So...what's a bonefish fly doing on the pages of BTBFF? The answer is easy - Tim Borski's Bonefish Slider is a very effective fly for working rocky areas such as the Long Beach Breakwall, the shoreline along Catalina - basically any place that has gobies or other small bottom-loving baitfish. It's also a decent imitation of several types of small crustaceans. Captain Bryan Webb, of Pacific Coast Flyfishing, is a enthusiastic Slider fisherman, and on our recent trip to the Long Beach Breakwall (see our fishing reports for the LA area), the Slider, in both the orginal tan/brown color, and chartreuse, proved to be the ticket to a consistent pick on both Sand and Calico bass.

"The Slider is just the right size and profile to imitate the gobies that populate the Breakwall. On an incoming tide, the tidal action and the rising water levels flush the gobies out of their hiding places in the rocks, making them easy targets for the bass," notes Captain Webb. The calico and sand bass cruise the edges of the breakwater, and pounce on the hapless gobies as they struggle to get back home.

The usual process for fishing the Slider is:

• Use an extra-fast sinking shooting head (Rio T-14, Scientific Anglers Striper, or leadcore, for example), 6 - 7 ft leader
  
  
• Allow the wind to move the boat parallel to the structure.
  
  
• Cast at a right angle to the structure, as close as possible, and let the fly and line sink (but not too deep!). Work the fly back in 1-2' slow, erratic strips with a little snap at the end of the pull. Let the fly sink as you work it, so that it coasts down the face of the structure. You should strive to get the fly as close to the structure as possible. You'll know you're close enough if you are occasionally getting stuck.
  
  
• Or cast parallel to the structure, and allow the fly to sink as deep as possible. Pull extra line off the reel, and feed it out as the boat drifts. When you reach the bottom, or the level of the fish, work the fly back using the slow strip retrieve described earlier

Gobies are not strong swimmers, so the erratic, move-with-the-current action imparted to the fly by the slow strip and the sinking flyline creates a very realistic motion to the fly.

Bryan fishes Sliders on some fairly stout leader material - typically 12 - 20lb Seguar Fluorocarbon. Not that the fish are that big or spooky, but they do live in some pretty nasty places, and the heavy fluorocarbon leader provides extra abrasion resistance. It also allows him to straighten out the relatively light-wire hooks used in his Sliders if he does get snagged.

And sometimes you do need the extra strength - Capt. Webb's clients have caught-and-released calico bass in excess of 7 lbs on the Slider (well over the current IGFA records), as well as juvenile White Seabass, barracuda, and bonito.

Bryan does not tie his Sliders, prefering to buy off-the-shelf commercial flies, but the pattern is quick and easy to tie. There are a number of websites with tying instructions, such as: FlyTyingWorld.com and TheFlyBench.com. Tim Borski also has an instructional video (see Tim's website). And of course, there are a number of places on-line that sell Sliders, if you can't find them at your local Fly Shop.

Captain Webb's preferred hook sizes range from 2 to 6, and as mentioned earlier, his favorite colors are the natural tan/brown, and chartreuse. Bryan considers the Slider one of his "Go To" patterns, and always takes several dozen with him on a trip to "The Wall". Why don't you give them a shot, and let us know how you do!