Vision & Spotting Bonefish
Look for movement. Bonefish are almost always moving. When you first see a bonefish, it’s untypical to see the clear outline of the fish. From a distance, bonefish first appear as grey or dark spots/shapes, moving slowly and steadily. Waves and boat movement make it difficult to confirm if the shape is moving, so find a stationery marker on the bottom, like a change of color, or a fixed point above the water. Compare the position of the shape to your marker and you’ll quickly determine if the shape is moving.
Bonefish cruise the bottom, that’s where your focus should be. Train your eyes to look below the surface. Scan the bottom 30-60 feet in front of you in as wide an arc as possible. Extend your scan to 60-90 feet, then quickly back to 30.
Improving your ability to spot fish takes time and practice, but is fun and rewarding. Challenge yourself. Try to spot fish before, or as soon as, the guide. Keep at it. As your confidence builds, you’ll find yourself getting out of the boat to wade, spotting and catching fish on your own.
Tails, fins or v-wakes are easier to spot, because they’re above the surface.
A cool way to spot bonefish is observing feeding sign. Bonefish create feed sign when they stick their nose in the bottom, inhale food and blow out the sand. The turned-up sand is darker than the bottom. The darker the sand, the more recent the blow hole. The dark sand lands in the direction the tide is moving, revealing which tide they fed on. Fresh dark sand …. on the tide you’re fishing … means the fish are nearby. The next thing you’re apt to see is a small puff of mud or a bonefish nosing the bottom. Look carefully, as the fish may be concealed in a grey cloud. When a large school of fish feed together they create a mud 100 feet long or more. You can’t miss it. Single fish muds are tiny by comparison, hard to see, but they happen frequently, making this technique an effective way to locate feeding fish.
Bonefish coming at you or heading away are the easiest to see. In this scenario, the dark backs of the bonefish coming straight at you (upper right of photo) are easy to pick out. However, once they turn sideways (arrow points to sideways bonefish), they blend in with the bottom and become difficult to see.
One of the best opportunities to test your eyes comes when you or someone you’re with releases a bonefish. As the fish swims away, keep your eyes on him as long as possible. Pay particular attention to what he looks like just before he disappears. That’s when the clear outline of the fish becomes unrecognizable, but you should still detect motion.
Then there are these scenarios where you can’t miss ’em!
Call Angler Adventures (800-628-1447). We’ll send you here!
