the 9 stupidest bone questions so far

[figen]

I love your flyfishing book. The work you put into research and care to separate facts from theories from opionins is greatly appreciated!

1) How leadershy are they really? (your setup is 8,10 or 12lbs FC from another post. I lugged around with 16lbs non-fluor mono my last trip, mostly because of mangroves, but I kept it on throughout the trip.. I assume you would recommend I switch to FC and thinner tippet? is "right" size fluor carbon nice-to-have or a big deal)

2)How do they decide which one gets to lead a school?
3)Is there a hierachy or order in the schools?

4)Do females and males act differently(ouside spawning)?

5)Do bigger bones pull rank on smaller ones when they find good spots?
6)Are they aggressive towards eachother at all?

7)Can they tell from the swimming motions what kind of fish is close by? (for example, is it a cuda or a huge bone just behind them?)

8)Do you still think light blue shirt are among the best colors? (I don't.. but then again, I have two identical caps, of which one is a lucky charm, while the other is cursed, so my scientific methods are maybe dubious.. --125-3 )

9)When I suddenly spot a bone, a bit too close, and I stop, that often alerts the bone it seems. Could be because I'm too close, or should I try just keeping on going, "pretending I didn't see it"? For the sake of argument, let's say I was 30 feet away from it, wading in normal slow pace. Would the bone be aware of me, and get a little suspicous when my movement abruptly stops? I know this is common with some land-based animals, they know/feel you're there and detect a change in behavior.

[Marshrunner]

Quite a few questions here with a couple good issues.

Leader size has always been an issue for me with the 8, 10, 12 lb range my normal spectrum of choice. Leader as big as 16 lb. would turn off fish on most flats I fish unless the fish were unusually aggressive or feeding in muds which I seldom fish. Also you can avoid using leader material that heavy even around mangrove and coral hazards. If a fish runs into mangroves and drags your line under tension across barnacles, he's probably going to cut it or your leader or fly line anyway. The best way I've found for dealing with these hazards, is take off almost all drag and let the fish run freely. It's an act of faith, but almost always the fish will stop as soon as he's inside the roots. You can then slowly retrieve line from the boat or on foot until you are close, then lead the fish sloooowly back out or pass your whole rod through the roots and clear your line and get the fish back on the reel. (I cleared a 5-pounder from four contiguous mangrove root structures two weeks ago in Abaco and then let him run before releasing him).

I do not know if there is any inherent difference betweeen males and females but there is a big difference between big fish and small. Larger fish can dominate any school if they want to, prefer bigger prey, can be very agressive ripping claws off blue crabs and taking on the pugnacious mantis shrimps head on, and tolerate colder water than juveniles. They also sometimes seem to let smaller fish get ahead and take prey or flies. I don't know how much this might be intelligent behavior versus just evolved behavior, but I suspect they are just smarter or more experienced and therefore, on average, a bit more cautious about that perfectly tied and presented shrimp you just dropped in front of them so they hesitate and the small fish take it.

On bf sight, the fish see very well and they also hear and sense shapes moving in the water. That's why they fear the big barracudas so much because, unlike prowling and easily spotted sharks, barracudas just seem to hang there perfectly camouflaged with their reflective sides and then accelerate at warp speed when a bone gets close, cutting him in half.

I still choose light blue, pale green, and khaki or lt gray clothing especially when wading. Hot orange, pink, yellow and chartreuse--once a staple in flats clothes--are colors bf often key to in flies and I have little doubt they see them well. On the other hand, my wife has a bright coral shirt she loves to wear on a boat and she catches an awful lot of fish.

Good last question. if you are moving in the water, the bone knows you're there. Stop and he MAY miss you, and quickly but carefully try to get your fly in his path--it's probably the only shot you'll get.

Dick