The Future of Bonefishing

[Guy]

Hi Dick, I must tell you how much I have enjoyed your books on bonefishing and bone fish flies. Thank you for warming many a cold January night in the Great White North!

Anyways, my question to you is where do you see the sport of bonefishing going in the future? Unlike trout for instance which seem to be able to handle heavy angling pressure, it seems to me that the bonefish are much the opposite. The presence of a just a few anglers every week on a flat can radically alter their behaviour making them even harder and more elusive to catch. I think we are seeing an evolution in fly design towards a "match the hatch" rather than attractor type of patterns as a result. Do you see any other trends in bonefishing for the future as the bones become more "educated"?

Guy

[Marshrunner]

Guy,

No question there are a lot of bones around some of the big camps-- especially in their most heavily pounded beats--that are a lot tougher these days. Much of that is driven by the concentration of lots of fishermen at the same destination flats day after day and fortunately, there are still lots of places where there are uneducated fish. If you follow the many DIY bonefishing strings on forums like this one you'll read about some of the great angling that awaits DIY angers who explore out of the way places.

Your other question is a very interesting one. As fish see more fishermen and flies, do they become more selective? In general, I do not find bonefish as selective as other fish when they binge feed on a fly hatch or a worm hatch or some other bait swarm. Bones are consummate opportunists always on the move, always looking for something that looks like one of their many target food forms. Early on when I began understanding what bones ate and how limited were the flies available to mimic them, I though the emergence of more lifelike flies would fundamentally change the sport. I now think it's a factor, but just that ... one other piece of the puzzle on any day with any fish. And at this point, if I had to pick one factor in enticing a bone to eat, it's presentation. When I have a fish refuse, the first half dozen things I question are presentaion issues. Was I too close or too far. Did I telegraph danger with too much splash? Did I line him? Etc.

Also with bones, fly function may be more important than form. In other words it may be more productive to get a reasonable shrimp quietly down in front of the fish without spooking him than gettinng some specific shrimp in front of him without spooking him. A long time ago, Lefty Kreh told me he thought presentation was far more important with bones than matching prey and at the time I did not fully agree. Years later, I'm leaning more that way.

As far as the future of fly design it will keep getting better both in representing prey and in function. The number of skilled observant fly tying anglers on the flats of the world tody guarantees that. And on those pounded home flats at popular destinations in the Bahamas and the Keys you will be able to test the new creations on the most sophisticated targets ... but make sure your presentation is dead on too.

Dick

[Guy]

Thanks Dick for the thorough reply. I certainly agree that presentation is still number one, but as you say fly tiers (being the creative sort we are) will no doubt push the envelope on fly design. One thing that I have learned from flyfishing for trout is that "triggers" are perhaps more important than realism. For instance I am convinced that the parahute dry is so effective because of it's exagerated wing profile and low floating body image, both of which are triggers that trout key on. For bonefish, two "triggers" that I have to come to have great faith in are rubber / silicone legs and maribou / rabbit wings or claws. The "breathing" soft wing or claw and / or flies with 1 to 3 pair of undulating silli legs seldom seem to be refused when the presentation is right.

I am curious, do you have a favorite clam imitation, or do you even think it's necessary to try and imitate them? I have to think that if one could match the trigger for clams, that they would an extremely effective when the schoolies are tailing.

Guy

[Marshrunner]

Guy, your triggers are all good plus color triggers like the small hot spots of orange, fl red, or charteuse on the seen on the heads or tails of many better shrimp and crab patterns--including the pink nose of the indominitable Gotcha.

I have not had luck with clam patterns even though it a favorite bf food. Craig Mathews ties a clam fly that worrks in Belize, the Clam Before the Storm. It's in the bf fly pattern book or you can get it from his fly shop in West Yellowstone MT, Blue Ribbon Flies.

Dick