Wily. Elusive. And big. The silvery shadows hiding just beneath the surface on the shallow flats of Oahu belong to what the locals call ‘ō‘io—giant Hawaiian bonefish. These grey ghosts offer more fight per inch than any other fish in the world.

But fishermen love a challenge, and the chaos of hunting down bonefish on the fly is an addictive pursuit. Once you've felt the thrill of a bonefish ripping through 90 feet of fly line and into your backing in five seconds, catching anything else can be... underwhelming. Claiming a bonefish at the edge of the world, standing thigh-deep on a watery desert horizon is a potent high. Be warned.

While most anglers chasing bonefish head to the Keys, Belize, Bahamas, or Mexico, the ‘ō‘io of Hawaii are even more elusive, offering an exceptionally more difficult (and potentially more satisfying) challenge. They’re shrouded in a sort of mystery and haunted lore. And, maybe because of that, the Hawaiian islands are a less popular bonefish destination. Which is curious, because the roundjaw and sharpjaw species of Hawaii are both longer and heavier than their cousins in the Caribbean, growing up to 16+ lbs. If size matters, this is the place. 

 


 

'Ō'io are more powerful and display different behaviors—rarely traveling in schools and eerily more aware of predatory intentions. Turns out, they’re called “grey ghosts” for a reason. Their ability to blend in with the shadows and sun reflections on a sand flat is otherworldly, and it takes an advanced level of skill and local know-how to seek them out. So on a recent surf trip to Hawaii, we enlisted an expert bonefish guide on Oahu, Captain Jeremy Inman, to help show us the ropes.

Jeremy wasn’t hard to track down. We met him through word of mouth, and discovered there really aren’t many bonefish guides in Hawaii, and even fewer who own a flats boat. Like most guides worth knowing, he’s logged a lot of miles on water and land and has the skill (and tall tales) to show for it. Originally from the Great Lakes, he’s guided at some of the most iconic lodges around the world—including up in King Salmon, Alaska and at the renowned Andros South Lodge in the Bahamas. And after eight years on Oahu, he’s established himself as one of the few bonefish guides on the Hawaiian islands. 

 

Pictured above: Elevate Lightweight Hoodie in Desert Sage, Topogrid Short in Storm Cloud
 

He affirms that Hawaiian bones are particularly “spooky” and is convinced it’s because once they’re caught, they’re often eaten for dinner. In the early days of Hawaii, ‘ō‘io were an important food resource, caught from canoes with hooks or long paloa nets near shore. Today, they’re targeted by a mix of recreational, commercial, and subsistence fishers, so chances of being eaten are pretty high. There’s officially no bag limit and no closed season.

Whether or not these fish actually know what’s at stake—they put up one hell of a fight every single time. “It’s the most difficult version of fly fishing. And I love it,” Jeremy tells us as we head back to shore in his flats boat, sun low in the sky, not a single bonefish to our names.