• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Deneki Outdoors Fishing Lodges

Alaska | The Bahamas | Chile

  • About Deneki Outdoors
  • Our Fishing Lodges
    • Alaska West
    • Andros South
    • Rapids Camp
    • Rio Salvaje
  • Deneki Blog
    • Alaska West
    • Andros South
    • Chile
    • Fish
    • Fishing Reports
    • Fly Tying
    • Gear
    • General
    • Guest Posts
    • News
    • Rapids Camp
    • Rio Salvaje
    • Tips
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs

Mar 20 2010

Bonefishing Advice from a Mediocre Angler

Line leaving reel, quickly.  Photo: Ned Desmond
Line leaving reel, quickly. Photo: Ned Desmond

In late February, Ned Desmond and his buddy Larry joined us for a few days of bonefishing at Andros South.

It was Ned’s first time chasing bonefish, and guess what – he caught some!  We’re really grateful that Ned was willing to write up some advice on bonefishing for those folks out there who maybe haven’t caught a whole boatload of bonefish…yet.  Our crew at Andros South doesn’t agree with the ‘mediocre angler’ label, but those are Ned’s own words so we’re running with ’em.

Ned is actually not just some guy off the street.  Among other gigantic credentials in the business world, Ned is the founder of GoFishn.com, a new online community for anglers.  We’re pretty active on GoFishn – you should check out our profile there.

Anyhow, thanks to Ned for…

Three Rules for Bonefishing Newbies

Be Quick, But Don’t Hurry

In the immortal words of coach John Wooden, “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” When you are standing on the bow of a flats boat, time stands still as you and your guide search for a passing bonefish. They appear out of nowhere, and you have to cast quick, but you have to cast well (that’s the “don’t hurry” part).

Keep your fly in your hand with a big loop of line off the tip of your rod, and leave your excess line loose on the deck. You can get away with a false cast or two to get your line out and pointed the right way, but you’re going to spook the bone if you yank the line in and out of the water. I should know.

When You Push Down, They Gone

In the exasperated words of Charlie Sweeting, Andros South guide, “When you push down, then they gone.”

Go barefoot on the deck when you’re fishing, and don’t plan to move your feet, shift your weight, belch or do anything that will alter the boat’s displacement by so much as an ounce – or “they gone.” If you think that’s tough, think about the guide poling from his platform – they’re practically motionless.

Watch Charlie explain all this.

Strip Set.

If you want to catch that bone following your fly, then “strip set.”

Just do it in a way that the bone doesn’t notice. Sorta tug the line, or pretend to. You know, fake out the bone so he bites down hard on your fly that he’s twirling in his maw. Oh oh, you tugged too hard. Oh oh, you didn’t tug hard enough.

Strip setting remains a mystery to me, though I did catch three bones, each solidly hooked. I’m sure the magic of the strip set will become more clear to me on my next trip to South Andros, which can’t come soon enough.

—-

Here’s Ned’s photo gallery from his trip to Andros South.

More Trip Reports from Andros South

  • Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters Group Trip
  • Rick Grassett
  • Angler’s All Group Trip

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Bonefishing Tips says:
    April 6, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    […] Advice from a Mediocre Angler […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Plan Your Trip

Let our experts plan the fishing adventure of your dreams.
Contact Now

Search Topics

Subscribe to our newsletter

All Blog Posts

Recent Posts

  • Spey Clave: Two Hand Alaska Presented By Mossy’s Fly Shop
  • Learn the Art of the Cack-handed Spey Cast
  • Common Mistakes Fly Anglers Make When Targeting Alaska Sockeye Salmon-and How to Fix Them
  • Fly Tying: Sockeye Caviar
  • The Alaska Freshwater Fish-Tastic Final Four

All About Spey

All About Trout

All About Bonefishing

All About Gear

Best Posts

Footer

Deneki Outdoors

Mailing address:
200 W. 34th Ave.
#1170
Anchorage, AK 99503

Headquarters:
6160 Carl Brady Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99502

US Information and Reservations
800-344-3628

International Information and Reservations
+1 907-563-9788

Email: info@deneki.com

Our Lodges

Rapids Camp
King Salmon, Alaska

Alaska West
Kanektok River, Alaska

Andros South
South Andros Island, The Bahamas

Rio Salvaje
Puerto Montt, Chile

Deneki Outdoors thanks Peter Viau, Tosh Brown, Abe Blair, Kyle Shea and Kara Knight for the beautiful photography used on our sites.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

#denekioutdoors

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Copyright © 2025 · Deneki Outdoors · Privacy Policy · Site by 21 Designs

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we assume that you are okay with it.Ok