flats fishing

Flyfishingthe flats

One of the most exciting aspectsof salt-water flyfishing would have to be flyfishing the flats-without a doubt. Flats’ fishing offers a broad spectrum ofspecies and skills and can be one of the most demanding, butrewarding aspects of flyfishing. In this article, we will coverthe necessary aspects of flats fishing to get you started, andfor the more experienced, hopefully give you that extra edge onthe flats.

Flats fishing can be describedas casting (majority is sight casting) to fish that are alreadyon edge because of the skinny waters they are in. This is usuallywater from ankle deep to about a metre in depth. In most casesthe deepest you should be fishing will be around knee deep.Flyfishing the flats is huge overseas in places like Florida(where the main species targeted include bonefish, tarpon, andpermit-more on these at a later stage) but is still in itsinfancy in Australia. For me, this is hard to understand as ourflats offer a heap of opportunities for the fly fisher and wouldhave to be my number one choice for flyfishing.

Characteristics of sand flatsmay change depending on your geographical position, however thefunction of the flats, the species available and their behaviourare fairly common throughout North Queensland. The flats I fishare characterized by deeper outer gutters, or open water (usuallycontaining large bommies ), which then lead to an intertidal zonethat tends to be covered in coral rubble, or sea grass. This thenusually leads into a plain sandy bottom that can run to theshoreline, or up into mangrove lined banks. This part of theflats (from the intertidal zone up) usually has food sources suchas small baitfish, crabs, yabbies, shrimps, worms, squid, andsand lice, to mention just a few. As you may have alreadydeduced- a virtual smorgasbord for many species of fish, andgiven the fact that it lies out of water for half of the day, itcan be a very furious feeding area when covered with the risingtide. But wait-don’t run away yet and go flats fishing- letslook at what you will need and what to look for when you’rethere.

“You must think like a fishto regularly catch fish”. If you haven’t heard thatbefore, commit it to your memory as I believe it is the mostimportant piece of information you need, not just for the flatsbut for all aspects of fishing. With this in mind, lets firstlylook at some of the more common species (namely trevally,queenfish and flathead) you can expect to find on the flats. Mostpeople I talk to are amazed at some of the fish that can besighted on the flats and don’t stop to think that big fishalso go into shallow water for a feed- if the food is there, thefish will be there.

Trevally: It is notuncommon to see big trevally cruising in waters so skinny thatthey are pushing some serious bow waves. These larger fishhowever are usually loners and are very wary of anything that isout of the norm. Small trevally on the other hand, are verycommon on our Northern flats and are often encountered in largeschools milling around isolated rocks or mangrove banks-schoolgt’s, and golden trevally would be the two most commonspecies found in good numbers. These smaller trevally are on theflats to dine on either small bait fish, shrimps, or crabs andyabbies as a general rule and are a lot easier to catch thantheir bigger and wiser relatives, so if you’re new to thegame, target the smaller ones. To find the trevally, look aroundthe mangroves and rocky edges and keep an eye out for showeringor nervous bait. Once you have found them, it is a simple matterof casting slightly ahead of the school with a fly that issimilar to the bait they are feeding on and either let it sink alittle or “strip” the fly slowly back. Don’tretrieve the fly through the school or fast strip the fly- thisis not natural on the flats and will almost guarantee spookingthe fish.

Trevally can also be sightedcruising by looking for ripples, or bow waves on the water, or bylooking for greyish colour and flashes in the water, as thisgives the school away. It is also handy to keep a keen eye outfor cloudy or stirred bottom as this means the fish are/have beenfeeding on the bottom and are in the mood to eat. Another telltale give away is the sight of tails sticking out of the waterand this is sure to make any fly fishers’ heart skip a fewbeats. (Trevally are one of many species that will do this on theflats, but unlike the other species, trevally are a lot easier tocatch). It is a simple case of casting the fly next to thetailing fish and letting it sink, then give it a slight twitchand leave it sit still, if nothing happens give it anothertwitch. In most cases, a correctly presented fly is like droppinga junior burger in front of a five-year old- they’re goingto eat it, no questions asked.

Flathead: Much hasalready been written on the humble flathead so I will not go intomuch detail here. Basically, they are a fish that spend themajority of their time on the bottom in ambush mode and will waitin lie for an easy feed to pass by. If you want to target them,find drop offs or some type of difference in bottom structure, asthis becomes an ambush point. It is then a simple case of castinga weighted fly like the Clouser minnow, letting it sink and thentwitching it slowly back, allowing it to kick up sand on the way(the fly must be on or near the bottom). If there is a flatheadaround, the chances are that it will pounce on it in an instant.These are a great fish to start on due to their simplicity tocatch and their fighting ability on light tackle.

