Miami Winter Bonefish

Capt. John Dickinson
February 19, 2009
Biscayne Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report

We have had a good amount of cold weather this winter and water temp. has been cool. Bonefishing has been better in the afternoons when the sun is high and water is low on the flats. Some Bonefish will get up on the flats to warm up and at times will be tailing. We have seen many Bonefish tailing on some recent trips and they have been very spooky making it tough to get them hooked up. They don't like the cool water and are there to eat and go back to the channel. Most tailers we saw where in 71 degree water. On windy days most Bones we have seen are mudding on the edges of the flats in about 4 ft of water. Heavy flies are the best bet or a shrimp and a little bit of weight will get down to the bottom faster to intercept the fish. With the fishing hit or miss at times this winter, I decided to take a trip to the Bahamas and Bonefish there. Cold fronts do reach the Bahamas but most of the time have lost their punch and the weather isn't as cool. Bonefishing was good with lots of fish tailing in the afternoon. The water is still a little cool but as the sand warms up , the fish move onto the flats to feed. Places with little tide movement held the most fish. Wading most of the time is a nice change from the typical Keys Bonefishing from the boat. We did pole some flats but most fish were in very shallow water. Gotcha flies and pink Charlie flies worked the best. Water temp was cool and this gives the fish more energy for fighting longer. Smaller fish would get into the backing on the reel with an 8Wt fly rod. I also noticed that there were less sharks around because of cool water and this made it a nice experience as well. A big cool front this weekend and we will see how the cool weather Bones do. Spring is just around the corner and the best fishing of the year is almost here. The photo is of me and my kids on the trip to the Bahamas. It took a while to get them to stop splashing around and spooking Bonefish, but we finally got there!!
Capt. John Dickinson
[email protected]
www.bone-ified.com

Target Species:

Bonefish Permit Tarpon Redfish Snook

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