Fishing for bonefish on light tackle is difficult in shallow water, because of the noise and splash of the jig when landing, so you will have to cast 2 to 3 ft away from where they are and wait to see if they swim to the jig. If not, reel in and cast again…

In deeper water you will find schools with smaller fish, which are easier to catch, you cast to the edge of the school, so you wont spook them. Jigs 1/16 and 1/8 oz work very well, colors pink, tan and white with feathers.

• Bonefish Tackle: (spin/cast fishing)
  Rods: 7′, 2-pc. graphite rods in a light to medium action, for lure weights between 1/8 -1/2 oz. Spinning rods are proffered.
• Reels: (Spinning) minimum 150 yards of 10 lb. test line. Penn Spinfisher 440- 450 SS, Finor AHAB 8A – 12A , Diawa BG 13 – BG 15, Shimano Sustain SA4000FA, Zebco Great white Series GW40.
• Lines: Clear, fresh, premium monofilament, (8 -12 lb. line class). Brands to consider include Ande, Maxima, Berkley Trilene, and Stren.
• Lures for Bonefish: Led head jigs and live bait (when available) are the proffered choice among spin fishermen for bonefish. Lures: 1/8 – 1/2 oz. Gaines Wiggle Jigs (pink, brown, chartreuse, white) Millie’s Roundhead jigs, Arrowhead jigs, Semi-Flat jigs, and Deluxe Wiggle Jigs, 1/8 – 5/16 oz. (white, pink, brown, yellow, chartreuse). 1/8 oz. lead head jigs with 2″ soft plastic tails (Mister Twister, Swirl Tail Grubs) (white, pink, chartreuse, sparkle chartreuse, rootbeer, sparkle rootbeer, clear silver, clear gold) D.O.A. Shrimp Lures (assorted colors,) Life-like shrimp and crab lures. Johnson Silver Minnow, 1/24 oz., Epoxy Flies (weedless).Report on Light Tackle Fishing. Lures and Gear by Jim Riddle

Fishing for permit on light tackle is as much of a challenge as with a fly-rod and maybe more, because of the noise. You want to cast without crossing the fish or over casting, let the jig go down and then reel in moving your rod imitating a crab. If you are in deeper water, you want to imitate a bait fish. Be ready for a strong fight with three strong runs and sometimes 4! Many fish are lost, because you increase the drag and when they get close to you, run again and brake the line. Jigs 1/8 and 1/4 work very well in colors white, pink, brown and tan. Power bait yellow worms and crab imitations are working very well. We use 12 – 20 pound rods with 200 yards of 20 pounds line. That of course requires skills to land a good fish.

Here we have the most successfull patterns for permit and bonefish!

• Permit Tackle: (spin/cast fishing)
  Under most situations your bonefish spinning outfit is adequate for permit fishing. If you had to change one element of your tackle it would be your reel. Permit are in the jack family, and pull like few fish can, therefore a reel capable of holding a minimum of 200 yards of 12 lb. test is the best choice. Live crabs are a permit’s one and only weakness.Most permit are caught with a 1/8 oz. Wiggle Jig with a hermit crab trailer, a very deadly combination. You can also rig a slip sinker outfit with live bait: Small or medium size barrel swivel, 1/8 – 1/4 oz. slip sinker and a #1 or #2 Mustad 9174 O’Shaughnessy bait hook with a hermit crab threaded on. Hooks should all be barbless.

• Tarpon Tackle: (spin/cast fishing)
• Rods: 6′ 6″ – 7′ 6″ medium/heavy action rod for lure weights 3/8 oz. – 2 oz. (12 -20 lb. line class) spinning or casting rod. If you chose a casting rod, go with a trigger stick. G. Looms makes some fine rods to fit this bill.
• Reels: (Spinning) minimum 150 yards of 15 lb. test line. Penn Spinfisher 650 SS, Finor AHAB 16A , Diawa BG 30, Shimano Sustain SA6000FA, Zebco Great white Series GW60. (Casting) Abu Garcia 6500 C Syncro, Abu Garcia SM5600C ,Quantum Iron IR3W, Shimano Calcutta CT-200.
• Lines: Clear, fresh, premium monofilament, (16 -20 lb. line class). Brands to consider include Ande, Maxima, Berkley Trilene, and Stren.
• Leaders: Shock tippet is needed when fishing for tarpon and snook. We suggest 40 lb. – 60 lb. clear monofilament.
• Lures for Tarpon: There are a wide variety of lures that are effective in taking tarpon. One of big obstacles in hooking and landing a tarpon is getting the hooks to stick. Many anglers have increased the number of fish actually landed by replacing the treble hooks on the lures with single siwash hooks. (Surface) Rebel “Jumpin” Minnow 4 1/2″ 5/8 oz. (silver/black, silver/blue, copper/back, copper/orange) Heddon Zara Spook 4 1/2″ ¾ oz.(gold/black/orange, gold/chartreuse, silver/red head}.(Subsurface) Rapala CD and/or F 14 5 1/2″ (silver, red/white, gold/ flored, silver) Bomber Jointed Long “A” 4 1/2″ 3/8 oz. (silver/red head, silver/black, firetiger) Bomber “Mullet” 3 1/2″ 5/8 oz. (gold/black/orange, silver/red head) In addition: chuggers, poppers, Creek Chub Darters, & stick baits.(Jigs) 1/4 – 3/4 oz. saltwater jig head with 4″ – 6″ soft plastic jig bodies “Sassy Shad”, grubs, and swim baits. Bucktails from 3/8 – 3/4 oz. (yellow, white, black, red/white, chartreuse).
  fishing for tarpon, the silver king, always a fun fight! Check out more info on tarpon

Barracudas on the flats have the best strike and are so much fun!Some anglers diminish them, because they are very common when you are trolling for billfish, so barracudas are dissapointing, but in the flats you will have the opportunity to see them, cast, and see the most spectacular strike, then they jump …

• Barracuda Tackle: (spin/cast fishing)
  Your bonefish/permit or tarpon/snook spin/cast outfit is perfect for barracuda. Rapala type lures, and tube lures (chartreuse, orange and flo. red will get the job done. You’ll need a spool of nylon covered braided wire “Sevalon” or “SevenStrand” kink-resistant wire in the 40 lb. class.