Today’s post relates to packing and bonefishing, but it’s not about loading your big bag before you leave your house – you already know how to do that.
Today we’re talking about your typical day on a bonefishing trip – it’s the first morning of your week at Andros South, and you’re trying to decide what goes in your pocket, what goes in your hip pack, what goes in your boat bag, and what stays at the lodge.
In all packing-related conversations, opinions range from ‘less is more’ to ‘bring anything you might need’. We like to strike a happy balance – well-prepared, but not too weighed-down.
At a fishery like ours on South Andros, you’re probably going to do a combination of wading away from the boat and fishing from the boat. If you’re in the boat, we still think you should keep the ‘On Your Person’ items on your person. If you’re wading, the ‘Hip Pack’ items will be in your hip pack; if you’re fishing from the boat they’re probably still in your hip pack but that pack will be in your boat…that’s OK.
Here’s what we think you should bring along, and where we think you should bring it.
- Pliers or hemostats, including nippers or scissors. You need to be able to cut leader material (no, not with your teeth), and you need to be able to remove flies that are deeply and/or strangely hooked.
- Tippet. Obvious, right? You might lengthen your tippet on a calm day, and you might lose some tippet when a giant bonefish breaks you off and you need to re-tie.
- Flies. They might be in a really nice box and they might be in a crappy little Ziplock, but you need at least a handful of flies to be prepared for light and dark bottoms (light and dark flies), shallow and deep flats (light and heavy flies), and for those cases when you get broken off and need to re-tie.
- Camera. That bonefish of a lifetime could swim up onto any given flat in the world. You never know and you’ll probably want to take a picture of it. Keep a camera on you, whether you prefer full-blown SLRs, or you want to go with one of the super-cool modern waterproof, shockproof point-and-shoots that takes awesome pictures.
- Water. Be smart.
- Expanded fly selection. Maybe some unweighted flies, maybe some permit flies, maybe that double-secret fly tied by your Uncle Merlin.
- Sunscreen and lip balm. You might be out there for a while, and you need to reapply this stuff.
- Spare leaders or material for tying more leaders. Sometimes a big fish swims around a mangrove and you lose the whole shootin’ match – you need to be prepared to re-rig.
- Buff, if you’re not wearing it already. It’s a good idea to stay out of the sun, and Buffs help.
- Lens Cloth. It’s teensy and light, and you’ll see a lot better, which matters when you’re chasing bonefish.
- Raincoat. In tropical environments, heavy squalls can blow through unexpectedly and you don’t want to get soaked. Boat spray happens too. On the flats we like simple, lightweight raincoats like the Simms Paclite Jacket.
- Wire Leader and Barracuda Flies. If you don’t have a rod already rigged to target ‘cudas, you should at least have some wire leader and flies ready, so you’re ready.
- More Water. A couple of liters a day is a good idea.
- Lunch. And make sure you made that sandwich correctly, OK?
- Flats Boots and Socks. Even if you think you’re going to be fishing from the boat most of the day, bring your boots along. You never know when you’re going to need to hop out to pursue that tailing fish on foot.
- Bug Spray. It’s really not too often that bugs are a problem on the flats, but when they’re getting annoying you’re going to be glad you can slap on some DEET.
- Cash for Beer. You’re probably going to want to hang out and play some dominoes at the end of the day, so a few bucks for beer wouldn’t hurt.
- Sunglasses with different tints. Yes, it’s getting a little technical, but darker lenses are better when the sun is raging, and yellow or rose lenses are better when it’s cloudy.
- Extra fly line. Sometimes things go really wrong, and your fly line falls victim to a coral head or a nasty mangrove or a giant bonefish. It’s pretty easy to pack an extra line along, just in case.
- Multitool. It never hurts to have a Leatherman
along to help out with opening bottles, repairing reels, or dealing with any number of unforeseen chores during your day on the water.
OK, got all that? You’re ready to go bonefishing!
We hope to see you at Andros South. Tight lines.
Great list, Andrew. Really helpful stuff!
Thanks Ned.
ya know, one thing I like in a saltwater pack are a pair of ceramic nippers. They are kind of hard to find these days though.
Great call Bjorn. Non-ceramic nippers are a disposable item on the flats.
No cigars? Bummer.
Good list, include a hook file !!!
All of my bonefishing is wading (except when I’m away from home in the Keys or the Bahamas or somewhere), and here’s what I keep in my pack. I’ve been able to face most any situation, no worries.
1. Nippers on a lanyard attached to hip-pack. They’re usually tucked away on the top of a zip-pocket, but very accessible in a boat or wading.
