Also known as Ghost, Macabi (Sp.), Grey Ghost. Bait, technique, tide windows, and where the bite is on right now.
Hero spots in our coverage where Bonefish is in season for May. Click through for the live forecast.
Pole the boat or wade-fish onto sand and turtle-grass flats in 1–3 ft of water. Spot tailing or cruising fish, lead them by 3–6 ft, strip strike on the eat. Use fluorocarbon leader (10–15 lb) and the lightest fly you can present without spooking — bonefish are notoriously skittish. The Florida Keys backcountry (Islamorada south through Key West) is the textbook ground; trophy 10 lb+ fish exist but average is 4–7 lb.
Bonefish move onto flats on the run-up tide and feed actively in 1–3 ft of water. Run-up tides on the first three hours of incoming are prime; high water and the first two hours of outgoing also fish. The fish leave the flats as water drops below their comfort depth. Wind direction matters — leeward flats with calm water are easiest to sight-fish.
Bonefish are weakly moon-dependent. The biggest practical impact of moon is tide height — spring tides push fish much further up onto previously-inaccessible flats. Cloud cover and water clarity matter more than moon phase for sight-fishing success.
Florida: catch-and-release only (since 2013). 1 fish per person bag exists but is functionally unused; the entire serious bonefish community is 100% release. Use barbless hooks, keep fish in the water, support belly with both hands. Verify FWC rules — bonefish populations in the Keys are stressed from habitat degradation.
From our training corpus of ~1.1M angler-logged catches across 14 regions. Last refreshed 2026-05-14.
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