House of Fly's Top 10 Bonefish Flies of 2026
Words by Sam Wike
Just like I mentioned in our Top 10 Tarpon Flies post last week, l’ll begin by saying there are thousands of great bonefish patterns. So many, in fact, it would be difficult if not impossible to find a group of saltwater buffs who could agree on a Top 10 list of flies for any species, let alone for bonefish.
Our House of Fly crew debated the merits of many patterns and we had our individual takes on the matter. This list is what we finally agreed on and should serve as a great starting point before embarking on your first bonefish trip.
This list is built with patterns that are readily available, which means they are tied commercially. They are not unique patterns, only known by a singular guide. In other words, they are not secret flies, and they are not custom patterns tied by an online fly tyer from Instagram (even though there are a ton of cool ones out there). Instead, these are patterns you can easily secure for your trip.
We focused on shrimp patterns, which are the most ubiquitous imitations on the market today, although its good to know that bonefish eat other things, such as crabs and toadfish.
Lastly, this list was vetted by our team in Florida, along with our guide friends in Belize, and a few other industry friends. Although our team fishes quite a bit in the salt, our knowledge is not as extensive as those who live on the flats and fish the salt all the time.
Bonefish is my favorite saltwater species, and I spent some extra time making sure this list was well thought through.
1. Jim McVay's Gotcha
There is nothing to argue about here. This one confidently makes the list because it is, literally, on every single guide list at every bonefish destination we've ever visited. If you only get one fly from this list, this is the one that’s required. Read the full story of how this fly came to be in an article on our blog called, The Lost Salt Flies.
2. Charlie Smith’s Crazy Charlie
Charlie Smith is a celebrity in the bonefish world and is known worldwide throughout the fly-fishing circles. Smith was born in 1936 in Abaco, Bahamas, and later became famous for his legendary bonefishing lodge named the Bang Bang Club on Pot Cay. He was a man of many nicknames, such as “The Big Father”, “Bonefish Charlies”, and of course, “Crazy Charlie”. The Crazy Charlie was invented out of necessity one evening when Smith couldn’t secure any bait. So, instead, he tied flies and this simple but extremely effective pattern was born.
3. Randall Kaufmann’s Christmas Island Special
Randall Kaufmann’s Christmas Island Special, you ask? The answer is, yes; the man who invented the Stimulator also designed one of the best bonefish patterns of all time. A flashier alternative to the Crazy Charlie and Gotcha, Kaufmann’s Christmas Island Special was developed in 1981 on his trip to Kiritimati. That was the first-year fly-fishers visited Christmas Island, and Kaufmann is considered a pioneer at that Pacific bonefish fly-fishing paradise.
4. Craig Mathews’ Bonefish Bitters
Craig Mathews spent a lot of winters at Turneffe Atoll, Belize, testing and perfecting this fly. Although not the shrimpiest pattern on the list, and most often taken as a small crab or sea urchin, if you fish Belize you need this fly or some variation of a micro-crab. Yes, bonefish do eat sea urchins as part of their regular diet. Originally named “Pops’ Bonefish Bitters” after Pops Cabral, who’s guided Turneffe for 20-some years and is a local legend, the heavy epoxy head sinks quickly and gets the fly down to the sand.
5. Enrico Puglisi’s Bahamas Shrimp
In the early 2000s Puglisi saltwater flies were just better and tied more proportionately accurate than any other saltwater flies on the market. At that time, EP crabs and shrimp dominated the saltwater world. Today there are many more people tying saltwater flies and great patterns are developed all the time. But several Puglisi flies still deserve inclusion on our list. The Bahamas Shrimp is one of those patterns. It’s a very classic Bahamas-style fly with Sili Legs and EP Fibers. It is effective when retrieved in short, quick strips, which represents a startled and fleeing shrimp.
6. Bob Veverka’s Spawning Shrimp
Bob Veverka was on the right track when he developed this shrimp pattern. After watching footage of mantis shrimp and how they move underwater, Veverka decided that many of the famous bonefish patterns lacked realism. So, he created a more anatomically correct pattern, specifically to target Bahamas bonefish. Sadly, Veverka passed away from cancer in 2021, but he left us his book, Innovative Saltwater Flies, in which Veverka’s Spawning Shrimp is highlighted.
7. Andy Smith’s Bonefish Bug
One of the many sons of “Crazy” Charlie Smith, Andy Smith has also become a world-renowned bonefish guide and lodge owner in Andros, Bahamas. Andy now runs Broad Shad Cay Lodge on Andros. When I put this fly on the list, I had no idea it was developed by one of the legendary bloodlines of bonefish guides and had actually thought it was just a stock pattern from the Solitude Fly Company catalog. However, we have done so well with this pattern, with its multicolored rubber legs and rabbit strip body material, I had to add it to the list. This has been a top pattern on many of our trips to Belize, Christmas Island, and the Bahamas.
8. Dave Chouinard’s Cyclops
Also known as “Chewy”, the Cyclops was developed as an alternative to the Gotcha. This could be the most innovative pattern on the list. Chewy realized that the traditional Gotcha pattern, with its dual eyes, often works great, but sometimes landed too loudly. In addition, the bead-chain eyes could whistle in the air, which sometimes spooked fish on calm days in skinny water. So, the single-eyed Cyclops pattern has three distinct advantages. It lands quieter on the water. It sinks through the water column quickly. And it swims perfectly straight.
9. Drew Chicone’s Cocaine Coyote
We had to get a Drew Chicone pattern on the list. Chicone is one of the most innovative, contemporary saltwater fly-tyers in the world, and his use of natural materials makes his patterns lifelike. The Cocaine was inspired by his time in Arizona where he realized the value of coyote fur for saltwater flies. This series of flies is sometimes referred to as the “K9 of the Flats”, which include famous patterns such as the Coyote Shrimp, the Coyote Ugly, the Calypso Coyote and others. The Cocaine part of the name came from his buddy, captain Will Flack, a well-known Belizean permit guide who created a pattern called the Cocaine Crustacean. The Crustacean solved some problems Flack was having on large, Belizean bonefish that were located on limestone flats and couldn’t be fooled by traditional bonefish patterns. We like the large profile and movement the coyote material provides in this fly and that’s why we included it in our list.
House of Fly has this one tied custom and there is a new batch coming soon! Get the Cocaine Coyote here.
10. Enrico Puglisi’s Coyote Spawning Shrimp
This fly, or a version of it, is found on every top bonefish fly list out there. Puglisi developed this fly with his synthetic EP fibers, after immigrating to the US in 1980. The original EP spawning shrimp pattern is famous and effective, but recent improvements use coyote on the body. We love the movement and translucency this gives the fly. I love that a guy who developed the synthetic material category (or at least popularized it) is curious enough to take his most popular pattern and continue to improve it using natural materials.
We would love to hear what fatal errors we made on this list. Drop us a note at info@houseofly.com and make sure you let us know which patterns we need to consider when updating this list in the future.