The Baffled Bonefish

From time to time you'll hook a bonefish that does not run, at least right away. He may keep coming your way or swim around in circles or do something else other than make the classic run away from you. But you still have a lot of line to clear.

I generally keep stripping line as he approaches the boat or circles around, but I make sure that I keep a tight line with absolutely no slack. I monitor the fly line at my feet, untangle anything that needs it, and basically get ready for the long run that is coming. And believe me, it's coming.

Sooner or later, the fish get his wits about him, heads for deep water as he should, and things go back to normal. Just remember not to give him any slack while he's swimming around in confusion.

Sustaining the Long Run

"Keep the rod high!" was the usual advice years ago, and some anglers still live by it. You were supposed to raise both your hands well over your head with the fly rod way up high. The idea was that you would keep the fly line away from sea fans, coral, and other obstructions, but this generally is not true. Besides, to hold a fly rod so high while a fish makes a long run takes a lot of effort. And it's an unnecessary effort; it does nothing for you.

Lifting the tip of the rod as high as you can will raise only a few extra feet of fly line off the water. The rest of the line remains on the surface. You accomplish nothing by lifting the rod over your head, except to make yourself very tired.

Better to keep the fighting butt near your belt and the rod at an angle of 45 degrees or so, and let him run. There's nothing else to do for the time being. Enjoy your fish-this astonishing run is the reason you traveled thousands of miles to stand on a small boat under a blazing sun.

The one exception is when you hook a bonefish on a flat with small mangrove shoots. You may be able to clear some of these shoots by raising the rod, but only if they are very close to you. Lifting the rod is not going to help you clear a mangrove shoot 30 yards away.

As a fish runs, the diameter of the line remaining on the spool shrinks. That reduced diameter amounts to a shorter lever arm against the resistance of the reel's brake, which means that drag pressure increases as a fish takes line. How much the drag increases depends on the design and proportions of the reel; a small, wide reel will increase drag pressure considerably as a fish takes line, whereas a large-arbor model maintains more consistent resistance. In any case, you shouldn't need to adjust the mechanical drag during the first run because you should have started with a relatively light drag. As the fish runs, you can easily apply extra drag with your hands if you feel that you need it. That's why your reel has an exposed rim on the spool.

If you do feel the drag increasing to the danger point as the fish runs, you started with too much. Back off on the adjustment a little to avoid breaking the tippet or pulling the hook out. Of course, many anglers don't realize that they had set their drags too tight until it's too late. Besides, adjusting the drag during a long, fast run is another chance for something to go wrong — what if you turn it the wrong way or loosen it so much that the spool overruns?

Remember to start with a light drag. You need enough to keep the spool from overrunning, but not a great deal more. If you need to put more pressure on the fish, feather the spool.

During the Fight

Eventually, he'll stop, though there are times when you wonder if he ever will. By then, the fish might be 50 or more than 100 yards away, if he happens to be a large fish. Now the fight begins; you have to regain all that line.

For starters, try to keep a tight line during the fight. A slack line gives the fish a better chance to dislodge the hook. Avoid slack as much as possible.

Your next big goal is to get the fly line back inside the rod. This is where you want to fight all fish, if possible. Your guide will pole after the fish as you reel in line (this is one time when you will really appreciate a large-arbor reel). If you're wading, you could chase the fish to regain line. With a 3-pound bonefish that gets a little into your backing, don't bother running across the flat-just stand there and enjoy him.

From time to time, a bonefish will start to run back toward you, creating a big belly of slack. Naturally, you must try to retrieve that slack as fast as possible. But do not bring the rod back in an effort to pick up some slack because you'll be in danger of wrapping the line around the tip of the rod. Instead, keep the rod tip ahead of you. If you want it not to wobble too much as you frantically crank the reel (this, too, can cause a loop of backing to wrap around the rod), keep the tip in the water. This works very well.

Stay as close to the fish as possible during the fight. The closer you are, the more the pressure of your rod will affect him. You'll simply have more control of events. Ask any experienced tarpon angler.

When a hooked fish manages to tangle some loose grass on the fly line or leader, try to get rid of the grass. You do not want heavy grass hanging from your line during a fight; the strain of dragging a bulky wad of vegetation through the water can break a light bonefish tippet even if your drag is set lightly. To get rid of the grass, lift the fly line as high as you can so that the clinging grass is off the water. Now shake the grass from side to side while it is in the air. With luck, all or most of it should drop off the line.

When a bonefish makes a long run and tangles your line or leader on a mangrove shoot, do not pull. Instead, give him some slack and then carefully approach the fish. As you get closer, you can see how the line is tangled and solve the problem before the fish takes off again. Chances are that the fish will not move much as long as you don't pull or make a big commotion as you approach him; he is usually tired after that first long run. I have saved many bonefish catches this way.

Toward the end of the fight, when the fish is close to you, keep a low rod angle. Apply pressure against his ever-changing direction of pull-if he pulls to the right, then you pull directly against him to the left, and so forth. By fighting this way, you'll land him sooner and release him in much better condition, which is what you want.

Once the fish is close to you or the skiff, be prepared for one or two final dashes. The fish might run only a few feet, but he can do it with enough strength to break the tippet if he catches you off guard. Besides, as you bring a bonefish close to the boat, a good part of your long leader comes inside the rod. A sudden lunge by the fish will pull the leader knot back out of the rod, clicking and slamming against every guide. Here again, a low rod angle helps by letting the leader slide freely through the guides. This is also when you find out why it's good to trim the tag ends of knots as close as possible.

At the end of the fight, a bonefish often pulls one of his most dangerous maneuvers, the "dive under the boat trick." Many fish break tippets this way, and some break fly rods.

When a fish dives under the skiff, do not keep the rod tip up-this is the worst possible time for high-sticking. The rod bends double and eventually breaks. Don't try to pull the fish back under the boat when he is already on the other side. Dip the tip of the rod, maybe a foot or more of it if the depth allows, into the water. Make sure that neither the line nor the rod is touching the boat. Then, with the rod tip in the water, move the line around one end of the boat, preferably the bow, and clear the fly line again. Now you are fighting the fish on the other side of the boat, free and clear.

If the boat is drifting toward the fish at the end of the fight, the bonefish will probably run under the skiff. The ideal (though not always possible) arrangement is to have the wind or current moving the boat away from the fish as you fight him.

One last item about pressure. If you are using a size 4 or smaller fly and a 10-pound tippet, remember that excessive pressure can straighten a small hook. A stainless-steel hook is rarely as stiff as a carbon-steel model made of equally thick wire. I've straightened a few size 4 and size 6 hooks with 10-pound tippets, but very few with 8-pound tippets. And I never use anything heavier than 10-pound-test material with a size 4 or smaller fly.