Catching Miami’s Big Bonefish
"It's all fun and games until someone goes and misses a bonefish!" My friend Todd Jurasek and I stood in disbelief as Capt. Mo Estevez shouted that from the back of his 16-foot Hewe's flats boat.
We had a double hookup on big bonefish near the end of a day-long expedition into Biscayne Bay near Miami, Fl. And both of the fish, after several minutes of intense, long runs, just let go. We both missed fish the same way earlier in the day, so this was shocking.
“It’s all fun and games until someone goes and misses a bonefish!”
I can't remember losing two hooked fish in a day ever, and I have caught everything from giant white sturgeon to wahoo around the world. But there's something different about bonefish. Everything you've heard about their pound-for-pound power is true-plus some. These fish just don't want to come to the boat. If redfish are bulldogs, bonefish are pit bulls crossed with greyhounds. Their power and speed are simply stunning.
I started dreaming of catching bonefish as a little boy, sitting on my Dad's lap, cutting out photos from fishing and hunting magazines, and placing them in scrapbooks. We would take old copies of Sports Afield, Field & Stream, Saltwater Sportsman, and many other publications and cut out our dream fish and animals and talk for hours on end about them. Before Dad passed away in 2014, we got to go on many of those dream fishing and hunting trips from the pages of the scrapbooks, but bonefish eluded us. The timing just didn't work out, so now was my chance.
"Biscayne Bay has some of the biggest bonefish in the world on average, so it's a great place for someone who wants to realize their bonefishing dream," Estevez said.
This bay's natural beauty and biodiversity are intoxicating. Surrounded by thousands of acres of mangroves, with crystal clear water over a sweeping plane of seagrass, it is home to much marine life. At one point, a manatee surfaced as a stingray swam under the boat, and a young lemon shark cruised nearby. Taking all of this indeed made my spirit soar, but time kept ticking away. And we didn't have much left, about 30 minutes.
You can listen to Chester Moore’s interview with Capt. Mo Estevez, titled “The Bonefish of Miami: Flats Slam Ep.3” on Waypoint.
After watching a big bonefish swim through a clearing in the seagrass, I decided to make a last-ditch effort by casting there, and within a few minutes, the drag on my spinning reel was screaming, and the rod doubled over. Bonefish on!
Any seasoned angler composure was thrown out the window. I asked Capt. Mo, if I were fighting the fish right like a rookie would and was more nervous than any point in my fishing life. A few minutes later, Capt. Mo netted the beautiful fish, a 24-inch, nine-pound class bonefish, and a personal dream come true. Releasing the fish back into the clear waters after the photo shoot was one of the most gratifying moments in my outdoor life.
Want to watch a Bonefish episode of Saltwater Experience? Watch Rich Tutor and Tom Rowland catch Bonefish in the Lower Keys of Florida
About the Author
Chester Moore is the host and producer of the award-winning Higher Calling Wildlife® podcast on the Waypoint Podcast Network. Listen to his podcast on Waypoint.
