Choosing a fly for Hawaii bonefish
Hawaii bonefish feed on crabs, shrimp, mantis shrimp and small reef fish over mixed sand, coral rubble and algae. Most of the successful local patterns share three things: they land softly, they sink at the right speed for the depth, and they match the color of the bottom. Carry a small range of the same flies with different weights: unweighted or bead-chain for skinny water, and small lead or tungsten eyes for deeper reef edges and wind.
- Sizes: mostly 4 and 6. Size 2 is useful for big fish in deeper water.
- Colors: tan, olive, brown and ginger for reef and algae, and pink or orange accents for clear sand.
- Trevally and barracuda: small baitfish streamers and poppers in sizes 4 to 1/0. See the Wilson Streamer.
- Christmas Island: see 5 Essential Flies for Christmas Island.
Below are recipes and tying steps for local favorites. You can read more about fly choice in Thoughts on Fly Selection, and the Hawaii fly fishing guide explains how tides, wind and seasons affect what you use.
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