Your First Bonefish

Whoa...I guess they really are fast. Photo: Louis Cahill

So you’re thinking about going bonefishing? Awesome! It’s a highly addictive sport in an amazing setting.

Here’s the sequence of events that’s very likely going to take place when you catch your first bonefish.

Out on the flats for the first time, you feel like you’re on the moon. It’s really beautiful but really sparse, and you can’t believe you’re here.
Your guide is really excited all of a sudden! Apparently there are fish out there. You can’t see them, but he apparently can. You’re being told where to cast…
You blow a cast or two (don’t worry, we all do), but then your guide says “Leave it! Leave it!”
Your fly is now in the vicinity of a bonefish.
“Leave it! Strip! Strip! Leave it! Wait! Strip! He’s on it! Set! Set mon! Long strip! Yeah mon, you got him!”
The instant that the bonefish eats, you’re kind of disappointed. Bonefish are supposed to be really hot and fast, right? But when he ate, the fly just kind of stopped. “This isn’t…OUCH! My finger! Holy crap there goes my backing knot! What the…?”
So now you’ve got a whole bunch of backing out there all of a sudden and you’ve decided that bonefish are pretty powerful after all. You’re pulling and he’s not really coming in. You get him to turn, but then he rips another 40 yards off your reel like it’s nothing.
Now you’re really fired up. “Wow, this is awesome – I’ve hooked a huge bonefish on my first day on the flats. I’m really good at this.”
You battle and battle and the fish starts to tire. As he gets close, you’re still impressed by the speed and power, and you think the angle of the sun must be a little strange because he doesn’t look to be 10 pounds.
The guide grabs the leader and helps you land the fish. You look down at the thing and think to yourself “You’ve got to be kidding me – a fish that size just did that to me? OK maybe it wasn’t a 10 pounder on my first day, but 6 or 7 is pretty sweet”.
As you watch your first released bonefish swim off towards the horizon, you need to get confirmation. You say to your guide “That was awesome. How big do you think he was?”
“Maybe 2 pounds, mon. Nice work. Hey, get ready! I got more fish comin’ at 11 o’clock.”
And you shake off the disappointment about the size of your first bonefish and start looking hard, because you know there really are 10 pounders out there.