It is the beginning of another winter bone fishing season here at the Long Island Bonefishing Lodge with some great guests from Canada and Memphis, Tennessee. They are taking advantage of the “not too spooky” fish. There is still an abundance of fish on the inland flats, although it is getting close to spawning time and they make that long trip to the ocean to (check the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust article on their spawning behaviour).
We are starting to see some good schools of small fish, which is a good indication of the thriving fish population and sustainability of our fisheries. Fishing the early morning tides you will see a lot of “tailers” near the shoreline. The crab pattern tends to be the flies of choice for “tailers” with hardly no refusals. It is hard for them to resist! Natural and tan colors are the colors of choice and small bead-chain eyes for quieter presentation is a must. There are still a good number of small blue and hermit crabs along the shoreline so these fish will continue to feed on these along the shoreline for a few more months. The same shorelines tend to hold the majority of large fish, so make sure and use a good tippet in the 15# to 17# range. Using a small tippet means losing large fish. These fish are usually in singles and doubles so it makes for a double digit day of fishing.
Discover bone fishing at its finest and visit Long Island soon.