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Flats Species Information - continued
Bone
Fish Diet and Feeding Habits
The
diet of the bonefish in Belize consists primarily of mud crabs, grass
shrimp, and sand eels.
Small baitfish and mollusks make up the remainder of the typical bonefish
feeding habits. From this, we can determine that bonefish are opportunists
who spend most of their time searching the bottom for their food. The
mouth of the bonefish is somewhat unique in that it's located on the underside
of the elongated, conical shaped nose. This allows the fish to tip up
on its snout to root out crabs and shrimp from the marl or sand.
Many of our clients have had great success catching bones in deeper water,
in the 6 to 10 foot depth range. But how do we find them in such deep
water when we obviously can't see them Once again, the bonefish unknowingly
give themselves away in one of 2 ways. In
clear, relatively calm conditions, bonefish will frequently tip on their
sides when feeding. This creates a "silver flash" which can
easily be seen when the fish themselves are difficult to locate. When
there is a large school feeding, there will be many of these silver flashes
going off simultaneously. A lot of first time saltwater anglers will look
right at this phenomenon and not have any idea that they are looking at
bonefish.
Glovers Reef offers some huge deep water schools (well over 500 fish) on the Western
and Northern Reef. When stalking the flats in search of bonefish, anglers
can expect to come across one of several common situations. The first
is a school of bonefish. These schools can have upwards of a 1000 fish,
swimming in a relatively tight concentration. The school will appear as
a black or brown mass and will often times seem unimportant until the
fly rodder figures out what he or she is looking at. These fish are generally
small (1-3 pounds) but there may be some real beasts swimming in the heard.
Bonefish simply don't like cold water, and to consistently catch them,
you need water to be 75 degrees or warmer! Belizean bones like the water
in a range of about 79 to 82 degrees. When the water gets hotter than
85 degrees for more than a day, it has the same effect that cold water
has: the fish are driven into deeper water until the conditions right
themselves. I've heard a lot of debate about the influence of tides on
bonefish and what the optimal tides are for generating the best bonefishing
conditions.
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Flats Species Information Pages -
Bonefish
- pg 1, pg
2 , pg 3
Permit - pg
1, pg 2 , pg
3
Tarpon - pg 1, pg 2 , pg3
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When bonefish
are aggressively feeding in this manner, one or both of their dorsal and
tail fins will stick out of the water. For anglers and guides alike, this
is one of the key ways to locate bonefish in skinny water. As a result
of this feeding behavior, bonefish develop a pink, rubber like consistency
to their outer mouth and nose. The larger the bonefish, the more pronounced
is the condition.
The markings that this feeding pattern will leave are very distinct and
easy to read, if you know what to look for. Dark silt patches stand out
in what Belizean guides call "bonefish tracks". If you're running
into this pattern, it means that you've missed the fish as bones have
already passed through the area. You're going to stay late or get up earlier
the next day if you want to hook up! However, bonefish do not only feed
in shallow water.
The other
way we find bonefish in deep water
conditions is to look for large muds. When bones feed in schools they
kick up a great deal of sand and mud. This fine silt rises from the bottom
and can stain a wide area of the ocean with muddy water. When we see this,
we know that the bones are actively feeding and will readily take a fly
cast into their feeding zone. In these conditions, it's rare for the fly
to land on the bottom for more than a second or two before it's taken
by a bonefish!
Another frequent
occurrence is when the angler comes across a small school, l with somewhere
between 3 to 8 fish swimming together. These fish will likely be larger
than those swimming in a big school. Anglers should also expect to run
into solitary fish cruising the flats in search of an easy meal. Generally
speaking, the single fish will be large, as big bones prefer to swim and
feed alone.
While the water temperature in Belize remains fairly constant, the country
is not immune to the odd cold front dropping down from the States during
the winter months. (January and February are the most likely months for
this to occur). The water temperature can drop as much as 7 or 8 degrees
over the course of a 3 or 4 day period when a cold front blows in. When
this happens, the bonefish are nowhere to be seen on the flats. And this
condition can last the better part of a week, long after the cold front
has left.
Most anglers claim that the initial stages of the rising tide are best.
However, I'm of the opinion that that this in fact is incorrect and that
there really is no best tide for bones. More important is what type of
flat you are on, where on the flat you are fishing, its location, and
the amount of light and wind that you are dealing with. You have to keep
in mind that there are certain areas that produce fish on the incoming
tide and those that become productive as the water is running out. Part
of what makes bonefishing so compelling is trying to figure out where
and when they're going to show up. It also means that having a good guide
is indispensable to the success of your trip!
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