Fishing in Bonaire

Bonaire has great sport fishing just a short distance offshore. We fish primarily for pelagic species, such as blue marlin, white marlin, wahoo, and yellowfin tuna. There are always surprises out there though!

Bonaire also has other great fish to catch, including mahi mahi, almaco jacks, and numerous snapper and tilefish species.   

On the Flying Fish we customize every trip. You tell us what you want to do. We combine that with what's biting, and design a fishing program tailor made for you. 

Due to the steep underwater topography of Bonaire, we are able to fish for big, deep water fish very close to shore. In most places, we can be in 1000 feet (300 m) of water less than 1 mile from shore.

Bonaire hosts a variety of species to catch while trolling. They include blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, mahi mahi, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, and barracuda. Depending on which species we are targeting, we will troll live baits, lures, dead baits, or some combination of these. Our typical trolling spread has 5 lures or baits in the water, plus two hookless teasers. 

Our marlin and wahoo are usually solitary. That is to say that we will generally be fighting one fish at a time. When we encounter tuna and mahi mahi, however, it's often a multi-fish affair, with 2 or more fish hooked at a time. 

We always have a spinning rod and/or fly rod ready to cast at any fish that appear on the surface while fighting other fish.

The Flying Fish practices strict catch and release on marlin and sailfish. We will keep these fish in the water and get photos before the release. 

A largely untapped fishery in Bonaire is the deep water bottom fishing. One of the most interesting things about bottom fishing is the variety offered. You're never sure what you will pull up.

In these deep waters you will find fish like silk snapper, queen snapper, mutton snapper, almaco jack, tilefish, and many others. All of these fish are very good to eat and fun to catch. 

Because most of these fish grow slowly, we only catch a few from a spot and leave the rest for another day. 

Bottom fishing is a great way to spend a whole day, or even just to change things up from trolling for a while.   

If you really want to catch tuna, night is the best time to do it. We catch tuna with a variety of techniques, including jigging, popping, live baiting, and trolling. 

Blackfin tuna are mostly around 5 pounds, and usually plentiful and eager to bite. 

Yellowfin tuna are the real trophies though, growing in excess of 100 pounds. Yellowfin are beautiful, delicious, and incredibly powerful. Be careful what you wish for! 

Another option at night is to fish for snappers, many of which bite even better at night than in the daytime. Cubera snappers are giants and will put you to the test.