Catching Bonita
Bonita are one of the most fun to catch fish in open water all
you need is a med to light tackle rod, and plenty of time.
I would suggest a 8 to 17 pound class rod, or a 6 to 12 if you really want to
spend time, landing the Bonita. a 30 or 40 size reel,
which in some brands is a 3000 or 4000 if they want to make the reel seem more
special.
Line I prefer 10 to 12 pound mono, but 10, 15, 20 pound test braid is
fine, now I use a 40 pound test forocarbon leader
about 2 feet, you only need a few inches of leader, but I want to be able to
retie at least once, I do not like the long 3 4 foot leaders as it is hard to
cast and get the lure where you want it.
Now what do you use to catch these mighty fighters, the way to figure that out
is what are they eating?
Answer is Glass minnows or you may call them anchovies,
2nd question would be how big does an anchovies get?
answer is about 2 to 4 inches, very thin and small bait, So will casting a large
1 once 4 inch spoon get you a hook up.
Nope you will cast your arm off, and go away thinking the Bonita just were not
biting. But you watched them eat on front of you
the whole time, So re-think and re-size,
I like a pompano Jig below you can see a Pompano Jig
this is a banana Jig or crazy or silly, But it is really a Banana Jig
designed for walleye but is used now mostly for Pompano
They come in different weights I prefer for Bonita the heaver the better
more casting distance and with the feather even better, kind of
a jig and buck tail combo.
This is a Pompano jig it has a very heavy head and
a small buck tail, or Mylar tail which ends right
at the end of the hook, making it small enough
to really attract the Bonita but heavy enough to
cast out at them, this is almost perfect My best Bet
This is a cast master spoon
or Berkley makes one called a splinter Spoon
these spoons are again small but heavy for their size
giving you a glass minnow presentation with
the weight needed to cast
Small and heavy is the key, under 3 inches total length,
and heavy enough to cast, bright colors seem to help,
as the glass minnow are shiny and glisten in the sunlight
making each one have a rain bow of colors,
So silver is better than gold, Chart use, pink, Mylar small jigs and
spoons rule the catching world of the Bonita,
The way to fish for Bonita is to hunt them watch the surface
of the water for a boil, Yes if you have ever seen a pot of water on your stove
start to boil over the top that is what a school of Bonita looks like when they
are feeding.
The Bonita move so fast and hit at the bait so hard the surface of the water
will seem to rise up often 2 feet above the surrounding waters, it is the
coolest thing to see,
I do not cast right into the school I try to cast past the main body of fish and bring the lure back through the school, If I can not do that I will cast close along the edge of the school, and pick them off. If you cast right into the school you take the risk of spooking them and if they sound, "Stop feeding & dive deep where you can not see them" If they Sound they not show up again and you have lost your chance, So don't spook them, cast past the school or off to the side,
Catching Bonita
Bonita are one of the most fun to catch fish in open water all
you need is a med to light tackle rod, and plenty of time.
I would suggest a 8 to 17 pound class rod, or a 6 to 12 if you really want to
spend time, landing the Bonita. a 30 or 40 size reel,
which in some brands is a 3000 or 4000 if they want to make the reel seem more
special.
Line I prefer 10 to 12 pound mono, but 10, 15, 20 pound test braid is
fine, now I use a 40 pound test fluorocarbon leader
about 2 feet, you only need a few inches of leader, but I want to be able to
retie at least once, I do not like the long 3 4 foot leaders as it is hard to
cast and get the lure where you want it.
IF I am using Braided line I would say either 10 or 15 pound and Still the 40
pound leader I can land them and actually get more hits on 25
But I do lose some chaffing through the 25 pound leader.
Now what do you use to catch these mighty fighters, the way to figure that out
is, what are "they" eating?
Answer is Glass minnows or you may call them anchovies,
2nd question would be how big does an anchovies get?
answer is about 2 to 4 inches, very thin and small bait, So will casting a large
1 once 4 inch spoon get you a hook up?
Nope you will cast your arm off, and go away thinking the Bonita just were not
biting.
But you watched them eat on front of you
the whole time, So re-think and re-size, way down.
I like a pompano Jig below you can see a Pompano Jig
this is a banana Jig or crazy or silly, But it is really a Banana Jig
designed for walleye but is used now mostly for Pompano
They come in different weights I prefer for Bonita the heaver the better
more casting distance and with the feather even better, kind of
a jig and buck tail combo.
