7 Reasons This Fly Works on South Andros Island

Tying your own flies for bonefish on South Andros Island can really help your ego – anything reasonable works.  As always, however, the best flies tend to have some things in common.  Here’s why this one works.

1. It’s big. That’s a #2 Tiemco 811S, and it’s maybe a bit on the small side.  Big fish like big flies.
2. It’s light. The problem with most big flies that are available commerically is that they’re too heavy.  Our fish feed in shallow water, so they need to be fairly light.  Bead chain eyes are the norm.  This one’s fairly bukly so it’s weighted with small lead eyes to make it ride right – just don’t go too heavy!
3. It’s got legs. Our fish love flies with legs.  Rubberlegs work great – this one uses hackle tips instead, just to add a bit of class.
4. It’s got a spawn sack. It might not be too realistic, but that puff of orange bunny fur helps.  We don’t know why it helps, but our theory is that these fish like a spawn sack.
5. It’s got contrast. The grizzly hackle tips against the white bunny fur wing help make it visible.
6. It’s neither too light nor too dark. If you’re fishing a pure white sand flat, a white fly is great.  If you’re fishing a bottom covered with turtle grass, a dark fly works great.  Many of our flats have a combination of the two, so we like to be somewhere in the middle.
7. It’s got copper flash. Here’s the story on this one – we had a few too many cocktails with a gentleman who has had a lot of success fishing on South Andros over the last 15 years.  In a moment of weakness, he said “try some copper flash”.  We did, and it works.  Real well.