The bonefish is the type species of the Albulidae, or bonefishes. It is amphidromous, living in inshore tropical waters, moving onto shallow tidal flats to feed with the incoming tide, and retreating to deeper water as the tide ebbs. Juvenile bonefish may be observed in large shoals of like-sized individuals with large mature fish swimming in smaller groups or in pairs. Bonefish are considered to be among the world's premier game fish and are highly sought after by anglers. Bonefish are primarily caught for sport. They are not commonly eaten. In Hawaii, bonefish known as ʻōʻio are eaten.

Range
Bonefish are found worldwide in warm seas. The fish are caught by sport anglers in shallows near Sanbis Resort in Gizo in the Solomon Islands. The abundant sand flats surrounding Christmas Island are prime bonefishing destinations for anglers from all over the world.  The South Florida area of Biscayne Bay to Islamorada is known for having some of the largest Bonefish in the world.

Description
Largest Bonefish caught in Florida is 16 pounds 3 ounces, Length to 104 cm. Silvery in colour with dusky fins—the bases of the pectoral fins are yellow. Heavily schooling fish, with some of the larger individuals traveling singly or in schools.
The bonefish, also known as phantom or gray ghost, is probably pound for pound the strongest and fastest running salt-water fish. Bonefishing is a shallow-water pursuit done in depths ranging from 8 inches to 8 feet. Flats sporting currents; dropoffs along the edge and clean, healthy seagrass beds produce adundante small crabs and shrimps that bonefish prey upon. Bonefish are known to follow stingrays, looking for small prey items disturbed by the rooting stingrays.

The Permit, Trachinotus falcatus, is a game fish of the western Atlantic ocean belonging to the Carangidae family. Adults feed on crabs, shrimp, and smaller fish. The species name for the Permit, falcatus, is a Latin adjective, which roughly means "armed with scythes."

This serves as a reference to the Permit's dorsal fin that occasionally protrudes from the water water when schools of Permit feed near the surface.

Description
Permits can be distinguished by their elongated dorsal fins and anterior fin. The dorsal fin is shaped like a scythe. Permit tails are also deeply forked, and their bodies are compressed laterally, making the fish tall and thin when viewed from the front.
The average Permit has six to seven dorsal spines, and eighteen to twenty one soft rays. The anal fin has two to three spines, and sixteen to eighteen soft rays. Both dorsal and anal fins have dark, anterior lobes. Permits have no scutes and have a large, orange-yellow patch on their abdomens in front of their anal fins, while their pectoral fins are dark.

Permit are known for their exceptional long runs and relentless fights on light tackle in the Florida Keys.  For inshore anglers Permit generally can be found on the flats during the warmer times of the year and are targeted using 10 to 20 pound class lines or 9-10 weight fly rods.

Distribution and habitat
Permit are usually found in shallow, tropical waters such as flats, channels, and muddy bottoms. They are usually seen as individuals or in small schools. Although Permit are found close to shore and even in some brackish areas, they spawn offshore. Young Permit are found usually in the surf zone where there are plenty of small invertebrates for them to feed on.
Permit are found in the western Atlantic ocean from Massachusetts to Brazil, including most of the Caribbean islands.

The tarpons are large coastal fish prized by anglers. They grow up to 8 feet (2.4 m) in length and sometimes weigh 200 pounds (91 kg). When swimming in oxygen-poor water, tarpons can breathe air from the surface. There are two species in a single genus Megalops in the family Megalopidae, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.
The genus name derives from the Greek adjective megalo meaning 'large', and the noun opsi, meaning 'face'.

Tarpon are superb sport, with a long-lasting, powerful fight generally including several leaps. While edible, they are seldom eaten, as their flesh is considered too oily to be palatable.

Atlantic tarpon
The Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers. It feeds on various fish and crabs. It is capable of filling its swim bladder with air and absorbing oxygen from it. Specimens have been recorded at up to 250 centimetres (98 in) in length and weighing up to 161 kilograms (350 lb). The Atlantic tarpon is also known as the silver king.
In appearance, it is greenish or bluish on top, and silver on the sides. The large mouth is turned upwards, and the lower jaw contains an elongated bony plate. The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, reaching nearly to the tail.
The Atlantic tarpon is found in the Atlantic ocean typically in tropical and subtropical regions, though it has been reported as far north as Nova Scotia and the atlantic coast of Southern France, and as far south as Argentina. As with all Elopiformes it is found in coastal area, spawning at sea. Diet includes smaller fish and crustaceans. It is the official state saltwater fish of Alabama.

