By Geoff W. Colmes

Bonefishing in the Florida Keys can be very exciting, rewarding and extremely challenging. Some days it seems they're much smarter than we are, ESP... maybe. Other days they can be dumb as sticks. I always hope for the latter.

The average size of bonefish in South Florida and the Florida Keys range from six to nine pounds and ten to twelve pound bonefish are common. Large bonefish, weighing in from thirteen to fourteen pounds rarely make the local news anymore and are here year round - the Florida Keys has always been synonymous with large bonefish.

Ranging from Biscayne Bay to the Lower Keys including the Marquesas. Bonefish are pursued on the bayside and oceanside flats including flats and banks that extend deep into Florida Bay. Bonefish can also be found on the deeper edges of these flats and banks during lower tide phases. Most folks don't associate bonefish with the Everglades National Park the fact is that a large portion of our prime bonefish habitat lies within the Parks boundaries.

Bonefish live throughout our region year round but can be weather dependent in the fall and winter. The Upper Keys however are a much better bet in the fall and winter than the middle and lower Keys. When the water temperature drops below 70 degrees during or after a cold front, bonefish can be hard to find and anglers should be flexible targeting a different species such as redfish. Fall and early spring are generally best for larger bonefish, late spring through the summer months are great for big numbers of "school" fish and it's still possible to find that BIG bonefish.

Bonefish on Fly and Light Tackle

Aside from the aforementioned challenges and rewards, sight fishing for bonefish is a great way to hone your casting skills for any species of fish on fly or spin tackle. In most cases there is a fine line between a perfect presentation and one that either spooks the fish or one that the fish doesn’t ever see. Most of the time the perfect presentation will be rewarded with a bite when using live bait… not always on fly, when a follow or some kind of positive reaction short of a bite is considered a moral victory. They can be selective when it comes to flies. The most important factors to consider aside form presentation is type – crab, shrimp, toad, minnow, size - #1, #2, #4… color and last but very important - weight.

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