This is a Pompano jig it has a very heavy head and
a small buck tail, or Mylar tail which ends right
at the end of the hook, making it small enough
to really attract the Bonita but heavy enough to
cast out at them, this is almost perfect My best Bet
This is a cast master spoon
or Berkley makes one called a splinter Spoon
these spoons are again small but heavy for their size
giving you a glass minnow presentation with
the weight needed to cast
Small and heavy is the key, under 3 inches total length,
and heavy enough to cast, bright colors seem to help,
as the glass minnow are shiny and glisten in the sunlight
making each one have a rain bow of colors,
So silver is better than gold, Chart use, pink, Mylar small jigs and
spoons rule the catching world of the Bonita,
The way to fish for Bonita is to hunt them watch the surface
of the water for a boil, Yes if you have ever seen a pot of water on your stove
start to boil over the top that is what a school of Bonita looks like when they
are feeding.
The Bonita move so fast and hit at the bait so hard the surface of the water
will seem to rise up often 2 feet above the surrounding waters, it is the
coolest thing to see,
I do not cast right into the school I try to cast past the main body of fish and bring the lure back through the school, If I can not do that I will cast close along the edge of the school, and pick them off. If you cast right into the school you take the risk of spooking them and if they sound, "Stop feeding & dive deep where you can not see them" If they Sound they not show up again and you have lost your chance, So don't spook them, cast past the school or off to the side,
Trolling for Bonita is a Wow, They slam the lures. But
again I am using very small Lures for trolling.
a storm Twitch stik, or a Yo-Zuri 3-d fingerling small size, or Crystal minnow.
The Rapala X-Rap in the 8 or 6 size are excellent as they will not break or get
pulled apart by the Bonita.
Trolling for Bonita is a Wow, They slam the lures. But
again I am using very small Lures for trolling.
a storm Twitch stik, or a Yo-Zuri 3-d fingerling small size, or Crystal minnow.
The Rapala X-Rap in the 8 or 6 size are excellent as they will not break or get
pulled apart by the Bonita.
Start at about 2 M.P.H. to get your set out. 2 m.p.h. is so there is not a lot
of pressure on the lures, once everything is out and set I find I catch the most
fish at about 4 m.p.h. I learned to troll on the great lakes, where if the fish
were not hitting you slowed down, going slower and slower until the fish liked
the speed, here in S.W. Florida, I will be trolling 3.5 to 4 m.p.h. and if I see
fish either by eye or on the fish finder and I am not getting bites I go 500
R.P.M.s faster and faster until the fish start to bite, I have ended up at 7 to
9 M.P.H. which is quite fast for trolling. Now each time I go a bit faster I
have to check my set. "lures out behind the boat" make sure they are pulling
properly. With the smaller lures quite often I have to let out more line to keep
them in the water. More line equals more weight and holds the lures down so they
can grip the water. So keep an eye on your set.
and I will use a Rapala Which will
dive 15 feet on a rod in my back right side rod holder.
This lure is to get their attention, and can be replaced by a 1/2 or 3/4 once
Rat-L-Trap. Some to let them know your lures are there.
On the other one on the back of the boat I will use the storm or another lure
which will dig pretty good.
Then in the two rod holders close to Mid ship. I will do the X-rap 8 or 6 and on
the other I will use the 3-D Yo-Zuri.
Where to troll? Well I like trolling the Crab trap buoys,
Why? well each crab trap has bait in it and that bait attracts crabs and bait
fish large and small,
So each trap has a "Chum" Package in it. So in effect you are trolling a chum
line. It is not necessary to troll right next to the buoys which are placed by
the crabbers in long rows, anywhere within 15 feet will do nicely. Now why not
troll spoons they are highly effective on Bonita. The answer is that spoons tend
to spin and now-a days most people use braided line and un-like mono line you
can not effetely get the twist out of braide3d line. With mono filament line
"plastic" you can remove your lures and swivels and drag bare mono behind the
boat for a minute or two and the water strips the line removing all of the
twists you reel back in basically "new" line tie your leader and spoon back on
and troll again. To reduce the line twist Sampo ball bearing swivels are the
best removing 85 or 90 % of the line twist but they are pricey, Expensive so I
use the A.F.W. Ball bearing swivels which seem to keep about 80% or better of
the line twist down and are much, much more affordable. While you can drag mono
line to remove the twist, I have had little luck dragging braided line, it may
even make the twist worse.
So if you wish to troll Spoons use a rods tat you don't use much any more and
have it strung with 12 pound clear mono filament line..
Recipes for Bonita,
I have been looking around the web, & here is what I found
there are links to cooking sites, and appeare to be safe and good stuff
on these web site, If you are looking for great ways to cook please visit them.