Words are taken from our 2025 Guide to Cuba
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Fly fishing for Bonefish is often the first flats experience for new saltwater anglers. One might even consider them the gateway drug to saltwater flats fly fishing.  Bonefish are incredibly fast, sleek, and wary, making them a challenging target for even the most seasoned anglers.   Anglers’ skills will be tested in ways they have never dreamed.  Sight fishing the “Ghosts of the Flats” is an exhilarating adrenaline rush when it all comes together.

Bonefish are a fantastic way to practice fly casting and the double haul, especially for longer, more accurate shots.  It combines the art of fly fishing with the excitement of pursuing a fast, challenging fish in beautiful, exotic places.  Bonefish are incredibly visual, and an engaging fish to pursue. It feels extremely rewarding when an angler lands one.  It’s difficult to convey the rush one experiences as the Bonefish takes the fly and bolts from the flats.

Stalking Bonefish in the shallows requires patience and attention to detail.  Polarized lenses are essential as Bonefish can be extremely difficult to see in the water.  The ability to read the water and anticipate which direction the fish are moving adds a deeper element of strategy and excitement to the game.  

Timing the cast and presenting the fly just in front of the fish is imperative to success.  Once hooked, Bonefish will exit the flats on a blistering long run as the fast-paced fight begins, testing an angler’s skills.  The thrill of this high-speed action keeps anglers chasing these silver ghosts around the flats year after year.

Casting to Bonefish requires finesse, precision, and a good comprehension of the fish’s direction and behavior.  Bonefish are incredibly fast swimmers.  The “WOW” factor shocks many first-time Bonefish anglers as they spot these silver bullets darting through the shallow, clear waters on the flats.  Anglers will often be taken by surprise at how quickly Bonefish will exit the sandy flat once hooked.  Be prepared to see backing fly off the reel, perhaps for the first time, if newer to flats fly fishing.

Fly fishing for Bonefish is an excellent primer for the exciting and challenging experiences on the flats. 

While being less demanding than Permit fishing, it still provides a proving ground for your flats fishing.  It combines skill, challenge, and pure excitement, making it a rewarding experience for anglers of all skill levels.  Coaching you through all of this and setting you up for success is our very purpose on every trip we take, so let’s go fishing!