How we rig our light tackle bonefish and permit setups

This blog is going to be a more brief overview of what we use and how we rig our light tackle kit for Bonefish, Permit and Triggerfish. I wrote a more in-depth blog a while back about our quick-change leader system for smaller flats species which is available here to read first or peruse at a later date.

I start by selecting the right rod. I believe that the best all-round rod for these three species in the environments that we tend to fish is a fast action rod, rated around 5-25 grams. I like this size range as you can be subtle and delicate, especially presenting soft plastics on light jig heads to cruising fish. You can even throw unweighted flies fished in a drop shot or inline fashion to ultra-skinny or particularly skittish fish.

To this, I opt for a light reel with a strong drag and good line capacity. I like the Daiwa BG series reels, especially the 2500 size reel. I can spool this with 150 meters of high quality braid (15-20lbs breaking strain) and still run around 30-40 yards of backing on there. Doing this offers you a very balanced and versatile set up to cover most things out there.

I will then tie my double Bimini twist at the end of the braid to facilitate the quick-change system linked above. Basically, this is my completed set up. All that is left is to tie on a leader using my favoured Rapala loop knot and then to cats paw the two together three times. I always opt for fluorocarbon in the 12-18lbs range depending on the type of flat we find ourselves fishing.

The leader is entirely customisable to how you want to fish and what you want to target at you can so quickly and easily switch from one to another. No matter how I decide to fish, I will always use a loop knot (usually the Rapala loop knot) to connect my leader to the fly or lure to give it even more freedom of movement.

There you go, nice and simple but very effective. I hope you found this shorter blog interesting and maybe there are a few little nuggets to take into your fishing.

Tight lines

Will