Indonesia

Destination Information
 

INDONESIAN ISLANDS
Indonesia is a vast island chain (archipelago) with over 17,500 islands . The population in 2013 is over 238 million people, making it the world’s fourth most populated country. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world’s second highest level of biodiversity. There are several species of fish available in Indonesia including Milkfish, Giant Trevally, Tuna. There are bonefish, darts (Indo-Pacific Permit) barracudas, sharks there as well. There is great sailfishing and other billfish as well. The issue is finding a guide that knows how to fly fish. Most of the boats are typical catamaran style fishing boats but many have ample space to cast a fly. Our next visit to Bali is scheduled for November 2013. We will have much more information to share.
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Bali, Indonesia – Fly fishing

Species & Tactics

Giant Trevally GT

The Giant Trevally a fish of many names is quickly becoming a premier target to hunt on the flats. It is an incredibly strong and ferocious reef fish that is aggressive and deliberate when hunting and takes no prisoners. It is a large member of the jack family and is also known as the Giant Kingfish, Pacific Jack Fish, Goyan Fish, Lowly Trevally, Barrier Trevally, Ulua in Hawaii, Mamulan in the Marianas, Rōnin-aji in Japan and just plain GT for short.

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Tuna

General Information If not already fishing for tuna on the fly, we'll just ask....Why not? This is a serious Saltwater fly fisherman's target. It's big, hits your fly at 40 mph (75 kph) and is found in just about every fishing destination you could possibly think of. Tuna are incredibly beautiful and powerful predators that come is many many different flavors too: Bluefin, Blackfin, Yellowfin, Bigeye, Longtail, Dogtooth

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Bonefish

Albula vulpes is one of about 15 different species of bonefish found in the world, but is the most prolific in the Caribbean and surrounding Atlantic. The information here can be applied to nearly every species.

The members of the Albulidae family of fishes, or Bonfish, as they are more commonly known, are one of, if not the most sought after species on the flats with a fly rod. The silver torpedo shaped fish with variably colored vertical stripes ranges in size from 2-19 pounds, with the average fish caught being between 3 and 16 pounds (depending on location).

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Permit

There are many other words often associated with fly fishing for Permit but they will be excluded to keep profanities off the site. To quote a professional fly fisherman in the Miami area who's name and expletives are intentionally left out "after all these years, I'm done with that fish". He literally quit fishing for Permit after over 7 years of frustration but he really didn't. He caught his first Permit on a fly in July 2012.

Quitters never win and winners never quit. One of the flyfishbonehead staff members fished for 3 years and spent over $10,000 before landing his first Permit on a fly. Many ask how this can be if there are so many photos and instruction on how to fly fish for Permit. Actually many Permit are caught on live crabs with a spin rod and a much of the published information is just speculation, propagated rumor and scuttlebutt. There is some good information out there and fisherman that have significant success, but much information is hear-say and rumor.

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Marlin

There is no fight like the fight of a Marlin. This is the prized fish of most saltwater anglers all over the world. They span almost all of the waters of the globe and can be caught by a variety of methods at various times of year in many diverse places. Marlin fishing is considered by some game fishermen to be the pinnacle of offshore game fish, due to their power, size and the relative rareness. It is an expensive hobby, requiring considerable money to pursue on a regular basis, single day of Marlin fishing can cost over $1000. They are possibly the most well-known fish in the entire world which probably accounts for millions of dollars in commerce spent hunting them. The novel by Ernest Hemingway, "The Old Man and the Sea" chronicles the struggle of a Marlin fisherman who after 85 days of failure, ventures out to sea to change his luck and catch a Marlin. Hemmingway frequently fished for Marlin, quite successfully with his family. The Marlin is the largest of the billfish and comes in many variations: Pacific Black Marlin Pacific Blue Marlin Atlantic Blue Marlin White Marlin Striped Marlin

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Sailfish

This is the fastest fish in the ocean!
Individual Sailfish have been clocked at speeds over 70 mph which is the highest speed reliably reported in any water creature. Sailfish are two species of billfish, the Atlantic Sailfish and the Pacific Sailfish and live in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world.

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What To Bring
 

Bonefish
While claims of large bonefish have been here, there are no records and nor is therea great system of proof. That being said there are bonefish in Indonesia but are essentially ignored as the locals prefer the offshore action of the southern bluefin tuna and the giant trevally We would recommed a softer better presentation rod 6-7 weight in Indonesia. The fish are not spooky but many times will be in very skinny water and the “plunk” of a fly will make them scatter. you can use an 8 or 9 but try to throw side arm and low to minimize the noise for the flies initial entry. We like a floating line with a long leader when bonefishing. We use a 9-12 foot long leader with 12-15 lb flourocarbon tippet. The reel should have a sealed drag and made for saltwater fishing. We use the term ‘bomb-proof” which means a tested & proven reel with the following features: 1. Very few or no moving parts 2. Smooth drag with smooth start-up 3. Sealed drag which will not corrode 4. It will not fail under any circumstance

Check out all the bonefishing flies, fly tying recipes & fly tying videos

flyfishbonehead is fly fishing in saltwater.  We make Tail Fly fishing Magazine & saltwater fly tying videos too. bonefishing flies & bonefish flies

Snubnose Pompano, Triggerfish & Others

Check out the crustaceans for Pompanos


GIANT TREVALLY
GTs are a common sighting in Indonesia and present in good enough number to target them. A 12 weight is plently of rod for the 10- 25 lbs (~4-12 kg) GTs you’ll encounter most commonly but you need some reinforcements to land them successfully. Use a 12 weight floating line made for GT and larger species that has a 50 lb core rather than a 20 lb core for starters. Your leader should consist of at least 60 lb mono but we highly recommend fluorocarbon in this situation because of the elasticity, strength and invisibility. It’s worth the money for fluoro if you are spending thousands on your trip! The reel should have a sealed drag and made for saltwater fishing. We use the term ‘bomb-proof” which means different things to different people. To us, it means simply a tested & proven reel with the following features: 1. Very few or no moving parts 2. Smooth drag with smooth start-up 3. Sealed drag which will not corrode 4. It will not fail under any circumstance

GTs love poppers and baitfish. Check out the color selections

Barracuda flies - flyfishbonehead fly tying videos

Preferred Guides
Lodges