Sidney's Thoughts on Bonefishing

This interview with Water Cay owner and head guide, Sidney Thomas, comes to me from my old friend Chuck Ash. Chuck sat down with Sidney back in 2011. I thought it might be interesting to post this interview and look back on what Sidney had to say then about his fishery.

Sidney center with Greg Rolle left and Sidney's brother Ezra right


FYI, Chuck is hosting two prime weeks this spring at Water Cay April 21-28 and April 28 to May 5, 2018. Chuck has guided in Alaska for over 30 years and we have traveled all over the world from Russia to Baja to the Seychelles to fish. I've also worked for him for over 20 some years in the summer guiding Alaska river trips. I consider Chuck one of the best all-around fishermen/outdoorsman I know. Chuck has a great sense of humor, a flexible personality and is a great guy to spend some time! If you’re looking for a great saltwater trip this spring, this is an excellent opportunity to join a great group hosted by an accomplished and very affable host.

ONLY ONE SPOT REMAINS IN EACH WEEK!


Guide extraordinaire Chuck Ash

Sidney’s Thoughts on Bonefishing...

Chuck begins:
Prior to 2008, Grand Bahama Island's Northern Horn was a tough spot to reach. Several well-known operators on Grand Bahama, namely the Pinder Brothers and Greg Vincent from Pelican Bay Resort fished this area, but it required long boat rides for visiting anglers (45 minutes at a minimum) which chewed up valuable fishing time. In the fall of 2008, this problem was solved by long time Grand Bahama resident and superb bonefish guide, Sidney Thomas. Sidney and his family took the task of renovating the small bonefish lodge on remote Water Cay that was destroyed in the fall of 2003 by a series of devastating hurricanes. Along with a few experienced anglers, Sidney and his brothers knew the bonefish treasure that swam in and around the flats of Water Cay.

After many months of hard work, Water Cay Lodge opened its doors to traveling anglers seeking the island's most remote bonefishing. Sidney’s dream became reality as Water Cay Lodge quickly became a hotspot on the global bonefish map. The word from visiting fishermen was “BIG bonefish, naive and unpressured... some permit during the warm months and the occasional tarpon in predictable spots”. 

With several daily flights from the U.S. to Freeport, Grand Bahama, Sidney quickly filled his small guest lodge (6 anglers max.). Today, Water Cay Lodge has become an outstanding location for not only experienced anglers, but also beginners looking for a positive first time adventure.

Interestingly, as we have gotten to know Sidney, his methods and style of bonefishing go somewhat against traditional Bahamian angling approaches. Late in 2011, I spoke with Sidney about some of these strategies and his opinion on bonefishing, flies and gear in the discussion which follows. I hope you find some of it helpful and perhaps applicable.

Sidney's thoughts:
“Bonefish got to eat. And to eat, bonefish got to get up onto their flats and find food. It’s nice to see those big tails waving in the sunlight on the incoming water. We see them and we fish ‘em directly. What I mean is that I like to have my guys go straight for the fish. No leading or putting that fly where you think them fish are gonna be. Just try to hit them on the head. The fish at Water Cay haven't seen many flies and so when they are hungry, they ain’t shy. You might think that your cast spooked them because they take flight twenty or thirty feet. But more times than not, the fish spin in a circle looking for what made the fuss. If they think it’s a ‘cuda or shark or maybe a bird, they’ll keep moving. But if the coast is clear, those big fish will come right back to the spot. If you are there, then they are gonna eat every time. We hook a bunch of BIG bonefish this way.

I tell my guys to use lead eyes on size 2 or even 1 tin hooks. Why tin? Cause if you bust off a big bonefish that tin hook will be out of them in two weeks. Better off for everyone. Why the lead eyes? Cause they make a bigger splash. The big singles and doubles pushing up on the flat are happy guys... the water’s getting higher and they hear the dinner bell ringing. When those fish are like that, the kinda fly you use doesn’t matter a whole bunch. Just stick to tans, olives, maybe a bit of orange or pink and no flash. All those little worms and shrimp don’t have flash. Flash will kill them and nature doesn’t do it much. Stick to big lead eyes, pale color flies that match the bottom, gun your cast straight at ‘em and hold on.

For leaders and stiffness I tell my guys to use seven to ten foot leaders, regular old ones are fine. Our fish don’t care much. They don’t care if that leader costs $10 or $3. Ten to fifteen pound is fine. For fly lines, theold ones are better than the new ones. Guys with the new bumpy lines (Sharkskin lines, Ed.) in bright color might cast farther, but out on the flats, them fish hear that sound. They feel that sound and it’s nothing that they ever see or hear. So when they hear it, they know somethings wrong. I've seen so many bonefish run and keep running cause of that zipping sound. Bonefish feel pressure in the water and they feel that sound and they run for cover. Bonefishing is a quiet game. Things have to be natural and those new lines are the worst at wrecking happy fish. I give my guys my boat fly rod to use and try to get them to take that line off while they are at Water Cay.

Most guests who catch a six pound bonefish and feel the fight, think it’s a ten pounder! But when that same guest hooks a real ten pounder or a fish like the twelve pounder we caught this past fall, they know that six pound bonefish wasn’t a ten pound fish. Then all they want to do for the rest of their day is look on the edges and bushes for another BIG fish. Most folks have not hooked really big fish on trips to the other islands. Three, five, seven pound fish maybe. But around the horn, near Water Cay, there are really BIG fish. Guys come to Water Cay, but they come back to Water Cay because they got a big fish on their last trip and now, they want another.

I think lots of guys I meet at the lodge strip the fly too fast. Bonefish aren't ‘cuda and you can strip the fly out of their way. Both Gregory, Ezra and me all want to get our guys to move that fly with the fish, not move it away. So I tell them to rest that fly, watch the fish not the line. When those fins stick straight out and they are looking for what made that splash, bump it just a bit. No shrimp or worm has ever outrun a big bonefish... they hide. Bump and watch. Wait ... the fish will find it and eat it. Wading or on the boat it can be hard for guests to see the fish tip down and eat, but I see it every time. I tell them to make a looooooong clean strip. I don’t say “He ate it, hit ‘em!”, like lots of guides do. The looooong strip is calm and easy and most times that fish has eaten the fly and is moving away. When guests make the long strip the line comes tight, the bonefish feels it and the guest... well... that’s why they came to Water Cay. They get their line cleared and that is fishing.

But the BIG bonefish are smart and they will run either to deep water where they can use their speed or they will run to the mangrove bushes. It all depends on where you are fishing. Some guests break off a lot of fish when they run for the bushes. Here is where I help them. I tell them to release the drag and go slack on the fish. Almost every time that fish’ll stop when he feels the pressure on him leave. That way the fish stops and waits thinking he is hiding in shallow water. We walk up on him and clear
the line. The fish, he’s happy to be free and my guests caught another big one. Seems like the wrong thing to do but taking that pressure off of them is the way to land a fish that has gone into the bushes.

I been visiting these flats for many years and I have seen these fish in all conditions. I have spent most of my life out on the flats and bays and in the back country. So I am out there to help my guys who come down to catch bones. If you come to Water Cay you’ll get my best opinion and my best work. We fish to catch fish, learn about fish and see the beauty of my island. That is what Water Cay Lodge was built for”.