Spinning for bonefish?

[lucky]

Hi all - what would be a good spinning set-up for bonefish on the flats as far as casting weight of rod and appropriate lures? I know a lot of people prefer to fly fish for them but I've never done any fly fishing and would be more comfortable using spinning gear. Would bucktail jigs be any good and what hook size would be suitable? From the reading I've done it seems that a reel capable of holding about 200 metres of 8-10lb line is the prefered optimun but is it better to go light on the rod and lures to minimize disturbance when the lure hits the water to avoid spooking the fish or a touch heavier to help with casting when it's windy? Also is there any prefered length of spinning rod to use? At the moment I'm thinking about the 9ft range.

Any info would be greatly appreciated as I'm starting to kit up for a planned future trip to Cayo Guillermo. Thanks in advance.

[cubafish]

There is nothing wrong with using a spinning rod for bonefish, and you have asked all of the right questions.

Bonefish in Cuba emulate bonefish in Belize size wise, averaging 2 - 4 lbs (1 - 2 kg), so 6 - 8 lb test line (3 - 4 kg) is plenty heavy & yes, I'd want 200 meters of line on my reel. Same for bucktail jigs - small. On calm days 3/16 oz is plenty heavy with 8 lb test line, while on breezy days you may need a 1/4 or 3/8 oz to punch through the wind. Yellow or white bucktail jigs have worked well for me on a #1 ss or plated hook.

Never seen a 9 ft bonefish rod, but I see no reason it would not work. Most bonefish spinning rods I have seen are 7 to 7 1/2 ft in length. Sometimes quick casts are required when bonefishing, and a 9 ft spinner might slow down that process?

Hope this helps & that you are "Lucky." :-)

[Juanito]

In addition, or as an alternative, to bucktail jigs you might want to try some of the scent impregnated soft plastic curly tail grubs that are on the market. This will give you more colour options if you come across picky fish. Grubs in the 1 1/2"-2" range have worked well for me & I wouldn't disagree with Cubafish's weight recommendations for the jig heads. I've used fluourescent yellow heads to good success & they make it easy to see your jig from a distance although red & white have worked for me too.

Cubafish is on the money with the rod length too, I think you'd find a nine footer a bit cumbersome & the odds of you finding a travel rod in that length would be pretty slim. TFO make some nice travel rods in a medium weight designed for 6-10 # test line. I have a Shimano four piece that I've used to good success prior to me getting hooked on the fly rod. The most important aspect of your rig will be your reel, it's absolutely paramount that you have a reel with a smooth reliable drag, bonefish of any size will test it to it's limit. Don't skimp on the reel.

[lucky]

Thanks Cubafish and Juanito for the excellent advice. You've both confirmed my suspicions that my current lightest spinning rod (15-35gm) is still a touch on the heavy size when it comes to bonefish on the flats. Oh well looks like I'm going to have to get another rod - Shimano make a 7'/8' STC Beastmaster that is rated for 3-15gm so that might do the trick. . I also take your point about the rod length for speed of casting - that hadn't occured to me before but makes absolute sense. The colours you mention for the bucktails are pretty much in line with what I've read from other sources with yellow or white flies or jigs seeming to be the most popular. I've also seen chartreuse mentioned so I'll probably pick up a couple of those too for good measure if I can. Does anyone know of a good source of bucktails in the UK? The ones I've come across so far seem to be fitted with hooks bigger than size 1.

Also thanks for the advice on the reel Juanito. I'm intending to take my Shimano 4000 Twinpower. It's the rear drag model with the fighting drag but I don't know what the actual maximum drag is. Somewhat annoyingly reel manufactures don't give out drag specs with their products in the UK. If it's anything like its Japanese front drag cousin it should be around 6kg so hopefully it will do the job. It will certainly hold 200 metre plus of 8lb line so the line capacity should be OK.

I'll also bear in mind what you say abbout the coloured curly tail grubs - they've got to be worth a go if the jigs aren't working. Thanks again for all the good advice.

[Juanito]

Lucky,

Shimano reels are great but I'd be leery of utilising a rear drag model on the flats, they're dirt & sand magnets. They also tend to have smaller diameter drag washers in comparison to their front drag bretheren & rember, it's all about smooooth consistent drag performance. Buena suerte !

[cubafish]

Rear drag reels are OK, but a front drag is preferred for bonefish because of what Juanito said. I've had two rear drag reels explode on bonefish on my boat, but that was in the Florida Keys where the bf are much larger than in Cuba.

Hook sizes can be smaller than a #1 (ie. a 2 or 3), but I would not want to use anything larger than a size 1 for Cuba bonefish.

[Max S]

lucky, 9 ft spinning rod is absolutely perfect for bones. I've looked for years and couldn't find anything off shelf. Solution is build it or commision a rod builder.

Built two 9ftr's six years ago, 5wt & 8wt, and use them for everything from saltwater species to freshwater steelhead.

Basic material for build is a 4pc 9' fly rod blank, spinning reel seat on butt section, a good set of guides and 30" rod tube. Ordered most of the material from Cabelas at the time. Some suppliers provides accessory kits.

I personally prefer 6lb mono. Tho that can be a little light when tandemed with a 4lb+ bone around groves. 3-4" rubber Powerbaits like tan/brown twister tails have worked well.

[lucky]

Thanks Max - the custom route is one that I'm considering. Someone I know had a three piece 5-15gm 7' spinning rod built on a G Loomis blank for his flats fishing for bones. Thanks for the thoughts about the drag Cubafish and Juanito. That Shimano I have has a fully contained drag unit which is supposed to seal out dirt so hopefully it'll be OK although I guess dirt and grit will get in anywhere given time and conditions. One thing I like about the reel is the fighting drag feature which may prove useful on the flats.