Bonefish: Birth to Box
Well I had a great Easter but didn’t get the call to jump off the cliff and go hang gliding at Stanwell Tops. In fact, I now hear that it’s off the radar until June which is very disappointing.
I also missed out on a Port Hacking fishing trip with Mr Mowie Morro and Iron Guts Wayne due to a flat battery in the boat.
Morro (who is a whiz at anything) has the problem resolved now with a solar powered thingamajig that keeps the battery forever topped up - quite a clever idea and you can email me if you would like further details on that device.
I did manage to find a moment to put up a few worthwhile links to some great articles in the “Weipa Trip” section of www.skippermeggs.com and if you are keen on fishing that part of the world I’d encourage you to take a look at them.
For better or for worse I have also included edited versions of the “Narrawallee Chronicles” and some of our rules in the “Bygone Voyages” area.
Personally, I think when these are viewed in isolation of other aspects of the trip they lose a bit of impact and my eventual aim is to perhaps present a consolidated view of each trip going back to the inaugural Tathra adventure in 1990.
Enough of this though, lets move on to more important things - the life and times of the incredible Bonefish.
Highly prized by fly fisherman around the world the primitive Bonefish can be found in the south pacific island regions, Australia and the Carribean.
It was originally thought that there was one species of Bonefish but the last known figure I could find was nine (6 in the Pacific and 3 in the Carribean).
In northern Australian waters the species most commonly encountered is the Albula Glossodonta.
In the Pacific the Bonefish spawn offshore in many months of the year around the full moon.
During the early stages of its life the Bonefish undergoes a larval stage where it appears as a transparent ribbon type fish some 6cm long with a small head living off absorbed nutrients from the open ocean. This larval phase can last between 6 to 12 weeks.
If the larval Bonefish survives its time at sea it seeks shallow water and undergoes metapmorphis, transforming into a smaller version of the adult bonefish half the size of its larval stage.
It’s not actually known where the juvenile and adolescent Bonefish congregate but what is known that larger juvenile fish tend to live in open sandy bottoms of deeper water.
The Bonefish also has a remarkable swim bladder with many blood vessels allowing it to function like a lung. This means the fish can “gulp” air at the surface and live in oxygen starved environments.
Around the world the maximum size of Bonefish is 8kg, whilst the Australian record is 4.66kg for a fish caught out at Swains Reef.
Believe it or not, a 3.6Kg specimen was caught in Sydney’s Port Hacking River using fish bait.
Growth rates also remain a mystery, however it is largely thought that a 2 year old fish is around 23cm in length. Bonefish are understood to mature at 4 years of age and 45cm and can live for up to 20 years.
Until next week,
Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs