Arguably the most iconic saltwater species to target on fly, bonefish have captivated and consumed fly anglers around the world for almost 100 years. Renowned for their keen senses, spooky behavior, and incredible speed and power for their size, it’s no mystery how bonefish have become beloved by so many anglers. Initially thought to be a singular species, there are now 11 genetically distinct species recognized by the scientific community, spanning the tropical seas of more or less the entire globe.
Possessing an inferior, or downward-facing, mouth, bonefish focus their feeding efforts exactly as you would think, on the bottom. The specific diet of a bonefish will, of course, vary depending on which species and part of the world we are discussing, but all bones have an affinity for sucking up shrimp, crabs, baitfish, and various invertebrates such as worms and even snails. Targetable on mud flats, mangrove mazes, grass beds, and coral gardens, to name just a few potential habitats, bonefish demand the angler to be prepared with at least a small arsenal of different flies to match the food source they’re seeking.
How We Tested:
Narrowing down a virtually unlimited number of patterns to just five flies was no simple task. While we’re confident our fly-list will be applicable for any bonefish species, it’s worth noting that our team of polled anglers has put in the most time targeting Abula Vulpes, the species that occurs in southern Florida, the Gulf, Caribbean, and the Atlantic coast of South America. Targeting bones in the Mexican Yucatan might feel like an entirely different game when compared to chasing them in Fiji or in the Seychelles, but the fact of the matter is that almost all populations are eating very comparable prey items. This makes building a bonefish box fairly easy, no matter where in the world you’re targeting them; it’s how you find them and feed them that you need to modify between fisheries.
Testing for this piece simply involved a whole lot of bonefishing between a handful of lethal anglers. Which flies were most consistently crushed was, of course, the main criterion for inclusion, but other factors played almost as important a role. Weed guards were pivotal while fishing the sargasso-ridden sand flats of the Mexican Caribbean, while flies tied with materials that pulsate with movement when not being stripped were crucial for success in Hawaii. Particularly versatile patterns that can be fished in a number of different ways were, therefore, some of our favorite flies.
Bonefish Gotcha Fly
Bonefish Gotcha Fly
I think anyone who’s targeted bonefish can agree that no fly list for the species is complete without the bonefish gotcha. A longtime staple in saltwater fly boxes, the gotcha is likely the fly I would choose if I could pick only one for targeting bonefish.
Meant to replicate a small shrimp, gotcha flies have a lot of variability when it comes to their size and weight, and can, of course, be tied in a plethora of different color schemes. My personal ideal style getcha is a size 6 or 8 tied on a metal bead chain eyes, in tan or pink, with a bit of flash spun in.
What I love most about this fly is its tiny profile and how inconspicuously you can drop it in front of a cruising or tailing fish. I typically prefer bead chain over dumbbell eyes with this pattern because it comes down a bit softer. Still, there are certainly some heavier gotcha patterns in my bonefish box for when the fish tend to be cruising in deeper water. Even with lighter beadchain eyes, this is a pretty dense, sparsely tied fly, so it descends through the water column fairly quickly compared to brushier patterns. A gotcha works wonderfully when slowly crawled along the bottom, but won’t provide as realistic a presentation when quickly stripped as some leggier or more streamer-oriented patterns.
One variation of this fly I like is the Hot Legs Foxy Gotcha, which includes an exaggerated arctic fox wing for added movement. It’s the perfect pattern for particularly spooky bones that require the utmost delicate, nonthreatening presentation. The wing of the fly, along with the tied-in silicone hot legs, offers some fantastic movement when the fly is not being stripped, so I reach for this pattern when the fish are in the habit of slowly investigating and coming over the fly to eat it rather than running down their prey.
Spawning Shrimp
Spawning Shrimp
At spawning times, many shrimp species will exhibit an egg sack or mass, typically orange in color. To a hungry bonefish, the presence of an egg mass on a fleeing shrimp practically screams “PROTEIN GUSHER”. I’m a firm believer that any flats species that targets shrimp as prey gets excited about the presence of extra calories, so a natural, leggy spawning shrimp pattern speaks for itself.
Featuring an orange hot-spot to draw attention to the fly, as well as some nice long legs for added movement when both stripped and stopped, this is an all-around killer pattern. I love a nicely tied EP brush body for realistic movement and longer fly lifespan, but rabbit material offers even better natural movement in my opinion, also making for a wonderfully realistic choice. The Peterson Spawning Shrimp and EP Spawning Shrimp are equally represented in my bone box for this reason. I prefer heavier dumbbell eyes in order to rapidly get the shrimp to the bottom, but I’ve also had great success on lighter beadchain variations when presenting to especially spooky fish in shallower water.
