Biscayne Bay Winter-time Bonefishing

Winter-time bonefishing at times can be very tough. Strong cold fronts along with cool to very cold water temps send bonefish off to deep water, by deep I mean out to 6 maybe 10 feet at times. What do you do then you ask? Well I’m going to give you a few tips on how to catch a few more bonefish on those nasty winter days.

The day after a passing cold front can be great if the front blows through clean and you have blue bird skies, even if it's cold and blowing hard out of the northwest or north quadrant. Usually under these conditions the bonefish will be moving on the ocean side shorelines, most of the time into the wind, and in very large schools. The key is to find the depth the fish are moving in. Several years ago, light tackle expert Bill Linsay and I headed out of Black Point Marina and the air temperature was 38 degrees, and the wind was blowing 20 out of the northwest. We ran across the bay to the outside shorelines and the bonefish were stacked out in 10 ft of water. We caught 13 bonefish that day. The fish were sunning themselves, kind of lying there like laid-up tarpon, finning and flashing. I’m not saying that bonefish are going to be in ten feet of water all the time after a cold front. But if you move around a little bit, poling different depths and checking your water temps you can have some killer days as far as numbers of bonefish you catch.

A few days after the front has blown through, water temps are cool. Sometimes they drop into the 60's and even colder. That's when you head to your neighborhood tackle shop and buy a bunch of shrimp, and go chum some bonies up. This method can be deadly on day's when you are not seeing many fish on the shorelines. What I like to do is set up on an edge were I know the fish travel. It could be the edge of a channel i know the fish live in, or an outside shoreline bonefish use as a highway. It's very easy guys! Stake up and cut some shrimp into dime size pieces, usually a fist full. Pick a spot that doesn’t have much grass on it. On sunny days you can actually see the bonefish come in to your chum and sight-fish them as they come in and eat the pieces of shrimp you threw out. Give a spot 30 minutes. If nothing comes in move. A good sign is if the bonnet head's are around there should be bonies around.

As far as tackle goes a spinning rod loaded with 10 to 12 lb line is the way to go. Keep some different size split shots in the boat. The last couple of years I’ve been using a bass hook made by Gamakatsu that has bait holder barbs on it. My client’s catch ratios went up dramatically using this hook in a 2/0. Rods I use are 8 foot 4 to 6 lb Biscayne rod. I like the longer rod for chumming, just because that extra length keeps my line above sea fans, and other debris. As for fly, a 7 to 10 weight will work. I prefer a 9 to 10 weight because of the wind this time of year. Flies you will need are simple, weighted Clousers, Gotchas and Merkins in different weights. Usually medium to heavy eyes is what you will need for this type of bonefishing.