read mirrors what you posted about bonefish being virtually impossible to spot unless the water is really shallow and they're tailing or mudding.

Since I have a week to kill and multiple days to fish, I sort of wanted to go out on my own at first if the flats were easily accessible. If I am not successful, I would definitely hire a guide. I don't want to go all the way down there and not catch a bonefish. Hell, I just finished building a rod just for this trip.

Where did you fish? Did you have to take a boat ride there? Was it easily accessible? What guide service did you use? Thanks in advance.
SpeyRod  [Member]
12/14/2009 4:17:26 PM
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By Addicted2Fish:
My wife and I recently fished Belize for bonefish and loved it. Dude, GET A GUIDE. Pass around a hat at work to raise the funds if need be, or sell some plasma, or put stuff on credit cards or sell something. Bonefish are virtually invisible at a distance––their mirror scales make them totally reflect the sand and water around them for the perfect camoflage––so having a guide simply to use their eyes is an absolute must have. I'd say it's almost 100% futility otherwise. I too have fished a fair bit for trout, bass, etc. but this is a totally different ballgame. A very VERY good and in my opinion superior ballgame, but different. It sure isn't dumb fishing, that's for sure. Your skills will be valuable and you'll be at a distinct advantage being an accomplished fly angler, but it's still something you want someone there with you while you're doing it for the first few times.

Don't give up, don't settle for anything other than bonefishing on the flats, that's what you want to do and by golly that's the best form of fishing there is on planet Earth. But GET A GUIDE unless you have some kind of ocular implants giving you an osprey's eyes. Get the best form of polarized and optically perfect glasses you can find, but still GET A GOOD GUIDE WITH SUPERHUMAN EYES. I cannot say it enough times, bonefish are so darn hard to see that guides will often see the shadow on the sand underneath them and not the fish itself. We had to take the guide's word for it where the fish were and adjust our casts to throw where he said to throw, and we did it and caught fish all day long.

Go get em and post some pics!!!



Thanks for the reply! Yeah, everything I have read mirrors what you posted about bonefish being virtually impossible to spot unless the water is really shallow and they're tailing or mudding.

Since I have a week to kill and multiple days to fish, I sort of wanted to go out on my own at first if the flats were easily accessible. If I am not successful, I would definitely hire a guide. I don't want to go all the way down there and not catch a bonefish. Hell, I just finished building a rod just for this trip.

Where did you fish? Did you have to take a boat ride there? Was it easily accessible? What guide service did you use? Thanks in advance.


It sounds like he was fishing over the border in Belize. But I agree whole hartedly with him. Your first hurtle is getting to a flat with fish. Your second hurtle is seeing the darn things. My first day at Christmas Isld was almost a waste. I went off alone and saw nothing. Finally the guide broke away from the other charges and came over and showed me what to look for. Then it was game on. By the end of the week I was fishing flats on my own and catching alot of fish.

Get a guide on day one of your trip. Learn the gig, and the area, then decide if you can take it on on your own. After fishing Yucatan, Christmas Isld, Venezuela and the keys I still hire guides to get me on the spot. The biosphere you are going to visit is a huge area and I doubt you will be happy going it alone.

PS. If you do try to go it alone take a gps. The mangrove flats can all look the same if you get disoriented.

JMHO

And do take some flies for berry's. They are a blast to catch on a fly rod!
d_striker  [Member]
12/14/2009 11:04:43 PM
Originally Posted By SpeyRod:

It sounds like he was fishing over the border in Belize. But I agree whole hartedly with him. Your first hurtle is getting to a flat with fish. Your second hurtle is seeing the darn things. My first day at Christmas Isld was almost a waste. I went off alone and saw nothing. Finally the guide broke away from the other charges and came over and showed me what to look for. Then it was game on. By the end of the week I was fishing flats on my own and catching alot of fish.

