By Danny Sauvageau of Dan's Custom Flys
I have spent a lot of time in fly shops, club meetings and other fishing events; and the questions I am asked the most
about by other fisherman is, "where can I go to catch fish without a boat?" I too was without a boat for many years
in the Tampa Bay area, and I asked the same question many times. There are many great wade fishing spots
that hold fish sometimes, and are a ghost town other times. Here are some good tips to put the odds in your favor.
The first thing
to look for on any grass flats is clear water. When the water gets stirred
up it is hard for the fish to find
food so they
go looking for clearer water , and so should you. The wind as allot to
do with the water clarity.
Wind blowing
in from the deeper water pushes in dirty water on to the grass flats. Try
to fish on the leeward
side of the
shore and islands. Flats with good tidal flow will clear up faster than
those without.
The most important
element of fishing the grass flats is understanding the TIDES! The incoming
tide (not high tide)
is by far
the best tide in almost every fishing situation for wade fishing Redfish
and Seatrout. All of my fishing
plans are
targeted to start in conjunction with the incoming tide. I like to find
when the tide is dead low, and
then start
fishing. Low tide cuts down the area that you have search to find fish.
At the lowest of tides the fish will be
on the edge
of the flats where the water drops off and in deeper holes waiting for
the tide to raise and sound the
diner bell.
When the tide is low you can have 4 to 6 hours of incoming tide to fish
before the tide stops and goes out.
The wind,
weather, and moon phases can have an effect on the height and strength
of the tides.
A good wade
fishing "game plan" is to start fishing on the low end of the tide and
follow the rising water in with
the fish.
One of the reasons the incoming tide is the best, is as the water rises
the fish come up onto the flat,
spreading
out to look for food that was safely hidden in the grass or below the ground.
The incoming tide also
brings clearer
water onto the flat and a change in water temperature.
What does all
this mean to you? As I said before, it puts the odds in your favor. When
the fish move around looking
for food,
you will get more shots at putting your fly on a fishes dinner plate. It
also means the hardest thing to find in
fishing (
HUNGRY FISH!) is taken care of.
There are times
and places were an outgoing tide can be good, but for the most part,
as the water leaves the
shallow grass
flats, so do the fish. If you can only fish when to get the time check
the tides, and adjust your tactics
and locations
to the tide. If the tide is going out find an area that the fish will move
into as the water drops;
like the edge
of the flat where the bottom drops off or the mouth of a channel that cuts
into the flat.
If by some chance you
see me on a grass flat during an outgoing tide,
please come by and
give me a hand because my boat is probably stuck! 
P.S. Be a fisherman,
not a wisherman.
SALTWATER
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