Ó Ed Mitchell 2003
Last fall I gave you an in-depth look at the little tunny- a.k.a the false albacore. We discussed their physical makeup, their feeding behavior, their range, and other features that make them the incredible fish they are. This time around I want to do something similar for the false albacore’s smaller cousin – that streak of green lightning - the Atlantic bonito.
Like the false albacore- Atlantic bonito are
in the Scombriadae family, which is to say they’re mackerels. And that’s a
might fine gene pool to be associated with, for members of the mackerel tribe
are likely the most powerful finned critters on earth. Atlantic bonito grow
rapidly, so rapidly in fact that during the first weeks of life they stretch an
inch an week. Their maximum life span is in the neighborhood of 8 years or so,
and they do not quite reach the size attained by the little tunny. In my home
waters of the northeast, the Atlantic bonito runs about 4 to 8 pounds on average
with the occasional fish topping 10 pounds and the rare beast going into the low
teens. The all tackle world record is 18 pounds, 4 ounces.
By
nature Atlantic bonito are schooling predators, with a penchant for blitzkrieg
attacks. Typically the
hottest action occurs from sunrise into early morning, and then again in late
afternoon down to dusk. Of these two periods, in my opinion, the morning is
usually the better bite. And if I had my choice I would pick a breezy morn.
True, calm days make it easier to spot surface feeding bonito, but in calm
conditions, bonito may be fussy eaters; while in a chop they’re more apt to
throw caution to the wind.
I’m certain bonito feed deep at times, but thankfully they do a lot of topside dinning. Like the little tunny, bonito lack a swim bladder, and so they can’t really suspend on the surface for very long; instead expect them to erupt on top and then immediately dive. Casting directly at a busting fish is, therefore, often futile; it’s like shooting at the tail of a duck. By the time your delivery arrives the target is gone. Far better to try and gauge the direction the fish are headed and then cast slightly ahead of the fish. Or if you can, get in front of the school and have a fly waiting for them in the water.
Watch for Feeding Patterns
Similarly to “albies”, Atlantic bonito “pattern” fed. Here’s what I mean by that. When there are several schools of bait in an area, bonito are apt to smash through them one by one and then circle back and repeat the whole process over again. Experienced anglers realize this and take advantage of it. Instead of chasing the bonito, these anglers sit over a school of bait and wait for the bonito to return. Still it must be noted that Atlantic bonito are not quite as predictable as the little tunny in their “patterns”. So bonito anglers need to very alert, very observant and ready to move should the pattern change.
When “Albies” and Bonito Mix
When two predators feed in the same vicinity the faster and more aggressive of the two controls the action. It is well known, for example, that striped bass frequently feed underneath or behind a pack of rampaging blues. When “albies” and Atlantic bonito feed together, the little tunny quickly dominate the scene. Seeing these “albies”, anglers tend to concentrate on them, and assume that there are no bonito about. But the bonito may be nearby. Try fishing for bonito off to the sides of the main blitz or sinking a fly deep below it. Better yet wait until the false albacore move through a spot and then blind cast that same water. It has worked for me.
Forage
/ Flies.
Bonito dine on invertebrates such as shrimp and squid, but schooling forage fish are their primary menu item. In northeast waters that means bay anchovies, juvenile menhaden, sand lances, and silversides. These things tasty tidbits run from 1- 4 inches in length and so small epoxy flies in sizes 4 to 1/0 are often deadly. Surf candies are an excellent case in point. As good as epoxy flies are, however, they are not the only things that are effective. Plenty of bonito are caught on sparsely tied Lefty’s Deceivers in size 1 and 1/0, with popular colors being white, yellow or chartreuse. Dave Skok’s Mushmouth is another deadly bonito fly and it’s superb on little tunny too. Bonito are also suckers for streamers tied with rabbit fur – such as the classic Bonito Bunny. Clouser Deep Minnows and Bob Popovics’ Jiggy should also be in your bonito box.
Bonito can swallow relatively large prey; for instance they are very fond of squid. So long don’t forget a few long streamers; Deceivers and Mushmouths from 5 to 6 inch come to mind. These may prove to be your ace in the hole, especially for the big bonito you run into in the fall. Although few anglers ever use them, sliders and poppers are killers at times, and are great go-to flies when the fish seem fussy. Hook sizes 2 or 1 are about right; forget the 2/0 stuff. Also note that when using a slider in a current a down-and-across current presentation that send the fly “skating’ across the top is often the ticket.
The Challenge: Finding, Hooking and Holding on to Bonito
To my way of thinking Atlantic bonito are a greater challenge than the false albacore. Why? For one thing bonito are less abundant, and therefore harder to find. Second they are also harder to hook well and noticeably harder to stay connected to. Believe me bonito are not easy.
The first step in finding them is to understand the type of water they inhabit. Atlantic bonito are extremely adaptable predators and can operate successfully from the water’s edge right out to edge of the continental shelf. They do seem, however, to do a lot of near shore feeding, and are frequently found within a mile of land - great news for fly rodders. While near shore, bonito gravitate to reefs - especially those near headlands – and the mouths of bays, salt ponds and inlets, as well as any bottom with steep contour lines. In all of these locations rips and areas of moving water are always hot spots, although overall bonito are not seem quite as current oriented as the little tunny.
