Blind casting for bonefish with a jig means throwing a small jig into water you cannot see into, where bonefish are feeding but the glare hides them, and working it just over the grass to draw a strike. I learned this from Mitch Howell, the king of blind casting in the Florida Keys, and it has added more fish to my tournament cards than almost anything else. In this How 2 Tuesday I break down the gear, the retrieve, and why this overlooked technique can win tournaments.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
You position the boat where bonefish are likely feeding but the water is a little too deep or too glared out to see them, then throw a quarter-ounce or half-ounce jig as far as you can into that unfishable glare, like you would for barracuda. You keep the jig moving just above the tops of the grass, slow but steady, with a little pulsing of the rod tip so it never fouls. You are fishing only the water you cannot see into, while a second angler stays ready to sight fish anything that shows.
Keep it light and simple. I like a seven-foot spinning rod with ten-pound braid and a light leader, paired with a quarter-ounce or half-ounce jig such as a Paul Tahera backbone jig. Color does not matter much, so do not overthink it, but bring a lot of jigs because barracudas will snip you off all day. Light braid and a light leader let you cast far into the glare and keep the jig riding right over the grass tips where the bonefish are.
Because there are almost always more bonefish in an area than you can see. The fish you can sight cast to are only a fraction of what is really there, especially in deeper or glared-out water. Blind casting lets you cover that hidden water and pick up fish nobody else is touching. It is also how you learn a new flat, because you discover the bonefish are holding in places you would have run right past if you were only looking for tails and pushes.
Yes, and it can win them. In many Keys tournaments artificial lures score more points than live bait, so a jig is worth more on the card than shrimp, with fly usually worth the most. Roughly a hundred points for bait, a hundred fifty for a jig or artificial, and two hundred for fly. Those extra jig points stack up fast, and in events like the Redbone, the Slam, or the Baybone, a handful of blind-cast fish can be the difference between winning and going home empty.
All kinds of things, which is part of the fun. Working a jig over the grass you will hook jack crevalle, barracudas, yellowjacks, and plenty of other species mixed in with the bonefish. The barracudas in particular will cut you off again and again, which is exactly why you carry so many jigs. It keeps the action going even when the bonefish are not cooperating, and every one of those fish teaches you a little more about what is living on that flat.
It is one of the best. Sight casting to a moving bonefish takes timing and a good cast, and not every angler in the boat is ready for that. Putting a less experienced angler on the jig, blind casting into the glare, keeps them engaged and catching all day, and honestly they will often out-fish the person up front waiting for a perfect shot. It is also great late in the afternoon when the light goes flat and sight fishing gets tough.
I learned blind casting from Mitch Howell, who has won a stack of Florida Keys tournaments scoring points this exact way. For years it stayed a bit of a secret weapon, and I think it is one of the most underused tools in flats fishing. It catches fish when sight fishing slows down, it teaches you a flat in a hurry, and it keeps every angler in the boat busy. I lay out the whole approach, with Mitch's influence all over it, in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here are the steps I walk through in this How 2 Tuesday. I cover the details and stories behind each one in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
The whole idea is to fish the water you cannot see into. Picture the sun over your right shoulder and a wall of glare in front of you. That glare is where you throw, as far as you can, just like you are fishing for barracuda. The bonefish are in there, you just cannot see them. I explain how to read that water and pick your targets in the episode, so press play in the player above.
A jig that drags through the grass or rises too high never gets bit. You want it riding just over the tops of the grass, moving slow but steady, with a little pulse of the rod tip to keep it clean and alive. Get that depth and cadence right and the strikes come. I walk through exactly how that retrieve feels in the episode, so press play in the player above.
I have won points and cards blind casting jigs that I never would have scored sight fishing alone. It works in the Keys, it works in the Bahamas, and it works late in the day when the light goes flat.
Give it a try the next time the glare has you frustrated, and email me at podcast@saltwaterexperience.com when it puts a bonefish in the boat. Press play in the player above to hear the whole breakdown.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
bonefish · Florida Keys · Mitch Howell · Paul Tahera backbone jig · jack crevalle · barracuda · yellowjack · Redbone tournament · the Slam · Baybone · Bahamas · blind casting · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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