Get a guide on day one of your trip. Learn the gig, and the area, then decide if you can take it on on your own. After fishing Yucatan, Christmas Isld, Venezuela and the keys I still hire guides to get me on the spot. The biosphere you are going to visit is a huge area and I doubt you will be happy going it alone.

PS. If you do try to go it alone take a gps. The mangrove flats can all look the same if you get disoriented.

JMHO

And do take some flies for berry's. They are a blast to catch on a fly rod!


Good plan. I did come across this article which has given me a few ideas.

http://www.flatslander.com/skinflintsambergrisarticle.html

Addicted2Fish  [Member]
12/16/2009 11:57:02 AM
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Thanks for the reply! Yeah, everything I have read mirrors what you posted about bonefish being virtually impossible to spot unless the water is really shallow and they're tailing or mudding.

Since I have a week to kill and multiple days to fish, I sort of wanted to go out on my own at first if the flats were easily accessible. If I am not successful, I would definitely hire a guide. I don't want to go all the way down there and not catch a bonefish. Hell, I just finished building a rod just for this trip.

Where did you fish? Did you have to take a boat ride there? Was it easily accessible? What guide service did you use? Thanks in advance.
We fished farther south in Hopkins, Belize, staying at Jaguar Reef/Almond Bay. They had a local guide named Floyd who worked with the resort and was VERY good, as good as any guide I've had anywhere else. We had to take a boat to get to the spots the guide knew to be good; there were dozens of little islands to hop around to fish at. We looked around a lot for permit, which was fun and very educational but permit are much harder to find so bonefish make for more fish spotted per hour thus the better bet for more action. My wife was amazed at just how hard bones fight, asking me if I was done yet about halfway through the first fight with one. You'll really love the beer there, Belikin, and the rum and coffee are phenomenal too. After you're done fishing, eat some of the bananas too, but not before.

Bonefish inevitably become an obsession, and that is an understatement.
d_striker  [Member]
1/1/2010 1:34:05 AM
I'm leaving tonight...Rain/clouds are in the forecast for the next five days.

How is overcast/rain for bonefish and permit?

Wish me luck.
SpeyRod  [Member]
1/1/2010 3:23:30 PM
Originally Posted By d_striker:
I'm leaving tonight...Rain/clouds are in the forecast for the next five days.

How is overcast/rain for bonefish and permit?

Wish me luck.


One of the best hours of fishing I ever had was in a torrential downpour at Christmas Isld. It was so bad I was standing on the flat with my arms crossed and fly hanging off the rod tip. I had my head down and eyes closed to keep the water out of them. All of a sudden zing-pow-fuck! A bone grabbed the fly hanging 5' off my rod tip. I started looking closely and saw bones everywhere around me. I caught 4 by dapping them off my rod tip. There were so many they were bumping my legs as I stood there! Right place at the right time! Freeking awsome!

Good luck and fish with confidence!
d_striker  [Member]
1/9/2010 1:10:43 PM
Update bump.
puskrat  [Life Member]
1/22/2010 9:38:46 PM
I'm glad you had some success and a good vacation. I also had a bum trip with a great guide in January, mine in Floriday Bay backcountry. However, my self guided boat and wading trip wasn't as successful as your own! Beautiful fish, great stories!
Addicted2Fish  [Member]
2/2/2010 11:14:19 AM
Isn't it mind blowing how powerful bonefish are for their size?
d_striker  [Member]
2/2/2010 12:59:31 PM
Originally Posted By Addicted2Fish:
Isn't it mind blowing how powerful bonefish are for their size?


It is!

After I handled the first one, I realized that they are solid, hard muscle and designed for speed. I can't wait to catch some 4-7 lb bones.
SpeyRod  [Member]
2/2/2010 8:01:16 PM
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By Addicted2Fish:
Isn't it mind blowing how powerful bonefish are for their size?


It is!

After I handled the first one, I realized that they are solid, hard muscle and designed for speed. I can't wait to catch some 4-7 lb bones.


