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Wading In The Winter

Tribune File Photo (2006)

Using a boat to reach distant flats adds choices to wadefishing locations, but there are numerous areas around Tampa Bay that can be accessed without any sort of vessel.

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By FRANK SARGEANT

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 11, 2009

Updated:

Wadefishing seems as if it should be a summer pursuit, an escape from heat akin to a dip in the surf. But for expert waders, winter is the season for which they wait.

Redfish, trout, sheepshead and even snook prowl the shallows from November through March, and the tides are so low, the water so clear, that sight-fishing becomes almost easy.

Well, maybe not easy. It's never easy fooling a 3-foot-long fish in a foot of water. But the opportunities are there, and for skilled and patient anglers it's the most rewarding fishing of the year. Spotting a redfish tail 200 yards away and creeping within casting distance is one of the ultimate challenges in flats angling, but there are a lot of chances to play out this scenario every day along Florida's west coast in winter.

The big advantage of the winter months is tide levels.

The low tides are at their maximum in winter to begin with, particularly around the new and full moons. Also, because after the frequent cold fronts strong winds blow out of the northeast, sometimes for several days, you get miles of extreme shallows where a redfish can't flip a fin without being seen. The wind literally blows the water off the flats along the east side of major bays such as Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, forcing remaining fish into the few pot holes and cuts and creating a "fish soup" for those able to reach them.

You can't get at the best areas in most boats; the water is simply too shallow to float anything but a kayak or an airboat. Wading, on the other hand, gives access to the shallowest areas, and it does so without any fish-scaring ruckus.

The trick is to hit the bottom half of a falling tide and wade a flat with a reasonably hard bottom. Much of the South Shore area from Apollo Beach to Anna Maria Island is perfect, as are the backwaters of Turtle Bay and Bull Bay on the north side of Charlotte Harbor.

The hard bottom is important, because that's what makes wading possible. There are some great flats in Pine Island Sound, for example, that are not wadeable. The fish are there, but the bottom is covered in up to 2 feet of soft muck.

It's common for fish to move into the sloughs and run-outs as the tide drops. These might be 2 feet deep when the surrounding waters are 6 to 10 inches deep - not much difference, but the fish know where they are and know that shrimp, crabs and baitfish will be flowing out with the tide.

As low water nears, the current slows and fish are more likely to move out into open grazing areas. You'll see redfish tailing most often during this period, and you might see trout or snook popping bait, sometimes in grass that looks thick enough to plow.

And on the lowest part of the tide, you might find fish stacked just beyond the outside bar, usually within 50 feet of a slough. The water on the outside is often glass clear and has few weeds, so stealth and long casts are a must, but you might find fish when they are nowhere else to be seen.

The best offerings for waders are typically plastic shrimp, weedless jerk baits, small swim baits or floating plugs. Live shrimp also work well but are hard to cast the distances sometimes required. Most anglers use light spinning gear, loaded with 8- to 10-pound-test microfiber line plus a foot or two of 20-pound-test clear mono or fluorocarbon.

Fly-rodders do well with 2-inch streamers in black or copper. Clouser patterns are popular, fished on 6- to 8-weight floating lines.

Sheepshead are also abundant on the flats at times, and when they are tailing they are among the most challenging of all fish, even more nervous than bonefish in the Florida Keys. It's necessary to cast a live shrimp uptide of them and let them swim to the scent. Landing a bait or lure close to them results in an instant escape.

Oddly, sheepshead are among the stupidest flats fish when they drop into a rocky hole. There, you often can stand in one spot and catch a dozen by making repeat casts with a quarter-ounce jig head tipped with half a shrimp. The deeper water is key.

Whatever the target, getting down into the habitat and using all your skills to connect make winter wadefishing special. The fact that it's so effective is just a bonus.

Correspondent Frank Sargeant can be reached at franksargeant@bellsouth.net.

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