Mackerel and Bonito - Lemon Bay, Florida

       Back to Lemon Bay for our fall trip - late October and early November. There are usually quite a few options at this time of year - tailing redfish on the flats around low tide, snook along the mangroves and in potholes, trout on the deeper flats. However, fly fishing out in the Gulf is usually limited to pretty calm days, which seem to be pretty rare most of the time, but especially in the fall! One of our favorite fishing activities when it is calm is going out for Spanish Mackerel or Bonitos. Both can be caught on a fly rod and can be a lot of fun, in addition to which the bonito are a real challenge. As a bonus, Spanish mackerel is delicious table fare when properly prepared. The mackerel average 2-4 pounds and are famous for their speed and fighting ability, especially on a 6-8 weight fly rod. Bonito, or little tunny, or false albacore, are quite a bit larger - up to about 20 pounds - and are known for their lightning fast runs. They run in large schools, showing up on the surface with a lot of slashing when feeding on bait, their location given away by circling gulls overhead.

        With this in mind, we went out early one morning and ran out through Stump Pass and north along the beach about two miles, about one mile from shore. It was an incoming tide with just a slight breeze from the north with a few ruffly waves on the surface - another beautiful morning with temperatures in 70s. We saw feeding fish and birds as soon as we got out. Individual splashes indicated feeding mackerel and we were into small schools of them right away. We used 8 weight rods with floating lines, a 9' leader with 12-18" of 30 lb. test shock tippet. My favorite all-purpose fly - a white on white Clouser - closed the deal pretty effectively. The fish were on the smaller side, ranging from 1-2.5 lbs, but took the fly on almost every cast, and we had a couple of double hook-ups. We saved a couple for dinner and then decided to look for more challenging fish.

The bonito are a whole different kettle of fish (so to speak). Even at a distance, we could tell these fish weren't mackerel because although they slash the surface of the water in the same way, the fish are larger and faster, creating a lot more commotion. About two dozen fish moved in tight formation, side by side, creating a phalanx (like the Macedonians), racing first in one direction about 40' and then suddenly pivoting and racing the same distance in the opposite direction. They would keep this zigzag motion up, creating good sized waves. This would keep up for a couple of minutes and then they would disappear beneath the surface, only to reappear a hundred yards further away. Well, we got the boat in good position, trying to anticipate what general direction they were moving and got some good casts in, but their positions changed so quickly it was hard to get the fly going in the right direction. You'd cast ahead of them and then suddenly they turned and the fly was behind them! Talk about frustration! Surrounded by dozens of feeding, slashing fish that were constantly turning their backs on the fly! We both cast like crazy to no avail. Kris finally suggested a different approach- cast the fly behind them, wait for the turn and then start stripping like crazy. They moved with such lightning speed that this was still difficult to accomplish.

                       Finally, however, I did get lucky and one fish took the Clouser. An arm jolting strike followed by 50-75 yards of disappearing backing! The fish then took a 180 degree turn and came right back to the boat! Now this is where a right-handed retrieve for a right-handed person is essential - there's just no way a rightie can retrieve that fast with his left hand. These fish move so fast - not exactly like a bonefish, but pretty snappy. The fish put up a great fight, taking line out a couple of times with strong runs, but I finally got it up to the boat and netted it. A real beauty, weighing about 10 lbs., and then released it. What a great time! The tackle was the same we had used on the mackerel. We chased these guys around a while longer since they kept surfacing, but weren't able to duplicate our luck. We went back the next day when conditions were exactly the same, but you know the old story - not a tunny to be seen! Maybe next time! At least we know they're out there!