The fish come up onto the flats with the incoming tide and feed their way toward the mangroves. As the tide floods the mangroves, the fish enter and feed on crabs and snails in and around the mangrove roots. Fishermen catch the incoming tide, searching for tailing fish, marked by their tails and dorsal fins breaking the surface as the bonefish stick their noses into the soft flats bottom and suck crabs and other bottom foods into their mouths. If the fly works, the bonefish charges it as the fisherman retrieves in 2-inch pulls on the line. The bonefish takes the fly and the fisherman lifts the rod to set the hook and the fish is hooked.
Runs usually take the line off the reel and into the backing.
A 10-pound bonefish can take from 100 to 200 yards of backing before halting. A second run usually takes about 50 yards of backing. The limiting factors for the contestants here are many. The 8-pound tippet maximum means large fish can run long and line drag can create enough pressure to break the tippet. Overcast skies can restrict the angler and guide's vision so severely that sighting fish can become impossible.