Bonefish in Tampa Bay? It’s possible to catch the rare species, Florida anglers say

In a recent conversation with a friend, angler Darren Montoto brought up a rare species around west central Florida.

“We were talking about bonefish caught in Tampa Bay,” Montoto recalled. “He lives on the Nature Coast and he told me he’s heard people have been catching them in the Bay. I didn’t really believe it.”

Two weeks later, he experienced the phenomenon first hand.

The occurrence came together after the strong October cold front swept across Florida. Montoto took advantage of the slow time at work to head out on the water in his new boat while fishing with a friend Anthony Lodato. Running an air conditioning business meant the cool weather kept his business phone quiet.

“When not working all I do is fish. Normally we head out for redfish, snook and that stuff. We went out when that front was coming through and man was it cold. That’s when I like to fish near power plants and warm water outflows in Tampa Bay.”

Working near the shores of an upper Tampa Bay power plant Montoto worked a No Live Bait Needed mullet colored paddle tail on a 1/4-ounce jig head. When it was eaten and the fish took a run he thought it was his target.

“I hooked it and that drag was singing. I said ‘I finally got a snook.’ It kept running and running and running until I pulled it up by the boat,” Montoto said.

“Once I got it near the boat, I seen that it was a bonefish and said ‘Holy (expletive) it’s a bonefish! I cannot lose this fish.’ At the same time I’m fighting off a dolphin that was stalking us and trying to eat it. The dolphins are crazy out there.”

Slowly working it to the boat as the hungry dolphin kept a watchful eye on its hopeful meal, Montoto got the rare catch into the boat. After a quick picture, he realized the only hope for a successful release was to get away from the aquatic mammal.

“We had to leave the area, I wanted to make sure it lived when I released it. We went down about 100 yards. The dolphins will come up and eat the fish you hook. As soon as you start fishing they show up, and I didn’t want that for this. My main objective was getting it released safely.”

Driving away worked, and the bonefish was returned to its Tampa Bay home.

As they continued to fish, nearly five minutes later Lodato hooked into another unique species of the Bay.

“That was a permit, which was cool to go with the bonefish. We catch such a diverse line of fish you never really know what you’ll see.”

The memory of the bonefish caught in Tampa Bay will stick with the duo, something only a handful of anglers can say they’ve accomplished.

This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 7:00 AM.