Temperature wise, Atlantic bonito inhabit water from 50 to 80 degrees. But the bulk of the Northeast fishing occurs in narrow band between 60-72. So plan accordingly. Although their temperature tolerance is fairly tight, bonito can – given time- adjust to a fairly wide range of salinities from 14 to 39 percent. This permits them to feed inside estuaries such as Long Island Sound, but it also means they may pop up where you might not expect. The larger salt ponds on the Rhode Island coast, for instance, have average salinities of 28 to 31 percent, well within the bonito’s tolerance. So don’t be surprised if you’re in a salt pond someplace and see bonito come roaring down the channel. It happens!
The season varies with geographical location. In the coastal waters of North Carolina there is a spring run in March and April, while farther south on the east coast of Florida, the runs goes from late spring to late summer. The bonito season in Southern New England takes places from mid July to the end of October. In July the fish are often well off the beach, few in number and fussy. By August the fish are more willing and are moving closer to shore. Since the arrival of the little tunny is usually a few weeks off at this point, August can be an excellent time to target bonito. Typically the hottest action occurs, however, in September and October. But, in some years, a few fish are taken out to the second week of November. Yes, its cold by then, but these "last call" bonito are big fish!
Pound for pound the Atlantic bonito is not as powerful as the false albacore. But it’s a like saying the average brown bear isn’t as strong as big brown bear; they’re both formidable. And frankly, as I mentioned prior the bonito is harder to hook well, and harder to land. “Albies” love to slam a fly, hooking, themselves in the process, and once they’re hooked they often hooked for good. Bonito are different. Bonito have a longer more slender mouth with less meat to latch on to. And to make matters worse, rather than engulf the fly, bonito may simply grasp it between their teeth. Consequently it is more difficult to get a solid hookup. So be ready for the fact that bonito sometimes get off, even though they may have struck the fly fairly hard.
While there is not easy solution to this problem, here are a few suggestions. Keep the rod tip down to the water during the retrieve, and get in the habit of setting the hook with the line, not the rod tip. When the first run comes ends, set the hook a second time. If you’re still consistently dropping fish try tying your streamers on long shank hooks. The idea is to get the hook point well back in the wing. In this way the bonito will not be less able to grasp the wing without taking the hook point into their mouth. And you may also want to try increasing your retrieve speed, forcing bonito to fully commit to the fly.
Once you’re hooked up the fun begins. Little tunny fight in a fairly predictable manner. Bonito don’t; they’re tricky. Yes bonito may give you the straight away lightning fast run, but they may also be highly erratic, constantly changing speed and direction without warning. And they can stop in their track and deliver a wicked case of headshakes. When you get them near the boat, things only get worse. Expect a bonito to dive under the hull, forcing you to work yourself around to the opposite gunwale. And just when you think you’re “OK”, they dive back the other way, forcing you to circumnavigate the hull again. Needless to say successful bonito anglers must think fast and move fast.
Rods, Lines, Leaders & Bite Tippets
Bonito rarely run over 10 pounds, so an 8-weight rod usually does the honors, but be sure you have plenty of backing and a good drag on your reel. For fly lines I depend heavily on two: a clear intermediate for situations where bonito are regularly showing on top, and a fast sinking line for other occasions. In the leader department, on my 8-weight I use a nine footer tapered to 12-pound test on the intermediate, and a 5 or 6-foot leader on the sinking line.
I build my leaders from clear, high quality mono and I construct them using a single brand of material throughout. Mixing brands can, in my opinion, lead to poor knot strength. Yes, many folks use fluorocarbon these days. Fluorocarbon is abrasion resistant and seems to sink faster then mono. But its main advantage is supposedly more invisible; can’t prove it by my eyes. And fluorocarbon doesn’t always knot well to mono. So I have yet to convert.
Bonito can bite you off. But most bonito anglers do not use a wire bite tippet for two reasons. First they feel wire reduces the number of strikes. And second, you don’t get bit off all that often. That said, last year I got bit off twice in the same day. And so this year I’m going to use a bite tippet made from the latest generation of braided stainless steel wire. It is marketed under two names Tyger Wire, and Surflon Micro Supreme. This wire is flexible and accepts conventional knots, although you must be extra careful in forming them and drawing them tight. I used this material last fall while fishing for blues and by accident caught a little tunny, so I already have some faith in it.
Abundance
In my part of the coast, bonito appear to be less abundant today then they were 10 years ago. Still appearances can be deceiving. During this period of apparent decline, the number of little tunny has generally risen and it could well be that their presence has to an extent made finding bonito more difficult. It could also be that bonito, like many marine species, go through periods of boom and bust. But if bonito numbers are down, consider this. A female bonito can carry anyway from 700,000 to 3 million eggs. With that kind of fecundity the bonito population could explode without warning. Wouldn’t that be nice!
The End