Queenfish: Queenfish aremostly found patrolling the outer edges or where there is a goodcurrent as these two places will hold the bait. Having said that,you will encounter them on the flats but they are also very warylike all the species, and need a little extra attention comparedto targeting them in deeper waters. Usually these fish travel inschools but are often sighted on the flats as a pair or onlysingle fish. I believe the main reason for this is that when theymove up onto the flats, they spread out to go searching for food,as it may not be in such a concentrated area as the outer edgesor where there is some current. Casting ahead of the fish using abaitfish profile fly and then stripping it at a moderate to fastpace will often draw a strike. Look out for bow waves and castahead of these, allowing the fly to sink a little so it may beseen easily by the fish. Queenfish will also go crazy over apopper in the skinny waters provided it is cast slightly ahead ofthe leading fish and not stripped too fast- as always there aresome exceptions to the rule and sometimes a fast strip isrequired. These fish are also a little harder to set the hook onin skinny water and generally you need to be sure to set the hookwell at the start. Once hooked, they usually go head down andstart shaking around vigorously trying to dislodge the hook onthe bottom instead of running and jumping wildly, as is the casein deeper waters.

Equipment:To truly enjoy the whole experience and to have some successwhile on the flats it is vital to have the correct equipment andto ensure that it is well maintained and set up correctly. Byequipment, I am talking about rods, reels, lines, leaders, andone that is often overlooked- clothing/accessories.

Fly rods: Because thefish you are targeting are spooked very easily, it is necessaryto use a lightweight rod and line so as it doesn’t make toomuch of a disturbance on the water. On the other end of theequation you still need a rod with some fighting strength whenplaying larger fish like the bigger trevally and queenfish toname just two. There will also be days when the wind is blowingat least 20knots, which can make it difficult to cast lightweightrods and lines. With all this in mind, there are two rod weightcategories I would recommend.

The first is a 6/7weight forlight presentations to wary fish. These rods can still cast a flyline some distance into a 20knot wind and have a surprisingamount of power when its most needed. Of course there are somevery sloppy 6/7weight rods around and it is important to chooseone wisely (there are some out there that are not veryexpensive). I would love to name some of the brands here but feelit would be unfair to other distributors, however, if you wantmore information, get in contact with me and I will help.

The second type of rod would bethe 8/9weight. These rods have that little bit extra needed tocast larger flies, and to cast into stronger winds. Thedifference is also apparent when it comes to fighting larger fishas you can put a little extra pressure on to stop that fishbefore its too late. Choosing a good 8/9weight rod is just likeany other and there are some that won’t do the job as wellas they should. Keep in mind that these two weights of rods arerecommendations only and there may be times when a lighter orheavier weight rod may do a better job.

Fly lines: Choosing agood quality fly line is just as important (sometimes more) ashaving the right weight rod. When you consider that the majorityof your flats fishing will occur in waters averaging knee deepthen it makes line choice fairly easy. If you were limited to onesingle line, then the floating line would be the most practical.One of the many benefits with the floating line is that it stayson top of the water and away from sharp rocks and coral, whichwill reduce a good line to nothing in no time at all. Keep inmind also that just because the line floats, the fly doesn’thave to. By using sinking flies such as the baitfish patterns andClousers, and using a long leader, you can still fish a fly on ornear the bottom in a metre or more of water with a floating line.When using crab and shrimp patterns (for example), it is betterto use a line that will sink slowly or stay on the bottom. Theclear intermediate lines would be the wise choice here as theysink slowly and keep the fly on the bottom, especially when onthe flats. Fast sink lines are better suited to deeper waters orwhere there is a strong current. There are a heap of newdevelopments with fly lines now and you can even buy floatinglines with clear sinking tips, which are perfect for flatsfishing.

One other point worthy ofmention here is that the heat and humidity in North Queenslandwill dramatically affect a lines performance. Most lines tend toget ‘sticky’ or the outer coating may crack and dry outprematurely. Both these factors will restrict your casting andcan make for an unpleasant day on the water. To ensure your linemaintains it’s optimum performance, make sure you regularlyclean and ‘dress’ it with a recommended dressing (somepeople use hair conditioner or Armoral to dress/coat their linesand have had no problems with them). To be on the safe side,check with your tackle store staff to ensure you get the righttypes of lines, cleaners, and dressings.

