Eddie Lepore's Bonito Bandit

By Page Rogers

Ed Lepore, fondly known on Martha’s Vineyard as "Bonito Eddie", is a retired Pratt & Whitney machinist, who lives on the Vineyard May through October, and in Vernon, Connecticut, the rest of the year. Ed lives to fish and spends hours with his good friend Don MacGillivray plying the waters of Middle Ground, West Chop and the North Shore for huge bass. But when the water warms to that magic temperature of 68 degrees, Ed leaves his bass tackle on shore and begins to hunt for his favorite quarry, the Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda). Ed developed this fly after a timeless old Vineyard classic, the Bonito Bandit. He improved and simplified the old fly, and made it more durable, and more fishable, by putting it on a standard shank hook. Ed fishes this fly with a clear intermediate line. The neutral buoyancy of the materials helps this fly stay suspended near the surface of the quieter waters in and around the Vineyard. Fished there, during bonito season, it helps mimic the abundant sand eels and silversides in Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. Many guides I know reach for this fly when bass fishing on the flats and rips. My buddies and I have used this fly for years fishing the Race and the areas around Valiant Rock and Little Gull in Long Island Sound. In fact, this fly is likely destined to become one of your most reliable friends. It will help you find and take just about anything that swims, so just don’t save it for the bones, use it all the time. And tip your rod to Bonito Ed when you hook up.

Ed ties this fly commercially for Larry’s Tackle Shop in Edgartown, Massachusetts, and it is available through the shop (508/627-5088).

Materials List
Thread:	Danville’s Flat Waxed Nylon – White
Hook:	TMC 811S, Daiichi 2546, Gamakatsu SC15, Mustad 34007, Mustad 7766, Partridge Sea Prince #1/0 - 2
Tail:	4 thin white saddle hackles
Body:	Bill’s Bodi-Braid – Pearl
Belly & Wing:	White bucktail – very sparse
Head:	White thread – coated with epoxy
Gill:	Red tying thread, or a single strand of red Krystal Flash
Eyes:	Witchcraft 2mm – silver

Step One

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Tie on tying thread, and cover the entire hook shank with thread, then coat it with head cement. Tie on four thin white saddle hackles, tie them in short, the hackles only 1˝ x the length of the hook shank. Then put a drop of Dave’s Flexament right on the base of the saddle hackles. This makes them stiff, yet flexible, to prevent fouling. Allow the Flexament to dry completely before continuing to the next step.

Step Two

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With the tying thread between the hook point and barb, tie in a strip of pearl Bill’s Bodi-Braid. Cover the hook shank with Flexament, move the thread to the hook eye, and wrap the Bodi-Braid along the shank to the hook eye, and tie it off.

Step Three

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Tie in white bucktail, sparsely, for both the wing and the belly, and build the thread head of the fly.

Step Four

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Tie in a single strand of red Krystal Flash or red thread for gills, then make several wraps and tie it off. Attach silver 2mm eyes. Coat the entire head with epoxy.

Finished Pattern

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Reel -Time