Bonefish

Compared to most in the bonefishing world, the flies that we like to fish on South Andros tend to be an unusual combination of big and light. For anglers wanting to load up a fly box before their trip, that can make it a little hard to buy commercially available flies – most widely available bonefish flies are either light enough but too small (probably designed for places like Belize and Christmas Island), or big enough but too heavy (probably designed for the Florida Keys).

Here are 5 flies that are pretty widely available that will work great on South Andros Island.

1. Tan Gotcha Yeah, we know, everybody knows about the Gotcha, and tan is a very popular color in a lot of places. What’s a little harder to find is the #2 size tied with bead chain eyes (not lead eyes) – that’s the one you want.
2. Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp This fly is a great default option when you’re fishing a flat that has a mottled bottom, with some dark areas and some light areas. It’s got a relatively neutral coloration that seems to stick out enough but not too much. It’s really buggy looking, and it’s got those rubber legs that our fish love. #2 is the workhorse, and #4 is nice for shallower water.
3. Solitude Para Vida Here’s the exception to the big fly rule. This fly in tan and #8 is a nice one to have in your box if you’re doing some inland wading – walking in to super-skinny water that might barely get your ankles wet. Fish in really shallow water are sensitive to heavy flies hitting the surface of the water, so an unweighted, very small fly is your go-to here.
4. Idyl’s Woolly Crab When you’re fishing in deeper water (deeper for us means maybe 2-3 feet) and specifically targeting bigger fish, say on the West Side of South Andros, a crab pattern is a great option. This fly is tied with lead eyes, but that’s OK here for 2 reasons – the lead is necessary to get the relatively bulky body to sink…and you’re fishing this one in deeper water. Tan is good.
5. Peterson Spawning Shrimp Our fish aren’t that picky, but there’s something about a spawning shrimp pattern than seems to drive them bonkers. Again, #2 is your go-to size. Note that, contrary to this description on the linked site, this fly is typically tied with small lead eyes (not bead chain eyes), which are necessary to make the relatively bulky fly ‘ride right’ when stripped.

More On Gear For South Andros

• 7 Reasons This Fly Works On South Andros Island
• Sage 790-4 TCX
• Simms Dry Creek Flats Pack

Tying your own flies for bonefish on South Andros Island can really help your ego – anything reasonable works.  As always, however, the best flies tend to have some things in common.  Here’s why this one works.

1. It’s big. That’s a #2 Tiemco 811S, and it’s maybe a bit on the small side.  Big fish like big flies.
2. It’s light. The problem with most big flies that are available commerically is that they’re too heavy.  Our fish feed in shallow water, so they need to be fairly light.  Bead chain eyes are the norm.  This one’s fairly bukly so it’s weighted with small lead eyes to make it ride right – just don’t go too heavy!
3. It’s got legs. Our fish love flies with legs.  Rubberlegs work great – this one uses hackle tips instead, just to add a bit of class.
4. It’s got a spawn sack. It might not be too realistic, but that puff of orange bunny fur helps.  We don’t know why it helps, but our theory is that these fish like a spawn sack.
5. It’s got contrast. The grizzly hackle tips against the white bunny fur wing help make it visible.
6. It’s neither too light nor too dark. If you’re fishing a pure white sand flat, a white fly is great.  If you’re fishing a bottom covered with turtle grass, a dark fly works great.  Many of our flats have a combination of the two, so we like to be somewhere in the middle.
7. It’s got copper flash. Here’s the story on this one – we had a few too many cocktails with a gentleman who has had a lot of success fishing on South Andros over the last 15 years.  In a moment of weakness, he said “try some copper flash”.  We did, and it works.  Real well.