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Grand Cayman Bonefish
By Tim DeMay
I recently had the opportunity to fish Grand Cayman Island. The calm, clear water,
and the rocky shorelines makes fishing from the shore very easy. The specie that I
targeted on this trip was the bonefish. Bonefish like to feed in the shallow flats
ranging from 6 inches to 4 feet of water. Knowing this, I would have to find out
where the flats where located on Grand Cayman. After researching the area, I
found that the Bonefish are caught on three main flats: the North Sound, the South
Sound, and the Frank Sound.
Now that I know the location of where I am going fish, I need to put a game plain
together. Bonefish mainly feed on the bottom eating crabs, shrimp, and other
crustaceans. So whether you fish live or artificial bait, a slow retrieve with a long
pause will be most effective. Bonefish are more likely to pick up a bait off the
bottom, rather then chasing a bait. If a Bonefish is chasing your bait, let it drop to
the bottom and sit.
After doing more research on the area, I found that there are no bait or fly shops on
the island. With no bait shops, I would have to catch my own crabs. Not wanting to
take the chance of not being able to catch crabs, I decided to take artificial lures.
The artificial lures that I fished were wiggle jigs, artificial crabs, and artificial shrimp.
The wiggle jigs colors that I used were: white, pink, tan, and chartreuse. The jigs
can be productive by themselves, or tipped with shrimp. If you are going to use a fly
rod, shrimp and crab imitations in all colors are your best flies. Remember ,
Bonefish like to feed on the bottom. The most productive method when using the fly
rod would be slow strips with the fly rest on the bottom in between strips. Pictured
below are the wiggle jigs.
These are the best producing colors.
Bonefishing is a very visual sport. There are two ways to fish for Bonefish, by boat
or wading. All of the guides in Grand Cayman all wade, and that is how I fished as
well. Sometimes it is an advantage being in a boat, because you are up higher, and
it is easier to spot the fish. When spotting fish there are three main ways of spotting
them. The first and most easiest Bonefish to spot is a tailing fish. Pictured to the
right is tailing Bonefish. A tailing fish is usually feeding on the bottom, and the fish's
tail is sticking out of the water. This is a good opportunity to cast your bait in front
of the fish and let it sit on the bottom. There is a good chance that if you get your
bait in front of the fish, it will continue on and pick it up. The second way to spot
bonefish are mud clouds. When a Bonefish sucks in a meal off the ocean floor, it
makes a little cloud in the water from the sand. These mud clouds indicate that the
Bonefish are feeding, and you should through your bait in front of the cloud. If
there are more then one cloud, through your bait in front of the freshest one. The
third way to spot a Bonefish, is to actually see the fish through the water. This
method is easiest when the bottom of the flat is light colored sand. When scanning
the flat you will look for any movement and dark spots in the sand. The dark spots
that you will see will be the actual fish or the fish's shadow. The Bonefish is also
know as the "grey ghost", because sometimes you can only see their shadows
ghosting over the flats. These shadows can be seen for long distances, making
your chances of a sneak attacks better. Spotting fish in a sea grass covered flat is
more difficult then sand covered flats. The shadows of the fish blend into the dark
colored sea grass. When spotting fish in sea grass, looking for the mud clouds and
movement will be very helpful. When in really shallow water look for the wake of the
fish as well.
Your best chance of hooking a
Bonefish is to make long and
accurate casts. While fishing
for Bonefish in the Florida Keys
, I have made the mistake of getting
too close to the fish. When you get
too close to the fish they get
spooked and dart off. The Bonefish
are so fast, once they get spooked
and dart off, you will not have a
chance to get a cast off before they
are gone. Sometimes you can not prevent from spooking the fish. While in the
Keys, I was walking right into fish that I did not know where there. As stated before,
the Bonefish blend into the sea grass so well, and you do not even know they are
there.
During my stay in Grand Cayman fishing conditions were tough. We had high winds
all week and a tropical storm come through one of the days. It was difficult to see
down in the water with the wind whipping across the water. Instead of calm crystal
clear water, we had choppy murky water. Spotting fish with the wind making the
water very choppy was impossible. Also the flats were mostly covered in sea grass,
which made spotting fish that much more difficult. Pictured below is the North Sound
on the least wind day of the week. The last day of the trip I decided to get off the
flats and try in the mangroves for Tarpon. The trip did not produce a Bonefish or
Tarpon, but exploring new waters was exciting and challenging.
If you are planning a trip to the Grand Cayman Island be sure to check out the
Bonefishing. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with you. The information in this
article can be used for Bonefishing everywhere, not just Grand Cayman. Hopefully
this article will help fellow anglers be successful catching the Grey Ghost.
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