South Florida's inshore waters consist of numerous areas of 1-6' of water which are considered Flats. Fishing the Flats is ALL advantage to the fish which rely on the crystal clear water, grass beds and the affect that a pin dropped on the deck of your boat will warn them that an angler is near. Many anglers fish the Flats one time and find that it is not for them as their success rates are low. The Flats hold numerous species of Trophy game fish which will make any reel scream. Snook, Trout, Redfish and Tarpon are the main species sought after in our area around Stuart Florida.
3 years ago I came to S. Florida with an offshore charter service and after a year or so we decided to enlarge our business a little more by adding a Flats boat to our arsenal. The first few months were hard and we spent MANY days fishing the Flats if for nothing more than practice for our clients who want to catch fish. We noticed that the slightest noise would cause a large swell of a fish rushing to deeper water to get away from us. We also noticed that your shadow in the water would also cause fish to rush into the deep grass beds. With taking all this into consideration we soon started working on ways to become more successful on the Flats. We are now one of the most successful Flats guide services in our area. Trophy fish are not uncommon to our boat and we are always looking for other ways to put another on the boat. Here are just some of the methods we now use to provide the best service available.
We always take advantage of early morning low light conditions to stalk the shallower waters of the Flats. At this time we are primarily casting into the Mangroves and shoreline in 1' or less of water which consistently holds BIG fish that are there looking for an easy meal on baitfish. After the sun comes up over the mangroves this advantage is lost and making the water temps warmer in the shallows making the fish move to deeper water. At this time the bait schools are usually working in 2-4' of water and the fish are ALWAYS there looking for a quick meal. We move out to work the edges of the schools throwing lures that are roughly the same size as the fish being fed upon. Remember, do NOT go into the bait schools as this will scatter them and the BIG fish you are hoping to catch. Also remember that due to the depth of the water that loud movement on your boat will send sound waves to the bottom which will go out a few hundred feet from your boat spooking everything around. Once the sun hits a higher direction your body will cast more of a shadow upon the water, so even though working the bow of the boat is usually one of the best spots it may benefit you to stand towards the back of the boat so your shadow casts upon the boat and not the water. Pay attention to this and see where your shadow lies. These fish will take off to someplace else if all of a sudden it's bright and sunny and then darkness comes over them. So standing at the back of the boat and casting forward is not always a bad idea, especially when big fish are involved, remember they did not get that big for being dumb.