What to Bring – Gear and Flies
ABOUT FLIES
You could ask any guide on Andros what the best fly is, and each one will tell you something different. There are hundreds of variations that work. This guide outlines what to bring — gear and flies you’ll use.
Over the years, I’ve posted more flies than you can shake a rod at. Most of the fly content on this page has been deleted — let’s keep it simple. If I were going fishing today, I’d toss a couple of the flies mentioned on this page in my front pocket, along with some tippet, an extra leader, a set of clippers, and go fishing. No need for a full-sized checked bag in the boat.
I used to say there’s no such thing as a “best” fly. However, a few patterns consistently get the job done. After years on the flats, and listening to guide and guest reports, the #4 pearl Gotcha with bead chain eyes still takes the crown — simple, and deadly effective.
Yeah, there are some very popular spawning shrimp flies out there Still, they’ll run you nine bucks a pop or require an investment in specialty materials to tie. I like them, I have some of the flies and materials. But I can tie an almost identical fly with traditional materials I have on hand. Even so, I’m short on time, I’d rather tie a Gotcha in the half that time that’ll work just as good or better.
Tying is fun and satisfying. I enjoy it! The fly box is part of the adventure — experimenting, and making flies up. Check out this pile of flies tied by a returning client with some time on his hands. He’s never looked at a recipe, you can’t buy any of those flies. They all work. We ain’t trout fishing, where matching the hatch is critical. A degree in aquatic entomology isn’t required.
Three Flies That Just Work
Bonefishing is popular because bonefish are an agreeable fish. They’ll eat a beer cap some days. Bring the usual suspects. They’ll all work.
If you’re looking to cut through the noise and catch fish, you’d do just fine bringing these three flies: the Gotcha, Ververka’s Mantis Shrimp, and the Fitz. Bring mostly bead chain and a few weighted.
HOOK SIZES
The standard hook size for a bonefish fly on South Andros is a #4 hook with bead chain eyes, period, end of story. With caveats…
Bahamas bonefish are big, unlike the Belize and Mexican dinks. Huge fish swim the waters around Andros. A #2 was the suggested size in the past. I threw flies tied with #2 hooks for years and find them to be very effective. A #2 hook is not too large.
Additionally, bring a few flies in size 6 if you’re fishing during the winter months, in case the water is unusually cool or a cold front has just passed. Cooler water slows the fish down. Small crab flies tied on a #6 will sometimes work well on chilly days.
Bring the usual suspects in white, pink, pearl, brown, and tan in #4’s; #2’s will work also.
WEIGHTED FLIES
You’ll need some heavily weighted flies for two reasons. The shoreline flats can overheat quickly, with temperatures exceeding 85 degrees. Bonefish are comfortable in water 70 to 85 degrees. If the water feels like you’re wading in your own piss, the flat will be vacant of fish. Your guide will look for cooler water near the deeper channel edges and ocean-side flats.
You might find yourself FISHING WATER TWO TO THREE FEET DEEP. Don’t waste your time throwing a #4 bead chain fly. It will float in the water column and never sink to the bottom at that depth. A #2 weighted fly will get you there quickly. Bonefish are bottom feeders. It’s crucial your fly is on the bottom.
Then there’s the wind, a weighted fly will help roll your leader out when casting into the wind. A light fly can frustrate you enough to snap a rod over your knee.
DON’T TIE FLIES?
Go here, DISCOUNT FLIES, great prices. Get yourself some Gotchas and Mantis Shrimp patterns, and you’ll do well. Sort by bestselling. The Bonefish Scampi, Spawning Shrimp, DF Spawning Shrimp, Bearded Mantis Shrimp, Squimp, Gotcha Gold, and Silly Leg Gotcha are other good flies on the same website.
Some glorified spawning shrimp patterns are the latest rage and excellent flies but are a bit pricey. FEATHER-CRAFT has been around for a long time. The guys at the shop provide excellent service and have all afternoon to talk to you if you have questions.
FOR THE FLY TYER
…or if you’ve got fingers and want to learn. Click here for step-by-step video instructions on tying bonefish flies — fast, simple, and proven.
Don’t bury the fly’s body under a thick wing; keep it sparse. That applies to most bone flies. You wouldn’t bury a beautiful dessert under a pile of whipped cream, would you?
HINTS TO TYING AN EFFECTIVE SOUTH ANDROS BONEFISH FLY
In fact, most flies are just variations of the Gotcha. The Gotcha is actually a version of the Charlie, but with a tail. A Super Gotcha is just a Gotcha with silly legs. A Bunny Gotcha is a Gotcha with a rabbit fur wing; add a beard, some pink or orange, a couple strands of flash, and mono eyes to the tail, and it’s a spawning shrimp.
