Bonefish fly patterns are a collection of artificial flies routinely used by flyanglers targeting various species of Bonefish. Bonefish frequent tidal sand and mudflats in tropical and sub-tropical latitudes to feed on benthicworms, fry, crustaceans, and mollusks.[1] Bonefish have small mouths and most Bonefish flies are tied on size 4 to 8 saltwater fly hooks.
Early records show bonefish being targeted with flies as early as 1926 and by the 1940s fly fishing for bonefish with crude shrimp and baitfish patterns was not uncommon.[2]
As described in Salt Water Flies (1972), Kenneth E. Bay[3]
Horror
Sands Bonefish fly
Solomon Bonefish
Pink Shrimp
As described in Fly Fishing in Saltwater (1974), Lefty Kreh[4]
The Horror
Blue Tail Fly
Frankie Belle Bonefish Fly
Early Bonefish Flies
The Horror Bonefish fly
Frankie Belle Bonefish fly
Pink Shrimp
Sands Bonefish fly
Crab patterns
As described in 101 Favorite Saltwater Flies-History, Tying Tips and Fishing Strategies (2015), David Klausmeyer [5]
McFly Crab
Hochner's Defiant Crab
Detonator Crab
Cathy's Fleeing Crab
Palometa Crab
Bastard Permit Crab
Merkin Crab
Bonefish Bitters
Turneffe Crab
The Other Crab
The Critter Crab
Crab-Let
Quivering Fringe
As Described in Inshore Flies (2000), Jim Schollmeyer and Ted Leeson[6]
Blue Crab
Bone Bug
Flats Burger
Fleeing Crab
Mess of a Crab
One Shot Crab
Slam-A-Rod
Shrimp patterns
As described in 101 Favorite Saltwater Flies-History, Tying Tips and Fishing Strategies (2015), David Klausmeyer [5]
Miheve's Flats Fly
Mosquito Lagoon Special
EZ Slider
Bone Appetite
Bonefish Slider
Bob's Mantis Shrimp
Rocket Man Mantis
Gotcha
UV2 Shrimp
Salt Creature
Reverend Laing
Imitator Shrimp
Ghost Belly Shrimp
Bunny Shrimp
Bird Fur Shrimp
Spawning Ghost
Foxy Shrimp
As Described in Inshore Flies (2000), Jim Schollmeyer and Ted Leeson[6]
Algal Bloom
Arctic Shrimp
B. C. Shrimp
Cole's Peel and Eat Shrimp
Don's Popping Shrimp
Epoxy Slider
Glass Bead Shrimp
Hart Glass Shrimp
Key Lime Fly
Red Eye Bone
As described in Professionals' Favorite Flies-Volume 2-Streamers, Poppers, Crustaceans and Saltwater Patterns (1994), Lefty Kreh [7]
Snapping Shrimp
Deer Hair Shrimp
Lou's Bonefish Fly
Baitfish patterns
As Described in Inshore Flies (2000), Jim Schollmeyer and Ted Leeson[6]
Epoxy Minnow
Bullethead Glass Minnow
Greg's Bottom Feeder
Mullet Diver
As described in Professionals' Favorite Flies-Volume 2-Streamers, Poppers, Crustaceans and Saltwater Patterns (1994), Lefty Kreh [7]
Hybrid patterns are patterns often referred to as general attractor patterns or patterns specifically designed to imitate more than one type of prey, i.e. both shrimp and crabs.
As described in Professionals' Favorite Flies-Volume 2-Streamers, Poppers, Crustaceans and Saltwater Patterns (1994), Lefty Kreh [7]
Mini-Puff
Mother of Epoxy
Bonefish Special
Bonefish Bunny
Bend Back
As Described in Inshore Flies (2000), Jim Schollmeyer and Ted Leeson[6]
^Brooks, Joe (1968). Saltwater Game Fishing. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. p. 288.
^Bay, Kenneth E.; Kessler, Herman (1972). Salt Water Flies-Popular Patterns and How to Tie Them. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company. ISBN0397009399.
^ Kreh, Lefty (1974). Fly Fishing in Saltwater. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. p. 72.
^ ab Klausmeyer, David (2015). 101 Favorite Saltwater Flies-History, Tying Tips and Fishing Strategies. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 125–207. ISBN9781632205384.
^ abcd Schollmeyer, Jim; Leeson, Ted (2000). Inshore Flies-Best Contemporary Patterns from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Portland, OR: Frank Amato Publications. pp. 51–76. ISBN157188193X.
^ abcKreh, Lefty (1994). Professionals' Favorite Flies-Volume 2-Streamers, Poppers, Crustaceans and Saltwater Patterns. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. pp. 135–170.
