| Albula vulpes |
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Bonefish also known as the Grey Ghost is an inshore gamefish that is highly prized by light-tackle anglers all over the world. Also known as Banana, Ikonodo, and Kpole (Africa), Macabi (West Indies), and the Raton South America). This distinctive species, the only living member of its genus, belongs to the family (Albulidae) of very bony fishes which date back to the Cretaceous Period (125 million years ago). Like Tarpon and the Ladyfish, it possesses an eel-like leptocephalus larval stage. They can be found worldwide and has been taken as far north on the Atlantic Coast West as far as Woods Hole MA., but generally do not extend much further than Cape Hatteras and as far south as Rio de Janeiro and on the Pacific Coast side they have been taken as far north as san Francisco Bay CA and south to Talara, Peru.
Large bonefish are a bluish in color above and bright silvery on both sides and below, there are dark streaks between rows of scales. They have a slender body, rounder, and less compressed in large bonefish. Dorsal fin somewhat elevated anteriorly and closer to the tip of Snout. Caudal fin deeply forked, the upper lobe somewhat longer than the lower. Anal fin very small close to the base of the caudal.
Bonefish can attain a weight as large as 20 lbs although most in the Florida Keys range from 8 lbs to 15 lbs. but somewhat smaller in the Bahamian locations and somewhat smaller also in Central America and Mexican waters. Bonefish of 8 lbs or more are considered large and one caught 19 lbs on rod and reel in Zululand, South Africa has been a world record.
Spawning season and spawning grounds remain undedescribed. Bonefish and larvae are taken at various times of the year, which indicates a prolong breeding period. Exceptionally large schools are seen in the Bahamas from mid February to April, milling in protected shallow bays and behind reefs. Both large and small bonefish will join together and these concentrations may be prespawning or spawning bonefish.
The adult bonefish usually digs for its food into the bottom with its snout, and sometimes turns somersaults in the process. They feed on marine warms, mollusks, crabs, squids, small fish, shrimp, and sea urchins.
Bonefish are very difficult to catch on artificial lures, and some study should be done to master the game. Although a bonefish rarely jumps from the water when hooked, it usually makes an incredibly swift runs of over 50 to 100 yards several times before landing them. Bonefish live in a constant state of alarm. Sometimes feels if you were to breathe to heavy that the whole flat will blow up with them and see them take off. They are usually flushed out when a skiff or wading angler comes to close. Bonefish are much less cautious when they aren't being exposed to predators including man, and the frequency an area is heavily angled or not being fished at all makes a considerable difference in results.
Bonefish are primarily a shallow-water species, mostly on flats or intertidal areas adjacent to sand and coral islands or mainland beaches. Bonefish generally come onto the flats on a flood tide and drop back to deeper waters on the ebb. This requires some good local knowledge to determine which flats the schools favor.
When actively feeding, bonefish reveal there location in two ways. The most desirable for the fly rod angler is "tailing fish", this means that the fish has his nose down in the shallow waters that his tail breaks the surface. With a quiet stalk this is the easiest fish to catch. On deeper areas of the flat a single or group of bonefish will plow the bottom and raise puffs of mud also known as mudding fish. Mudding can be seen from a distance but may be not quite as easy to take on a fly because it is difficult to see the target fish.
Stalking bonefish requires some experience and is advised to the beginner that they try with a knowledgeable guide to avoid mistakes of spotting sharks, rays and other fish for signs of bonefish. Wading can be a desirable method for getting close as his silhouette is less obvious. However a correctly designed skiff with little or no slap and shallow draft and a good casting area is hard to beat when poled by a competent guide. You can cover much more area in a day's fishing and present your lure or fly to many more fish.