We’re talking bonefish here, but one of the best qualities of nearly every style spawning shrimp pattern is that everybody on the flats eats them. If you’re a foraging fish, you’ve hit the jackpot if you come across a food source this power-packed. This makes this an exceptionally versatile fly that triggerfish, permit, poons, and reds will all lurch to if presented properly. Like we said… protein gusher.
Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp
Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp
Another undeniably sexy shrimp pattern, Ververka’s Mantis Shrimp is a must-have pattern for countless bonefish fisheries around the globe. Also a favorite go-to for targeting permit and triggerfish, this is a great fly to stock up on for your tropical pursuits in general.
Characterized by its lifelike movement and no-nonsense, natural aesthetic, this is a plain and simple shrimp pattern that very effectively fools fish. I personally like my Verveka patterns extra-leggy, my thought process being that the fly has better movement when stopped. I also love how longer rubber or silicone legs pulsate when stripped. These details make it a fantastic fly for feeding bonefish almost however they want to be fed—a very endearing quality in my opinion. When you’re trying to figure out how to refine the details of your presentation, the versatile nature of a leggy mantis shrimp enables you to fine-tune things.
Verveka’s Shrimp is also a great pattern to stock up on due to its countless iterations. While they may look nearly identical, a size 2 Verveka tied on heavier dumb bell eyes will fish a whole lot differently than a size 6 tied with beadchain eyes and a weed guard. Wise bonefish enthusiasts will have mostly medium-sized iterations of this pattern, with a few jumbos and micros in the mix.
Alphlexo Crab
Alphlexo Crab
While my bonefish box leans harder into shrimp patterns than it does crabs, it’s foolish to ignore the other main prey genre for most bonefish populations worldwide. Possessing hard crushing plates in the throat known as pharyngeal teeth, evolution has quite literally equipped the species for the masserating and grinding rigors of crab-eating.
While an Alphlexo Crab is certainly not my go-to bonefish fly when approaching a new flat or fishery, it’s a fly that’s helped me crack the code when targeting bones more than a few times. Furthermore, if you’ve fished saltwater flats a fair amount, then you may have witnessed an especially crabby day or two during your time on the water. Spawn events, water chemistry changes, molting periods, and other instances can all of a sudden inundate a fishery with crabs—and trust us when we say the fish notice. Even bonefish populations that are typically keyed in on shrimp or glass minnows may shift gears and jump on the crab train when the time is right. Simply put, sometimes the bones are in crab mode rather than shrimp mode, so be prepared.
An alphlexo is a great pattern due to its realism. I personally don’t love the lack of natural movement caused by the absence of natural fibers in the fly, but it’s an undeniably effective pattern nonetheless. On days that I can’t seem to turn cruising bonefish, sometimes a small vulnerable flexo out in the open does the trick. On days in which the bones are consistently headstanding, I love to pitch a flexo, along with other crab patterns. Small merkins and rag heads are stellar go-tos as well. Most crabs instinctively bury themselves when threatened, so a tailing bonefish with its snout in the substrate tells me it’s especially willing to root out a crabby snack.
When it comes to size and color choice, do your best to match the bottom of wherever you’re fishing, and go with smaller hook sizes. I imagine a smaller, less pinchy and threatening crab is even more preferred by a wary bonefish.
Bonefish Clouser
Bonefish Clouser
Here’s another pattern I wouldn’t exactly say is a go-to fly for me, yet I refuse to not have some stocked for virtually any bonefish trip. From largemouth bass to jack crevalle, clousers are just downright fishy, no matter how you cut it, and go figure, they can sometimes hammer bonefish as well.
For such a simple and straightforward fly, you can do a lot with a clouser. I’ve pulled bonefish out of stubborn schools with the up and down movement of a quickly stripped clouser when a slowly crawled crab or shrimp didn’t do the trick. I’ve also utilized heavy, sparsely tied clousers to rapidly reach the bottom and get immediately eye-level with fast-moving strings or solo bones. This is especially relevant when fishing high current or wave-washed zones with lots of energy pulling the fly around. Sometimes your shots materialize in an instant, and you just can’t seem to get in the feeding lane quickly enough; clousers are a brilliant solution to this predicament.
