3 things to look for...

[Rocktrout]

Hello Dick. Glad to have your ear (or eye) to ask you some questions. My friend and I are heading down to the Keys in early May to make a 3rd attempt at finding bones (and whatever else might be feeding) around Marathon/Islamorada. Our previous trips have been frustrating with only a few shots at bonefish. As with any other type of fishing, I think one of the most critical parts of the game is learning what water is "dead" and does not or will not contain fish. I find that when we get to the Keys, a lot of water looks like pics from books or catalogs of famous bonefishing locales. We will fishs it for hours and not see a thing. I understand there are lots of factors controlling where the fish are, and that a flat that is empty one day might be loaded the next. What three things (or more) are most important when determining if a flat is going to be dead? In other words....you pull up in a car at a new location and look around, what factors are you looking for to make you stay or make you get back in the car and take off? Thanks for your help.

Cheers,
Adam

[Marshrunner]

Turtle grass, worm holes and mounds, clam holes and mounds are all signs of life and a healthy flat. Bite marks are a sure sign bf eat there. Presence of boxfish and rays also confirm same food bones eat and the presence of barracuda or sharks signal probability bf are sometimes there (altough too many of them may mean the bf are gone at the moment). All are shown in photos in the Fly Fishing for Bf book.

Water temps lower than 68 and higher than 90 mean it's probably time to start looking for cooler water oceanside or try some snorkling or tennis.

Most healthy flats where you find these signs will see fish hunting as the flat floods, and depending on how rich it is and how safe, they may feed there through the much of the tide cycle or they may just visit and move on. You are at a disadvantage fishing by car/wading and I'd advise trying to spring for at least a half day with a guide in a boat. But, that said, if you are persisitent you will find bones on many wadeable flay in the KEYS--These are some of the most food-rich flats in the world.

Dick

[Rocktrout]

Thanks Dick. We plan on spending at least a day with a guide this time, but I guess the focus in early May is Tarpon, so if the big fish are in, we will have to explore the bonefishing on our own.

Are the bite marks you speak of around the worm holes or on the grass or just sandy patches where a bf has rooted out some food?

Cheers,
Adam

[Marshrunner]

Bite marks are cup-sized conical holes (depending on the size of the fish--some are a big as a cereal bowl and enough to make your knees knock at the thought of hooking up). You see them in scattered patches on flats where fish have been feeding. The less defined they are, the older. Worm holes are cylindical and usually no bigger than a quarter in diameter, some are dime sized.

I see bite marks more often on sand flats than grass which may be because the prey found in turtle grass lives more on the grass than in the sand or it may just be that the grass covers the bite marks. I'd guess it's the former.

Dick