Waterlands

Species guide · Florida

Bonefish fishing in Florida

Albula vulpes, an inshore species also called gray ghost, o'io and oio. Listed for the South Florida and the Keys region. Shoulder season, about 1 more week.

Right now it scores best in Lake Okeechobee at 53, one of 14 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.

Season now

Shoulder season
Where it's scoring nowAll Florida waters

Season by month

From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.

South Florida and the Keys

Shoulder season, about 1 more week
  1. Jan: Off season
  2. Feb: Shoulder season
  3. Mar: Peak season
  4. Apr: Peak season
  5. May: Peak season
  6. Jun: Shoulder season
  7. Jul: Shoulder season
  8. Aug: Shoulder season
  9. Sep: Shoulder season
  10. Oct: Peak season
  11. Nov: Peak season
  12. Dec: Off season

Peak: Mar to May, Oct to Nov. In season (shoulder or peak): Feb to Nov.

Research notes, South Florida and the Keys region

FWC lists peak season March through October with fish present year-round in the Keys and Biscayne Bay. Guides rate spring and fall best; midsummer flats get too hot at midday and cold fronts in December and January push fish off the flats. Catch and release only in Florida since Sept 1, 2013. The January 2010 cold event killed a large share of Keys bonefish.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Where it's scoring now · 14

Florida bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's bonefish score this hour.

1
53Good
Lake Okeechobee

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (53) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 3 PM (60) · 11 named spots

2
52Good
Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge

Best window today 8-9 PM (52) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 9 AM (74) · 199 named spots

3
51Good
Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (54) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 9 AM (73) · 6 named spots

4
35Fair
Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (37) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 1 PM (75) · 109 named spots

5
32Fair
Biscayne Bay

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (32) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 8 AM (74) · 82 named spots

6
30Fair
Anegada Passage east of Virgin Gorda and Saint Croix south to 17N

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 6 AM (55)

7
30Fair
Caribbean Waters of Puerto Rico from 10 NM to 17N, including the Coastal Waters of Saint Croix

Best window today 8-10 PM (30) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 6 AM (60)

8
30Fair
Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 8 AM (64) · 16 named spots

9
30Fair
Mona Passage Southward to 17N

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 1 PM (64)

10
30Fair
Straits of Florida from Craig Key to west end of Seven Mile Bridge out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 7 AM (64)

11
30Fair
Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 6 PM (59)

12
29Fair
Coastal Waters from Cabo San Juan to the waters between Anegada Island and Virgin Gorda and North 10 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 7 AM (60)

13
24Poor
Atlantic Waters of Puerto Rico AND USVI from 10 NM to 19.5N

Best window today 9 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 6 AM (64)

14
22Poor
Coastal Waters east of Puerto Rico, around Vieques, and around and just north of Culebra and Saint John

Best window today 9 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 7 AM (58)

How and where it feeds

Water temperature
Feeds from 68°F to 90°F, best between 72°F and 84°F.
Water depth
1 to 12 ft of water.
Structure
Flat, grass, channel, reef and mangrove, in that order of preference.
Tide and current
Prefers incoming tide and high tide, with moderate current.Bonefish move onto shallow flats and into tidal creeks to feed on the rising and high tide and fall back to deeper water as it drops. The first of the flood along flat edges and the ends of a falling tide at channel mouths are the classic windows. Slack low water on a flat usually holds no fish.
Light
Little tied to dawn and dusk.
Pressure
Prefers steady pressure.
Wind and sea limits
15 kt of wind and 1 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.

Tackle and technique

Bonefish push onto shallow sand and grass flats with the rising tide to root for shrimp, crabs and clams, often in water under 2 feet deep, and fall back to channel edges and deeper flats as the tide drops. Most fish are sight cast to with a small shrimp or crab fly, a light jig or a live shrimp, which takes bright sun, light wind and a quiet approach. They are catch and release only in Florida, and in Hawaii many anglers also fish bait from shore along sand channels and reef edges.

Methods
sight casting, fly fishing, wading, poling skiff, bait soaking from shore
Lures
small skimmer or bucktail jig, shrimp fly (Crazy Charlie, Gotcha), crab fly
Bait
live shrimp, shrimp tail, crab, clam

Regulations

FWC saltwater regulations Buy a Florida fishing license License types

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Synced with FWC Sep 16, 2026.

No reviewed bonefish rule for Florida is on file yet. Check with FWC before you keep one.

Other Florida species