While most anglers think of them as shrimp and crab munchers, don’t forget that bonefish absolutely eat bait fish. Glass minnows of various species inhabit the bottom substrate and are also a favorite meal for bonefish in some fisheries. Furthermore, when crept along the bottom, who’s to say a clouser with the right color scheme doesn’t imitate a shrimp just fine? I have an affinity for red dumbbell eyes on my clousers for this reason. The point here is that the versatility of a clouser allows you to fish it as a number of different prey items in a number of different ways.
My preferred bonefish clousers are tied in tan, brown, and white colors in sizes 4 and 6.
(Orvis has a nice bonefish clouser I like a lot – the bonefish clouser foxy red)
FAQs
Q: What size bonefish flies should I fish?
Your preferred fly size for bones can be quite variable depending on the fishery. The majority of bonefish prey items are not particularly large, so typically, smaller flies are best for matching the hatch. Most of my bonefish box consists of flies ranging from sizes 2 to 8, and I find myself reaching for my size 4 and 6 shrimps most often. I’m sure there are anglers with a different formula, but I would still bet they fish a multitude of smaller-sized shrimp patterns. Remember that bonefish have exceptional vision and that their literal job is to seek and destroy tiny crustaceans, so don’t be afraid to really size down your fly selection—they’ll find it if presented correctly.
Due to the notoriously wary nature of most (even unpressured) bonefish populations, smaller is typically better. I’d suggest having a few different sizes of each pattern you choose to bring along, but wise anglers will lean in and stock up on the smaller end of things. At the end of the day, the best way to choose fly size is to do your research on the prey items in the fishery you plan to target, and get as close as you can to the size/profile of the real deal.
Q: Do bonefish flies work for redfish?
Maybe. Ok, probably. Well, I suppose it depends. Not to say they don’t key in on particular bait sources at times, redfish are much more generalist, wrecking-ball predators, or at least when compared to bonefish. With that in mind, I think it’s fair to say that many bonefish flies are suitable for targeting redfish, while only some redfish flies are suitable for targeting bones. Redfish, like bonefish, also possess an inferior, or downward-facing, mouth for rooting out and vacuuming crustaceans on the bottom, so they’re targeting a lot of the same prey items.
I think the main distinction between fly selection between bones and reds is the preferred fly size. Redfish are known to surge forward for a large and in charge crab pattern or a meaty streamer, so many anglers choose to fish pretty big flies for them. Oftentimes, redfish are found inshore in turbid, muddy, or vegetation-choked waters, so a larger pattern helps to push water and assist the fish in locating the fly. Furthermore, let’s not forget we’re talking about a 40+ pound species here, so your tiny gotchas and alphexos might be a touch too small to grab the attention of some reds.
In my experience, bonefish furthermore seem to have their mind already made up when it comes to what’s on the menu, while reds are more opportunistic and less likely to turn down an easy meal. This makes “matching the hatch” all the more essential when chasing wary bonefish. Your bonefish flies might be perfectly suited for certain redfish fisheries (and vice versa), but they also might be grotesquely too small, so do your research on what the reds are known to eat where you plan on targeting them before you rely on your bone box.
Final Thoughts
Like most species, there are nuances to bonefish fly selection and no real decisive fly pattern that checks all the boxes all of the time. The key to finding success virtually anywhere bonefish occur in the world is understanding not only what the food sources are that they’re targeting, but also how they’re actively feeding. Different populations of bones can behave quite differently due to factors such as water temperature, tidal current, turbidity, and more, so you need to think on your feet and feed them accordingly.
For example, I received loads of attention from monster bones in Hawaii, but didn’t come tight to a single fish until I let my shrimp pattern lie completely still—they hated a moving fly and consistently turned off it once stripped. After fishing through my entire fly box, the shrimp pattern I ended up landing some Hawaiian bones on was ironically almost identical to my confidence fly when targeting bonefish in Mexico—I just had to lead strings of bones and then let the fly sit still, an entirely new tactic to me at the time.
It’s also important to consider and account for variable habitat conditions and factors when setting up your bonefish box. In addition to having several different sizes of the same fly, if you’re confident in a pattern, make sure you also have several different sink rates for presenting in five inches vs. five feet of water. You’ll also likely want some flies tied with weed guards, and some without. Nothing’s worse than finding a hot fly in your box and then having to fish it over dense turtle grass or snaggy coral without a weed guard.
By having a handful of different style flies, you can ensure you’re hitting all the bases in terms of imitation and, even more importantly, presentation. The way I see it, if you’ve got a small fly box of shrimp, crabs, and bait fish in various small hook sizes and weights, there’s no bonefish anywhere in the world you can’t fool with enough patience.