If I had to pick one of my favorite destinations, it surely would be Bonaire, the jewel of the ABC Islands off Venezuela. By analogy and my personal view, Bonaire is to Aruba and Curacao as Abaco is to Nassau- less people- dense and much more fish-prolific. The diving in Bonaire tops the charts as well.
The bonefish on this island are everywhere- on the salinas near the south lighthouse, on the dropoffs between the island and Little Bonaire, and astonishly, cruising the dock lights of the resorts at night to feed on dining scraps. As to this last manifestation, my assertions of the Gray Ghost as opportunistic dock feeder were rebuffed until I starting producing snapshot images that simply would not lie. The bonefish above was part of a group that simply loved the chunks of hamburger buns and italian bread that dropped onto the water surface. With a twitch of their tails and a half-swirl, the bones made short work of the chunks in one gulp. I fully confess to thoughts of hiding a hook in a gob of bread!
The salinas to the south are actually squared man-made plots of salt production reclaimed by the environment. You'll see small pods of 1 to 4 pound fish tailing in the ever-present brisk winds. You can take them on standard bonefish flies as well as on ultralight spin tackle and live crabs. The best way to fish there is to use my friend, the multi-lingual, fishing genius of Bonaire, Captain Chris Morkos. Contact data is www.piscatur.com/ and email is info@piscatur.com.
Jan
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