Preparing your equipment for a DIY bonefishing adventure is different then when going to a full service lodge.  On a DIY trip there are no "backups" readily available like there are at the lodge.  There are no secret flies from the guide, no tools available to fix equipment, no rods if you break one and no leaders or tippet material if you brought old spools.

The reality and fun of a DIY bonefishing trip is that you are responsible for your success, so plan for all eventualities.  What happens if you break a rod, your reel seizes up, you cut a fly line on coral, etc.

Prior to leaving on a trip to a full service lodge they will provide you a list of flies you need to bring and then back that list up with flies that are available at the lodge.  For DIY bonefishing trips there are no flies to buy and not much of a list so you need to pack a wide range of flies in a variety of sizes representing all the basic food groups for the area you are fishing.  You need to think about deep fish, spooky fish, shallow water tailing bonefish, large schools, singles, windy conditions and calm slick conditions.

In other words ................ BE PREPARED.

Bonefish and Permit Rods and reels

Rods – The rods you take depend on where you are going and the targeted species.  I generally pack an eight and nine weight for bonefish and permit and a ten weight or larger for tarpon and toothy critters.  I have certainly seen seven weight rods work well for smaller bonefish in Belize and Mexico, but they don't cast as well in the wind as a heavier rod.  Everyone has their favourites but if you pack an eight, nine and ten weight rod you have most conditions and situations covered.  I prefer a fast action, powerful rod so that the line loads quickly and throws the line through the wind.

Reels –I do a lot of trout fishing throughout western Canada and the western U.S. and let's face it most of the time our trout reels are only used to hold the line.   Saltwater flats fishing is different, reels matter when you are fishing for bonefish, permit and tarpon.  You need large arbor, anodized reels that are simple in construction have a sealed smooth drag that will stand up to both the rigors of hot fish and the issues caused by the corrosive nature of saltwater.  Depending on the species, your reel needs to hold a minimum of 200 yards of 20 pound backing (bonefish) and more for permit and tarpon.  I bring up the capacity issue because it is unlikely you are in a boat that can chase a runaway fish. Take a reel to match each rod and a spare if one breaks.  I match each reel with a spare spool loaded with a different line.

Take a reel repair kit with you and the appropriate grease and oils recomended by the reel manufacturer.

Bonefish and Permit Lines and leaders

Lines - You generally only need tropical floating lines matched to each of your rods.  I also load at least one spool with a slow sinking clear intermediate line.   For either the nine or ten weight I include a series of interchangeable sink tips with a loop to loop connection to fish channels,  deep areas and special situations.
In addition to the lines on my reels and spools, I carry one extra eight weight tropical floating line for emergencies.  If you have trouble either casting into the wind or loading your rod quickly consider a nine weight line as your spare and use it to "over line" your eight weight when wind conditions are tough.

Every 1-2 days you need to clean the fly lines that have been in use...........Take along a line cleaning kit, it is essential.

Backing - Unlike most trout fishing situations, your backing gets used... a lot.  Make sure you have a solid connection between your reel and backing and your backing and fly line and have tested all connections before leaving home.  The internet is full of examples of how to tie each of these connections and I also would recommend the Lefty Kreh book/DVD, Fishing Knots.  If your backing was put on your reel by anyone other than you, don't take any chances.....test the connection from the reel to your backing.  Today's reels hold a lot of line, so there is no need to skimp on backing.  As a rule have a minimum of 200 yards of backing on your reels for bonefish and more for permit and tarpon as the situation requires. As part of your pre-trip routine strip your backing off the reel and reel it back on carefully so when that first fish takes off, your backing peels off evenly and doesn't pinch or grab.

Leaders & tippet -  for bonefish, conventional knotless salt water tapered leaders that are 10 - 12 feet long tapered to 14-16 pound test work fine.  I add two feet of fluorocarbon tippet stepped down two pounds and you have a 12 - 14 foot leader ending in either #12 or #14 pound fluorocarbon.  You may want to up this if you are fishing around coral, turtle grass or mangroves or step down to #10 if the fish are spooky.

Lately I have started to get very fussy about my leaders because at times the fishing conditions can be tough.  Could be you are dealing with strong winds, heavy flies, spooky bonefish or just having trouble casting and your leader is not rolling out to its full length.  Off the shelf knotless tapered leaders can be too limp to turn over a heavy fly in the wind and are prone to weak spots formed during the extrusion process. I have started to make my own leaders utilizing formulas developed by Lefty Krey or Bruce Chard tied with either Rio Saltwater Hard Mono or Trilene Big Game.  Making your own leaders allows you to build stiff leaders with heavy butt sections to turn big flies over in the wind.  If you have trouble casting into the wind a shorter, stiffer leader can help.  For those of you trying to throw a heavy permit fly into a 25 mile an hour wind a stiff home tied permit leader can be a blessing.

I use fluorocarbon tippet material, I don't know if it is any better................but I think so.  For bonefish I take 10, 12, 14 and 16 pound tippet material.  For permit I carry 16, 18 and 20 pound tippet material.  For toothy critters I carry pre tied wire leaders and for tarpon I carry some pre-tied shock tippets of 40-60 pounds for smaller tarpon and up to 80 pounds for larger fish.

Last word on leaders.  For crying out loud, you are going to spend upwards of $2,000 for a week of DIY bonefishing........buy new leaders and new spools of tippet and throw away the stuff from last year.