Fishing for tarpon
The tarpon is considered one of the great saltwater game fishes, not only because of the size it can reach and its accessible haunts, but because of its fighting spirit when hooked; it is very strong, making spectacular leaps into the air. The flesh is undesirable and bony. In Florida and Alabama, a special permit is required to kill and keep a tarpon, so most tarpon fishing there is catch-and-release. Although a variety of methods are used to fish for tarpon (bait, lure and fly on spinning, conventional or fly rod), the method that has garned the most acclaim is flats fishing with a fly rod. It is a sport akin to hunting, combining the best elements of hunting with fishing. A normal tarpon fly rod outfit uses 10-12 weight rods and reels, spooled with appropriate line and using a class leader tippet of 12–20 pounds (5.4–9.1 kg). Truly light tackle fishing where the fish may weigh 10 times or more than the breaking strength of the leader! Typically an angler stations himself on the bow of a shallow water boat known as a 'flats skiff' and with the aid of a guide searches for incoming tarpon on the flats (inshore areas of the ocean that are very shallow, typically no more than 3–4 feet (0.91–1.2 m) deep). When a school or pod of tarpon is sighted, the guide positions the boat to intercept the fish.

The angler usually has no more than 6-10 seconds to false cast out enough flyline and make an accurate cast to these fast moving fish. Accuracy and speed are paramount but the task is compounded by the inevitable excitement and nervousness of seeing a school of fish that may top 180 pounds (82 kg) bearing down on the angler. Once the cast is made, the fly is retrieved and hopefully a tarpon inhales the fly. The hookset is difficult due to the hard mouth of the fish which has been likened to the hardness of concrete. For that reason many tarpon throw the hook on the first few jumps and so many times it is asked of an angler "how many tarpon did you jump?" rather than how many they caught. If the hook stays secure, then the fight is on. Tarpon have tremendous endurance and are one of the most exciting gamefish to fight - frequent spectacular jumps, long runs, and stubborn bulldogging are all part of the game. Although an experienced and skillful tarpon angler, can usually land a tarpon in less than an hour, the average angler usually takes longer, anywhere from an hour to more than three hours.

Another popular method is using lures or bait on heavy spinning or conventional gear. Many anglers prefer this as a more surefire method to catch tarpon. Usually the reels are filled with line from 30 to 80 pounds (14 to 36 kg) test although 50 pounds (23 kg) seems to be the most popular. Although a great deal of fun, the outcome is less often in doubt, unlike fly fishing with light 20 pounds (9.1 kg) test, and getting a tarpon to take a crab, mullet or pinfish is easier than an artificial fly. The International Sábalo (tarpon) Fishing Tournament is held every May in Tecolutla on Mexico's Costa Esmeralda.

The Centropomidae are a single genus family of freshwater and marine fishes in Order Perciformes, including the common snook or róbalo, Centropomus undecimalis. Prior to 2004, three other genera were placed in Centropomidae in subfamily Latinae, which has since been raised to the family level and renamed Latidae because a cladistic analysis showed the old Centropomidae to be paraphyletic. Each of the four species (fat, swordspine, common, and tarpon) can be easily identified by their lateral black line. They are good tablefare, and are a sought after gamefish but tricky to catch.

Dating from the upper Cretaceous, the centropomids are of typical percoid shape, distinguished by having two-part dorsal fins, a lateral line that extends onto the tail, and, frequently, a concave shape to the head. They range from 35 centimetres (14 in) to 120 centimetres (47 in) in length and are found in tropical and subtropical waters.

Source SnookFoundation.org
Where found:
From central Florida and off Galveston,Texas south to Rio DeJaniero, Brazil. Snook cannot tolerate water temperatures below 60 degrees F for long. Usually inshore in coastal and brackish or fresh waters, along mangrove shorelines, seawalls, and bridges; also on reefs and pilings nearshore. As juveniles, they prefer brackish water or freshwater habitats, but they must spawn in seawater (common snook eggs are not viable in salinities below ~ 28 parts per thousand, ppt). Although billions of eggs are currently released each year by spawning females, the loss of juvenile nursery habitat imperils future snook generations.

Prey Species and Bait Selection
Voracious ambush hunters, snook feed on small fish and crustaceans. Cannibalistic as juveniles, they have been observed eating pleicostomaus (asian catfish), a non native species that has invaded FL freshwater streams and lakes. Successful live baits include mullet, pinfish and sand brim. Snook foundation recommends use of circle hooks with a target bead for live bait. Strong enough line and leader to prevent break offs and reel in fish quickly will increase release survival. A number of live and artifical baits and approaches are successful. Read more about snook fishing in specific venues.

Juvenile Habitat
Many saltwater fish species have high juvenile survival only every few years. These occasional good years serve to maintain the adult population. You may have noticed this when fishing – your catch is dominated by a particular size (age) of fish, with only occasional smaller (younger) or larger (older) fish caught. For fish that live a long time, high juvenile survival in one year can maintain a high adult population size for many years. However, this means we won’t see the decline in population until older fish begin to die off without being replaced - by then we may be decades too late. This is one of the reasons Snook Foundation places Juvenile Habitat Research and Protection as a top priority.