Gear we love – What’s in your box? All you need for your bonefish trip to the Bahamas

Gearing up for fishing trips is half the fun – ok, not quite half as much fun as pulling on a bonefish but it’s still fun.  Most people want to overthink their fly selection for the Bahamas.  These five patterns are all you need to get those fish to eat when you come to South Andros or Abaco.  Don’t overthink it, if you tie one of these on and put it in the right place the fish will eat.

Puglisi spawning shrimp–  Far from a secret anymore this is our number one fly.  It has all the magic, translucent, lifelike, hint of orange.  This one gets fish to light up.  We like it in tan, sz 4 and 6 with beadchain eyes, get a few with lead eyes too just in case.  We cut off the weed guards as long as there isn’t any turtle grass.

Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp– Simple, clean, no flash.  You can tie this one on and leave it for the week.

Classic Gotcha – Never leave home without it!  Invented in the Bahamas by Jim McVay. We use bigger sizes for sharks and permit too.  Throwing on some rubber legs doesn’t hurt either.

Micro Crab – you always need a superlight fly you can float into fish tailing in ankle deep water.  This one is it.  Tan size 8.  It lands so soft you can put it right on the nose when they are digging in and feeding.

Chicone’s Coyote Ugly– Drew’s the real deal when it comes to custom bugs.  We order from him before all of our adventures, nothing beats custom ties.  You can too here.  This one is staple and is now commercially available from Umpqua.