Don’t worry about specific materials or patterns. Have fun and mix it up. You’ll get more satisfaction knowing you caught that bone on a fly unlike any other — and you tied it yourself.
There are two color groups: the pinks/pearls and the naturals like brown, tan, or blonde. The bones seem to really like rubber legs on anything. On the natural flies, be sure to tie on a few strands of copper or gold flash.
One group of eight tossed nothing but the fly below the entire week and killed the bones. It’s tied in nothing but gold. We thought it so ugly we called it the Phyllis Diller… respectfully. One of my guides, Pap, speaks highly of a Gotcha with a gold tail.
Critters try to camouflage themselves to blend in with their environment. Light bottom, light fly. Dark bottom, dark fly. In the end, don’t worry about it.
As a safety precaution, bend your barbs and wear your glasses! It’s all fun and games until someone gets an eye poked out.
WHAT’S UP WITH THE ORANGE ACCENT ON SO MANY FLIES?
Shrimp, crabs, mantis shrimp, and other bottom-dwelling critters carry their eggs under the tail until maturity. The eggs are colored in shades of pink, orange, yellow, brown, and light grey to black. The picture right is lobster eggs. Caught in the open, I’ve seen fish harassing female lobsters carrying eggs. There’s a particular crab called a decorator crab that does a great job camouflaging themselves by laying whatever they find in their surroundings on their backs. I once caught a small dime-sized crab covered in shell-pink-colored eggs. I doubt that crab made it through the day.
GEAR – WHAT TO BRING
CLICK HERE FOR CARRY-ON PACKING LISTS
Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge
No-Laundry Bonefishing Travel Packing List
Welcome to paradise! We’ve made it easy to pack smart and light. Here’s everything you need to enjoy a hassle-free week of fishing and relaxing at Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge—without ever doing laundry.
👕 Clothing (Quick-Dry & Breathable)
☐ 3–4 long-sleeve lightweight fishing shirts (UPF-rated)
☐ 2–3 quick-dry short sleeve shirts
☐ 2 lightweight fishing pants
☐ 1 pair casual shorts
☐ 5 pairs performance briefs
☐ 1 rain jacket – REQUIRED
☐ 1 sun hoodie for extra sun protection
☐ Ball cap + buff/neck gaiter
☐ Polarized sunglasses – REQUIRED
👟 Footwear
☐ Wading boots – REQUIRED
☐ Neoprene socks, and/or 2 pairs quick-dry socks or knee-high cotton gym socks
☐ Flip-flops or sandals for the lodge – Crocs are not allowed on the loading ramp or boat
☐ Comfortable travel shoes
🎣 Fishing Essentials
☐ 2 rods and reels (8wt and 9wt recommended) – REQUIRED
☐ Fly box with flies – REQUIRED
☐ Extra leader, tippet, nippers, pliers – REQUIRED
☐ Waist, hip pack or sling pack – REQUIRED
☐ Sun gloves
🧼 Toiletries & Extras
☐ Sunscreen
☐ Lip balm with SPF
☐ Body wash & shampoo
☐ Microfiber towel
☐ Bug spray with DEET!
☐ Medications – Prescriptions
☐ 2–3 ziplock bags (wet clothes, valuables)
☐ Waterproof phone case (recommended)
❄️ Dec, Jan, Feb
☐ Fleece pullover or light jacket
💡 Pro Packing Tips
Bring a mesh laundry bag to keep your funk from infecting the clean stuff.
Roll your clothes instead of folding. You’ll save space and feel superior.
Less is more. Nobody dresses up for dinner. Just put on some clean underwear and for the love of god, don’t bring your phone to the table.
Forgot your toothbrush? Lost your shampoo? Bleeding from an orifice? Bill’s got you. We’ve got trash bags for wet gear, band-aids, antacids for that change in diet, and even lidocaine and suture kits… because nothing says “vacation” like minor surgery.
This entire list fits in a carry-on/small duffel bag and personal item (briefcase, shoulder pack).
Avoid checked bag fees and travel stress.
See you soon at Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge!
FLY RODS
Bring an 8 weight and a 9 weight. If you can throw a tight loop and have a good double haul, an 8 weight is fine up to a 15 mph wind but if the wind picks up to 20 mph, you’ll wish you had a 9 weight. The odds are very good that you’ll be casting in 10 to 20-mph winds. Some fishermen like to overline their rods by one weight. Whether you are experienced or a beginner a 9wt rod loaded with a 10wt line is a deadly tool on a windy day.
