When fishing for bonefish, we often carry several large fly boxes full of bonefish patterns. Some of our guests have been known to carry upwards of five or more large fly boxes for a day on the water.
Do you need that many flies for a single day a fishing? Not really. Unlike trout fishing, you don’t typically go through many flies during a day on the flats. With that said, we’re gear heads by nature and generally don’t believe you can own ‘too many flies.’
However, at Andros South it’s not uncommon when poling for bonefish to hop out of the boat for a quick wade when conditions allow. Perhaps your guide spotted some tailing fish in water too shallow for the boat, or you decide to walk the inside of the flat while your buddy fishes the outside from the boat. During quick wading spells like this, a full pack containing hundreds of flies stuffed in several boxes can be a bit cumbersome.
Therefore, we’ve gotten into the habit of carrying a small, ultra thin box of flies in our pocket at all times. That way, when it’s time to hop out of the boat for a quick walk, we always have a dozen or so flies ready to go. We still bring along our large boxes as well, but with a pocket sized box, we can keep our ‘mothership’ of flies back at the boat, and refill our pocket sized box if need be. Plus, with a small assortment of flies in your pocket, you’re able to save the day should your main box be accidentally left at the dock or knocked over board (it happens more than you might think).
There are many great pocket sized fly box options out there, but we’ve grown fond of inexpensive ultra thin trout style boxes such as the Ultra-Thin Small Fly Box from Angler’s Image. While it’s slotted foam is designed for smaller trout sized flies, if positioned right, we’ve found it will hold around a dozen or so bonefish flies. But here’s the best part, it’s only 1/2 inch thick and is so light you hardly know it’s even in your pocket. And, at $7.50 we think it’s hard to go wrong.
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