Scott Gardner

How to catch your first bonefish on the fly (and on a budget)

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Meet the Bonefish

Why do so many fly anglers lust after bonefish? Even by saltwater standards, these fish are freakishly fast, but also plentiful and, with their mirror-like flanks, beautiful. Along the Costa Maya, some call them la auténtica plata de México—Mexico’s genuine silver. Bonefishing itself offers the challenge and reward of sight-casting to moving targets in very shallow water. And because bonefish face the constant menace of predators such as birds, sharks and barracuda, as well as immense competition for forage, they have an oddly paradoxical temperament. They spook very easily, disappearing faster than your eyes can follow. But they’re also ravenous feeders, likely to strike any stealthily presented fly, or jig (for more on spin-fishing, please keeping reading). It’s an irresistible combination.

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