Wait till you get over 10 lbs! I have seen the arbor twice on big fish. That is with 225yds of backing plus the fly line. Good stuff!
USMC0352  [Member]
2/9/2010 9:29:06 PM
Got married at Ramon's Village last year and went fishing twice. It was great ( the fishing, not getting married) lol. I didn't fly fish, but we caught a lot reef fishing. Deep sea was rough and i only caught one tuna. I saw some guys catchin tarpon and it looked like a lot of fun. Lighthouse beer was good and the Cohibas were plentiful. I won't go every year, but i plan on going at least once more to dive.
d_striker  [Member]
2/11/2010 3:35:09 PM
Originally Posted By USMC0352:
Got married at Ramon's Village last year and went fishing twice. It was great ( the fishing, not getting married) lol. I didn't fly fish, but we caught a lot reef fishing. Deep sea was rough and i only caught one tuna. I saw some guys catchin tarpon and it looked like a lot of fun. Lighthouse beer was good and the Cohibas were plentiful. I won't go every year, but i plan on going at least once more to dive.


We had dinner at Ramon's Village a couple nights. Nice place. How were the huts/rooms?

I liked the regular Belikins more than the Lighthouse Lagers though I liked them all.
USMC0352  [Member]
2/14/2010 11:16:29 AM
Ramon's was cool. The huts were nice to stay in. My sister rented a condo North of the bridge and it was awesome. It was under constuction and they got a deal. The only problem with staying up there is you have to take the water taxi to the city. It seemed that most of the Americans that lived there were North of the bridge.

I should have rented a kayak and fished the reef 200-300 yards off Ramon's. We did catch a lot of Snapper and Barracuda right North of there.
flyfishnepa  [Team Member]
2/15/2010 9:47:53 PM

great stuff

is there any bonefishing down in the florida keys?

d_striker  [Member]
2/16/2010 3:10:53 AM
Originally Posted By flyfishnepa:

great stuff

is there any bonefishing down in the florida keys?



yes. I started another thread asking about the keys.

68-19583  [Team Member]
2/16/2010 2:12:38 PM
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By flyfishnepa:

great stuff

is there any bonefishing down in the florida keys?



yes. I started another thread asking about the keys.



d_striker, I'll get those hooks on the way by Friday.
d_striker  [Member]
2/17/2010 1:19:52 AM
Originally Posted By 68-19583:
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By flyfishnepa:

great stuff

is there any bonefishing down in the florida keys?



yes. I started another thread asking about the keys.



d_striker, I'll get those hooks on the way by Friday.


thank you!!!

Let me know how much shipping is.

68-19583  [Team Member]
2/17/2010 3:44:48 PM
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By 68-19583:
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By flyfishnepa:

great stuff

is there any bonefishing down in the florida keys?



yes. I started another thread asking about the keys.



d_striker, I'll get those hooks on the way by Friday.


thank you!!!

Let me know how much shipping is.



They're on the way. Don't worry about shipping.
d_striker  [Member]
2/21/2010 12:53:36 AM
Originally Posted By 68-19583:
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By 68-19583:
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By flyfishnepa:

great stuff

is there any bonefishing down in the florida keys?



yes. I started another thread asking about the keys.



d_striker, I'll get those hooks on the way by Friday.


thank you!!!

Let me know how much shipping is.



They're on the way. Don't worry about shipping.


I got them today...

Wow- I wasn't expecting that many hooks.. Thank you so much.

68-19583  [Team Member]
2/21/2010 6:48:40 PM
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By 68-19583:
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By 68-19583:
Originally Posted By d_striker:
Originally Posted By flyfishnepa:

great stuff

is there any bonefishing down in the florida keys?



yes. I started another thread asking about the keys.



d_striker, I'll get those hooks on the way by Friday.


thank you!!!

Let me know how much shipping is.



They're on the way. Don't worry about shipping.


I got them today...

Wow- I wasn't expecting that many hooks.. Thank you so much.



Anytime.