How not to handle an 11 pound bonefish

I would love to catch an 11 pound (and 12 ounce) bonefish. I’d really, really love to. My largest fish is maybe 7 pounds (I was told 7.5, but that means it was probably 6). At some point I might actually achieve this dream if I keep after it and fish in places where hogs like this live.

I can imagine that this guy was really very happy to have crossed paths with such a magnificent creature, to have hooked it and to have landed it. I mean, come on… that thing is huge. It is the fish of a lifetime.

So, I was kind of bummed to see this fish held up by a boga grip.

Damn nice fish and damn poor idea to boga that damn nice fish.

Damn nice fish and damn poor idea to boga that damn nice fish.

Boga grips are bad news for bonefish. They should not be used.  It is likely an education issue. People see fish being gripped with a Boga and they think “well, this must be how things are done.”

It isn’t.

Knowing is half the battle. Spread the news.

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4 comments

  1. At least it didn’t bite him that way….

  2. I don’t personally know this guy, but he lives just down the road from me (sigh…) and this was posted in our only state-wide daily newspaper. When I saw it, my hemorrhoids started hurting. I’m amazed his guide allowed him to do that. Come on, Bjørn, how about a future post about the proper way to release bones?

  3. Just use your hands and be gentle….I can hear those vertebrae crunching from here.

  4. Bjorn, how about using your contacts to publish an accurate way to measure a bonefish to determine weight? If there were a way to use a tape and be confident of the weight, there’d be less tendency to use a scale.

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