Flies

Where do I start....there are thousands of salt water patterns and on DIY fishing trips the only flies available are the flies you bring.

I have tied bonefish, permit and tarpon flies for 40 years and have 1,000's of saltwater flies for every conceivable situation.  When I fish out of guide boats I take my Simms boat bag and it is packed with flies.  But when I am wading the flats on my own with nothing but shirt pockets and a hip bag (flies, camera, lunch, drinks) space is at a premium and weight becomes a factor.  For DIY flats wading I have my selection of flies narrowed down to two boxes for bonefish/permit and one small bag for barracuda and other toothy creatures.

For each of the DIY Fishing Locations I will provide a list of our favourite flies for that spot.  It is much easier to recommend bonefish flies for an area I have fished than to recommend flies in a general sense.

But let me help you get started to organize your fly boxes.  Without naming any patterns yet, you need flies that cover the general sizes, colours and food for the region you are fishing with a variety of weights for each fly and then add weed guards for those areas where turtle grass is an issue.  If you do the math using the variables of color, size, weight and weed guards you get up to a lot of flies in a hurry.

As a general rule you will do fine for bonefish by having fly patterns that imitate shrimp (Charlies, Gotchas, etc.) and small crabs (Pops Bitter, Turneffe crab, etc).  The patterns need to match the color of the bottom, the size of the food source and be weedless or not depending on the make up of the bottom. 

The patterns then need to be sized according to the geographic region (Mexico, Cuba, Belize, Bahamas, Florida) and weighted to match both the stealth (tailers at twilight) and depth of water (six inches to six feet).

Generally flies for Belize and Mexico tend to be on the smaller size ranging from size #4 – #12, with a majority of flies in the #6 - #8 range.

Flies for Cuba and the Bahamas are generally larger and range from #2 - #8 with most flies in the #4 - #6 range.

Flies for bonefish in Florida tend to be large ranging from #1 - #6 with the bulk of the flies in the #2- #4 range.

There are thousands of saltwater fly patterns so it is difficult to pick them without knowing exactly where you are going to fish but for bonefish you need a selection of classic Charlie's and Gothcha's in sizes #4 - #8 covering the general colors (tan, cream, green and brown), some with weed guards and half with rubber legs.  Would not go without a supply of Greg's Flats Fly sized #4 - #8, tan in color.

For bonefish you need to carry crab flies, I always have Pops Bitters in amber and green.

Carry a selection of clousers in a variety of colors and sizes for bonefish and other species.  I know several guides whose favourite bonefish fly is the Clouser Minnow.

For permit you need a variety of crab patterns with a few shrimp patterns thrown in.  Examples of crab patterns are, Del's Merkin, Turneffe Crab, The McCrab, Chernobyl Crab and EP Crab patterns.  For shrimp carry some larger sized Gotchas and mantis shrimp patterns like the Magnum Mantis Shrimp.

Sun Glasses

Sun glasses are not are not an accessory to your trip they are essential to your success. 

Next to your rod and reel the most important piece of equipment you will have on a bonefishing trip are your sun glasses.  Buy the best you can afford.  I prefer glasses that wrap around and block out side light while cutting out the wind.

There is some debate about the best color of glasses to have but on normal days I would go with amber or brown, grey on extremely bright or high contrast days and yellow for low contrast cloudy or rainy days and at twilight.

Always take two quality pairs with you in case of breakage or they get lost.  Make sure these are part of your carry on luggage, and take an extra pair of cheap polarized glasses to give to a guide if you are using one.

Always carry a lens cleaning cloth and a cleaning solution, I use the prepackaged individuals eye glass wipes.

Boats/kayaks

Many of the places we go there are no boats or kayaks available or if they are available they cannot be transported or fit in rental vehicle.

There have been countless times when we wanted to cross a small channel or fish a bonefish flat just off shore that could not be reached on foot.

Now, we always travel with our own inflatable kayaks.  These have proven to be invaluable and the flexibility they provide more than makes up for the slightly increased luggage costs and hassle of traveling with them.

There are a variety of kayaks on the market and we have tested many of them.  Don't go cheap on the kayak which I think is self explanatory.  We have had kayaks that blew apart, fell apart, mysteriously got holes in them on the plane and a variety of other disasters. 

I can guarantee that at some point you wil puncture your kayak (coral, limestone, mangroves) so make sure you take one that can be repaired easily.

We currently use the Airis Play lightweight inflatable kayak and have had good results.

In addition to the kayak and paddle the travel bag should include the pump, repair kit, some rope and room for throwing in a few extras.  The kayak, bag and accessories weigh between 23 and 33 pounds.

The airlines now charge for the extra bag so expect to pay both ways but it is a minor cost when compared to reaching areas you cannot get to by wading.

Misc. Equipment

DIY fisherman generally do not have a boat and therefore don't have a boat bag where they can store a bunch of gear.  That means your fanny pack needs to carry everything.  We have tried a lot of different packs and have settled on the Fish Pond fanny/hip packs with three large sections.  When you are walking the flats for eight hours you carry a lot of stuff,  all the water required for a day, cameras, lunches, fly boxes, leaders, tippets, clippers, pliers/forceps, sunscreen, glass wipes,etc.  Buy a good fanny pack.

At many locations there are limited groceries, no fly fishing shops or hardware stores so think about what you might need.  Pack some duct tape (fixes everything) super glue, small tool kit (need screw driver for reels), sewing kit, waterproof bag for your camera, batteries and any food items you can't live without.