Still, some bring 6 and 7 weights. They are too light for most wind conditions on South Andros except for the lightest of days. Odds are you won’t use them. I’d suggest leaving them at home.
Let’s beat this dead horse one more time…..COME EXPECTING 10 to 20 MPH WINDS!
FLY LINE
Weight forward floating line.
LEADERS
Generally, a 12 ft leader, including tippet, is the standard bonefish leader and what I recommend. I might stretch it to 14 ft on a windless day or shorten it to 10–11 ft in high winds.
Store-bought leaders are okay, but many have weak butts that collapse against a strong wind. If you’re using one, add a foot or two of 30–40lb hard mono to the fly line with a loop knot before attaching your leader. It’ll keep the leader off your fly line and help avoid wind knots.
Or better yet, build your own. They’re now up to $15-$20 each nowadays! It’ll save you cash. Equal-length sections work just fine.
You can buy a few spools of stiff mono in the poundages below for the cost of a couple of “leaders” that’ll last you the rest of your life. You can use fluorocarbon, but…. no stretch. Mono has stretch and acts as a shock absorber.
High wind leader: 3 ft of 40 lb → 3 ft of 30 lb → 3 ft of 20 lb
All-around leader: 3 ft of 30 lb → 3 ft of 25 lb → 3 ft of 20 lb or 16 lb
TIPPET
I won’t apologize for this.
Some guests show up with 10–12 lb tippet — because their local shop didn’t carry 16–20 lb and told them 20 lb is “too heavy” or “unnecessary.” That’s complete bullshit.
Frankly, whoever gave that advice doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I’d expect that kind of nonsense from a panfisherman yanking bluegills from a farm pond, not someone outfitting a fisherman for saltwater bonefish.
It’s Killing Fish
With 10 lb tippet, that bonefish is played too long. It’s exhausted, dragged to the boat belly-up, and while you might feel good watching it swim away, sideways and dazed… that ruckus in the mangroves behind you? That’s your fish getting shredded by sharks or barracuda.
That once-in-a-lifetime trophy bone? Dead.
THE FIX?
Do it right. Bring 16–20 lb fluorocarbon. Nothing lighter.
Use 16–20 lb fluorocarbon tippet. Do not go lighter. Ten to twelve-pound tippet is too light. You will kill fish or lose the biggest one of your life. Trust me — It’s the same old story, “I lost the biggest bone of my life today”. I say, “10-12lb tippet?”….yep.
Every time I go fishing, I hope to catch a once-in-a-lifetime bone. I don’t want to be messing around with 10 lb tippet. If you’re fishing near mangroves, even a small fish will rip through them like a hot knife. And once a fish is played out and too tired to recover, it’s shark food.
A 300-yard spool of Seaguar fluorocarbon from Walmart will cost less than one 10-yard spool that says “tippet” on the label. Seaguar has the rep for being the best.
Fluorocarbon is worth it for abrasion resistance. Bonefish will rub your tippet across rocks, sand, and razor-sharp mangrove roots. Mono can’t handle that. One nick, and it’s done.
I’ve got a guest who’s been coming every year since I opened. He’s consistently out-fished everyone at the lodge, been on the front page of the website three times — twice for the biggest fish of the year, and once for the most fish in a single day: 50 fish. He uses 25 lb fluoro. Enough said.
If you’re hoping to stop a bone headed for the mangroves, 20 lb might hold. Ten-pound tippet? Snap. Gone.
FLY REELS
A large arbor with 200 yards of 20-30 lb backing. Nearly every fish you hook will be into your backing.
RAIN GEAR
A raincoat is the most forgotten item and one of the most important. I do not have a closet full of loaners. Remember to bring a raincoat. It is REQUIRED, not optional!! Light and breathable. Bring your rain gear with you on the boat daily, no matter how clear it looks. Squalls pop up quickly and the boat ride can be wet.
WADING BOOTS
Wade boots are also REQUIRED and commonly forgotten. Some flats have razor sharp marl. Don’t forget to bring your socks or neoprene booties. A little sand in your boots without the socks will rub your feet raw. Sand guards can prove helpful.
Most fishermen wear lace-up wade boots. They provide good ankle support if you find yourself wading across a hill and hole bottom. But they do feel like boots. Neoprene zip-up boots with firm rubber soles are very comfortable but lack ankle support.
No, sandals are not suitable for wading. The sand will rubs your feet raw,
It takes some balls to wear these.
WADING PANTS
Required!!!! The thin wade pants, some call shants, with zip-off leggings, don’t work. Flies will bite through them. Besides, the baggy pants and oversized long-sleeved button-up shirt look is dated.
Instead, I’m dressing my guides in the newer long sleeve pullover shirts and ripstop nylon pants the flies cannot bite through. Although I try to avoid promoting products, I must say that these ripstop pants are impressive. They last twice as long, dry just as quickly, are equally cool, more stylish, and cost less than those baggy “wade pants”. Furthermore, they are impervious to bites from flies. Your choice of the number of pockets; loose, regular, or slim cut. That is the problem, too many styles to choose from. One style has 20k [email protected] stars. I believe they are quite popular with the prepper crowd. My best advice would be to find a pair with 3% elastane in the fabric, it has a little stretch and makes it easier to lift your legs into the boat and won’t bind up the boys. CLICK HERE
CHEST, BACK, OR FANNY PACK
You may be wading for hours and the boat will be just a spec on the horizon. Be sure to bring a wading pack to carry your flies, leaders, tippet, clippers, a water bottle, a camera, etc.
TOOLS
Bring long-nose pliers, hemostats, knot tying tool, snips, hook sharpener, and dehooker.
I carry a fingernail clipper and a dehooker, that’s it. I’d like to see more fishermen carrying a dehooker. They are simple to use; slide the dehooker down the leader to the hook bend and release the fish without touching it.
If you do not have a dehooker, and the fish is hooked in the lip, slide your hand down the tippet, grab the shank of the hook, and give it a shake. There’s no need to handle the fish. Some fishermen come in at the end of the day covered in bonefish slime. As a rule, if you don’t want a picture do not handle the fish. Once touched you’ve broken the slime and the scent is released. Sharks are like a hound dog on a raccoon. I believe most handled fish do not survive.
I do realize that sometimes the fish has taken the fly so far down its throat that a death grip and surgery is required. You win some, lose some.
DEHOOKER
There are several models. The dehooker below works great; I give them to the guides. They’re easy to find at Walmart, Ace, or sitting on the check-out counter at a Fishing Store. Dirt cheap, two bucks.
SUNGLASSES
Polarized with amber or copper lenses.
HAT
REQUIRED!!! Black under the brim, it’ll absorb light rather than reflect it off the water. A full-brim is better than a baseball hat. Some guests are missing chunks of their ears and nose from getting precancerous sun damage cut off.
BUGS AND BUG SPRAY
I get bitten daily, multiple times — doesn’t bother me much. But some guests have nasty allergic reactions to bug bites, so it’s worth taking seriously.
If the wind’s down and you’re sitting on the seaside porch at the end of the day, spray exposed skin — especially your legs if you’re in shorts, and your arms if you’re in a T-shirt.
Bring bug spray with 25% to 50% DEET. Skip the 100% stuff — overkill. Get the aerosol can. Pump bottles don’t work upside down.
Also, don’t waste your money on “natural” repellents — lemon eucalyptus, Picaridin, herbal blends. That stuff might work in Vermont, but not here. You’ll get chewed up.
YOU’VE BEEN WARNED –
I once had a gentleman come stomping out of his room covered in welts, complaining about bed bugs, and insisting that I take him to see a doctor. Nope — just no-see’ums. I’d warned him days earlier to use Off. He didn’t. I handed him some Benadryl and anti-itch cream and told him he’d live.
Don’t be that guy.
SPIN RODS, REELS, TUBE LURES, AND LURES FOR CUDA
All Barracuda get a complimentary boat ride back to the dock. Bahamians love to eat them.
Although some fishermen do, there are better tools than a fly rod for Barracuda. It’s difficult to strip fast enough. Be sure to have a trailing hook on your fly.
Most fly fishermen bring a spin rod for Barracuda that frequent the flats. Ask the guide to carry it for you while wading. A Green tube lure is the best lure. Be sure to buy the tube lure with a treble hook near the rear of the tube. Not all tube lures do. Topwater floating plugs work well; Mirror lure, Yozuri, etc. Throw it to either side, past the Bari, and reel as fast as possible. They’ll hit it so hard and fast you’ll wet your britches.
You’ll need a six to seven-foot rod with a 10-30lb line rating, medium to fast action, and a Shimano or Penn 4000 series reel or equivalent. Use 20-30 lb test braid, make sure the spool is full. Bring some wire leader.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.