The bonefish rig from Capt. Joe Gonzalez is a simple live-shrimp setup: an eight foot light-action spinning rod, 24 to 30 inches of 20 pound mono leader, and a 2/0 offset hook with a bait keeper, with the shrimp threaded head-heavy and tail bitten off for distance and scent. Joe was a legendary Biscayne Bay guide, and I recorded this at his home in Little Havana. I am replaying it to honor his life and legacy. In this How 2 Tuesday Joe walks through exactly how he rigs.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Capt. Joe Gonzalez ran a simple, deadly bonefish rig built around an eight foot light-action spinning rod, a 24 to 30 inch length of 20 pound monofilament leader, and a 2/0 offset hook with a bait keeper. He did not use fluorocarbon, tying the leader on with a clinch knot or uni knot. He hooked the shrimp by biting off the tail and threading it onto the bait keeper barbs so it rode head-heavy, which added casting distance and put scent in the water. He added a split shot for depth when needed.
Joe liked the eight foot rod for distance. A longer rod let him reach fish from a bigger boat where the fish sense your presence sooner, and it helped him punch casts into the wind. The trade-off, as both Joe and Tom noted, is accuracy: you lose the precision of a seven foot rod, which works best in close quarters, or a six-and-a-half foot rod up in the backcountry. For long-distance shots at bonefish and permit, Joe felt the eight foot rod was worth the trade.
The bait keeper barbs on the back of the hook let Joe thread the shrimp on so it stayed put and rode aerodynamically, head-heavy, for extra distance. The offset bend was about hookups: he pictured a bonefish eating the shrimp and moving off, and the offset point catches the corner of the fish's mouth on the way out. Biting off the tail before threading the shrimp also released scent into the water, so the rig both cast better and fished better.
Joe stressed that the worst thing you can do is feel or see the bite and try to set right away. You wait until the bonefish has picked the bait up and started moving off, and only once you know it has the bait and is going do you come back and set. With a booger rig especially, less is more: fish it off the rod holder or have the angler do nothing, because if you swing the moment they touch it, you will usually miss the bite.
A booger rig is essentially the same live-shrimp rig fished passively, often off the rod holder, while you let the bonefish find and take the bait. Some anglers dismiss booger fishing as cheating, but Joe pushed back: there is a real science to it. You still have to know where the fish lanes are, where the fish are moving, and what part of the tide you are on. The legendary Mark Crocka was deadly with it. Fished correctly, it is a skill, not a shortcut.
Capt. Joe Gonzalez was a legendary inshore and bonefish guide out of Miami and Biscayne Bay. His reputation traveled far beyond his home water, with anglers joking he had bonefish DNA and knew every bonefish in Biscayne Bay. What made him a legend, in Tom's view, was not just the fish but his endless curiosity and drive to keep learning. Tom recorded this episode at Joe's home in Little Havana, and is replaying it to honor Joe's life and legacy after his passing.
In the inshore world Capt. Joe Gonzalez was one of those names that kept surfacing in conversations, a guide whose reputation preceded him 150 miles away. People joked he had bonefish DNA and knew every bonefish in Biscayne Bay. What made him a legend, though, was his curiosity, the way he never stopped trying to learn. I sat with him at his home in Little Havana to capture how he rigs, and I am replaying it now to honor his memory. Press play in the player above.
Joe fished an eight foot light-action spinning rod, longer than what a lot of the Keys guys use, and it surprised me. His reasoning was distance, the ability to reach fish from a bigger boat and punch into the wind, even though it costs some accuracy. His leader was as simple as it gets: 24 to 30 inches of 20 pound mono, no fluorocarbon, tied with a clinch knot. Joe explains the trade-offs in his own words, so press play in the player above.
The detail I loved was how Joe hooked the shrimp. He bit off the tail and threaded the shrimp onto the bait keeper barbs so it rode head-heavy, which added distance and put scent in the water. The offset bend was deliberate too, picturing how a bonefish eats and moves off so the point catches the corner of its mouth. Joe demonstrates the whole thing in the episode, so listen in the player above.
Joe and I talked about the booger rig, the same setup fished passively, and he made a point that stuck with me: it is not cheating, there is a real science to knowing the lanes, the fish movement, and the tide. The hardest part for most anglers is patience. You wait until the fish has the bait and is moving before you set, because swinging too early misses the bite. Joe explains why less is more in the player above.
Here is Joe's rig laid out, step by step, the way he showed me at his home in Little Havana.
Hear Joe walk through the whole rig in the player above.
Joe Gonzalez's rig is proof that simple and proven beats complicated. A long rod, a plain mono leader, an offset hook with a bait keeper, a head-heavy shrimp, and the patience to wait for the eat will catch bonefish anywhere.
I am grateful to have known Joe and to have captured this with him. The sport fishing world lost a great one, and I hope replaying it passes a little of his knowledge forward. Press play in the player above.
Capt. Joe Gonzalez · Biscayne Bay · Miami · Little Havana · bonefish · permit · live shrimp rig · 2/0 offset hook · bait keeper · booger rig · split shot · Mark Crocka · Marquesa · How 2 Tuesday
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.
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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