Bonefish

Season in Florida Keys

Peak months: Mar, Apr, Sep, Oct, Nov.

FWC Where to Saltwater Fish: bonefish fall (Monroe). Florida Museum: in summer larger bonefish stay in deep water and rarely come onto the flats, returning in autumn as water cools. Keys Weekly: ocean-side flats wake up with late-winter warm spells (Horn, March 2015); hungry schools between cold fronts in November (Hastings, 2025). (Our inference)

Season by region

Where to find them

Ocean-side flats on warm spells in late winter, bay and gulf flats later in spring, both sides between cold fronts in fall; shrimp flies or live shrimp (Keys Weekly). They push onto the flats on the rising tide and drop back as it falls (Florida Museum).

Roots prey out of the bottom on shallow flats; schools up to about 100 fish spread out to feed and regroup when frightened (Florida Museum).

What to look for

Tailing fish and nervous water on shallow flats.

Bait

Live shrimp. .

Leader

Common mistakes

• Fishing the flats on a falling tide when fish have dropped back to deeper water

Landing

Let it run; release it in the water.

Handling

Keep it in the water and release it quickly; Florida Museum says most human-caused deaths come from landing injuries such as gut hooking, or from sharks after release.

Keep or release

Florida requires recreational bonefish to be released and bans commercial sale (Florida Museum, citing FWC rules). The flesh is bony and not prized as food.

Recipes for bonefish

Typical: 4 to 6 lb in Florida (Florida Museum). Large: Over 8 lb is large; maximum about 31 in and 13 to 14 lb.

Limits

FishOS has not checked the FL limits yet. Check the size, bag and season rules with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before you keep a fish.

Sources

• Florida FWC: Where to Saltwater Fish (species and seasons by county, Nassau to Monroe) (Official source)
• Florida Museum, Discover Fishes: bonefish (Official source)
• Florida Keys Weekly (Bill Horn, March 2015): winter skinny-water anglers target cuda, sharks (Angler knowledge)
• Florida Keys Weekly (Richard Hastings, Dec 2025): cold fronts bring hungry bonefish (Angler knowledge)

All the fish of Florida Keys