2. Multi-tool. Absolute must for building tarpon leaders and cinching down knots in heavy mono. Plus I’ve had to do everything from emergency surgery on reels, to tightening the terminals on the boat battery, to opening the plug on the gas tank when we ran out of fuel in the middle of nowhere in the Keys and a kindly boater let us siphon a few gallons from his tank.
3. Leaders, tippet, and fixins for building leaders.
4. Something to tie Nail Knots with. I put loops in the end of all my fly-lines by tying a couple Nail Knots with 10-12 lb. mono around the doubled fly-line. Occasionally baby cuda will hit the leader to fly-line connection as it’s zipping through the water, destroying the end of the fly-line. I use a small section of Cortland Loop material as the “nail” to tie my Nail Knots. Because it compresses I can wrap the mono tightly around the fly-line. When I’m finished wrapping I push the end into the open Cortland Loop material and pull it through. The material grabs the mono and I have a neat Nail Knot. I’ve had to repair several fly-lines this way. (As a side note, I’ve also had to put new loops in fly-lines after trimming a few feet off the end of the line. Last spring a buddy of mine visited and we fished a particularly shallow series of flats on very windy days. Because the fish were fairly small and the water so shallow, we used 6-weights, but his line simply couldn’t turn his fly over into the breeze. His line had a particularly long front taper and it was killing the energy. After I cut about 6-8 ft. off the end and rebuilt the loop, he was able to easily turn his fly over and start feeding fish.)
5. Stripping guards. These are my secret for feeling the subtle take of a bonefish.
6. Land’s End Ointment or Sting-Eze. There are lots of stuff that stings in the ocean: tiny jellyfish in turtle-grass, random floating stuff, etc. Nothing can ruin a day like being distracted by a sting.
7. Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) antihistamine in those water-proof foil/plastic backs. Again, you never know when you’ll get stung by stuff on the water–jellyfish, stingrays, or even bees–and if you haven’t been stung by them before, you don’t know if you’re allergic or not. Having some antihistamine could just save a life.
8. Locking hemostats for removing flies and debarbing hooks (on my buddies flies when they’re not looking).
9. Zip-lock with Aspirin, Acetaminophen, and Ibuprofen: for headaches from sun, dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, or (more commonly) hangovers.
10. Small micro-fibre cloth (in ziplock) to clean glasses. If you’re glasses aren’t clean, you can’t see fish. Needless to say, since my job is spotting fish, I’m absolutely OCD about keeping my glasses clean.
That’s about it, excluding lots of flies, of course. I dispense with some things like hook-files, by using very sharp hooks to begin with. In a pinch I can whip out the muli-tool…speaking of which, save your money and buy a Gerber instead of a Leatherman. The unlocking mechanism in the latter never fail to rust solid in a salty environment, no matter how well you care for them. In contrast, my Gerber lasted for 10 years in the bottom of my (often soaked) hip pack with only the occasional rinse and oiling until it was confiscated on a recent trip through MIA when I forgot it in my carry-on.
One final item, I always carry a spare buff (clean) which I can whip out heroically when my buddy (who swore he’d never wear something so stupid) starts to fry about mid-day.
WindKnot suggested Benadryl. Consider OTC Zyrtec 10mg or Allegra 180 mg which in the standard dose (10 mg in the US) will not make you sleepy. At 20 mg (standard dose of Zyrtec in Europe) some folks will feel the sedative properties of Zyrtec but still less than 25-50 mg of Benadryl.
Aspirin, Acetaminophen, and Ibuprofen all share very similar actions (ands side effects). We are not talking significant weight or space here so no big deal if you take all three, but there is no real need. Acetaminophen probably does as good a job as any with fewer side effects for most users.
The other topic anglers need education on is avoidance of sunburn and use of sunscreens. Too long a subject to cover here but the link http://www.ewg.org/2013sunscreen/top-sun-safety-tips/ will provide the important information. Briefly, the major points are apply early, apply frequently, SPF no more than 50 and check that UVA and UVB are covered. There is a list of the best sunscreens on the link.
all the aforementioned info is great….just like to add that their is NO substitute for a quality pair of plier……cheap pliers including lettermen will Not cut off a cheek, ear or leg hooked without the barb pinched down so it can backed out……be well …..dennis
One more for sunglass freaks – if you throw a couple of pre-packaged single-use lense cleaning tissues (Bausch & Lomb makes them for camera and glasses lenses) in your bag, you can always clean your glasses off when on the water, even if fresh water is limited. I also like to take a spare pair of glasses for running in the boat and keep my fishing glasses high and dry.