Fly reels: There are manyfly reels available today that are sufficient for chasing themajority of species on the flats. When looking at saltwater flyreels there are basically four categories you should use indetermining the suitability of the reel for saltwater use. Theymust be able to hold a sufficient amount of backing (at least200metres) and a full length fly line. The drag system must besmooth and perform consistently. The reel should be durableenough to handle saltwater conditions. The reel should also besuitably matched to the weighting of your rod and fly line. Ifyour reel has these characteristics then it will make your job awhole lot easier.

Leaders: For thebeginners out there, the leader is the length of monofilamentline that joins the fly line to the fly. It serves many purposes,but two of the most important are; to provide the weak link inyour terminal tackle so the mono will break before the fly line,or the rod, if excess pressure is put on the fish (cheapinsurance when you think about it). 2- to keep the fly away fromthe fly line and avoid spooking the fish. The later is veryimportant when fishing the flats because as I have mentioned manytimes the fish are already very aware of their environment whenin skinny water. To avoid spooking the fish, the leader needs tobe of adequate length, and the line used must be as invisible asyou can get. The safe bet is to use a fluorocarbon leader atleast 10foot long. Another useful idea is the tapered or bionicleader as this not only helps to roll the fly out, but also formsa cushion or spring in your line which is quite useful whenfishing light leaders as it helps to avoid line breakage due tohard-impact strikes. These may look really complicated but can becompletely tied in under 5minutes per leader. A shock tippet issometimes required to avoid being bitten off, or from abrasivemouths wearing through the line while fighting the fish. This isdone simply by joining a heavier piece of mono (1-2foot is heaps)to the end of the leader via a surgeon’s knot (or a similarknot of your choice). To give you an idea of the whole deal, fora general purpose leader I use a 10-12foot bionic leader of12pound fluorocarbon, and if the need be, tie on a 20-30poundfluorocarbon shock tippet.

Clothing/accessories: Asyou may have already picked up in this article, I can not stressenough the importance of being invisible-this means seeing thefish before they see you. Besides the obvious, there are a fewthings you can do to improve your chances on the flats. Some ofthese are for your comfort and some are to make you lessvisible/obvious on the flats. For your own benefit wear polaroidsunglasses when sight fishing and buy the best you can afford-itreally does make a huge difference. For bright sunny days, theblue lenses are good and for the overcast days, use thebrown/smoke lenses. Try to make sure your clothing is of aneutral colour and that you have nothing bright that is going toreflect the sunlight. It also pays to wear long sleeve shirts anda good hat especially up here in the tropics. If you’rewading, wear wading boots with a good sole (talking about soles,I’m still looking for the one’s with the ‘r’on them that my friend recommended to me years ago). All jokesaside, I speak from experience sitting here at the computer withfour oyster cuts on my feet because I forgot my wading boots lasttime.

Techniques

Stealth: When fishing theflats, a lot of your time will be spent stalking and sightingfish before you cast to them. Because of this you need to be surenot to make any sudden movements. This refers to wading and alsoto your casting- if you’re waving the rod around and makinga noise in the water you may as well pack up and go home straightaway-you’ve blown it. If you are fishing form a boat,don’t use your motor. Movement is best done via an electricmotor or by ‘poling’ the boat. Not alerting the fish toyour presence and being on the alert yourself is the key. A mateof mine summed it up really well when he explained that youhad to be so quiet that you could hear a crab fart at a hundredpaces and see the sand kick up as a result.

Dynamics: Most of theflats are exposed at low tide and this is a good time to go for awalk to look for signs of past fish activity and bait such ascrabs and yabbies. This will also give you an idea of where theheaviest fish activity will be once the tide does turn. The besttime to fish the flats is on the first of the rising tide. Thisis peak feeding and activity time for the fish as they are movingonto the flats in search of a feed, and it is at this stage ofthe tide when you are most likely to sight tailing fish.

Casting: When you havesighted fish, make sure your casting and presentations are spoton first time as you may only get one shot before the schoolmoves on, or worse still, spooks. Be sure to present the fly aslightly as possible on the water and well ahead of the fish ifthey are cruising. If you are casting to tailing fish you can putthe fly closer to the fish.

Strip/no strip: Strippingwill impart action into the fly and sometimes this is needed, yetthere are other occasions when the fly is better left absolutelystill. The decision is usually made depending on the fish andtheir feeding behaviour. If you are casting to tailing fish, thenthey will be feeding on either crabs, yabbies, or sand worms-none of these things will try and out run a fish so no strippingis needed. When casting to moving fish or fish chasing bait, usea bait fish profile fly such as the deceiver, polar fibre minnow,or crazy charlie to imitate the bait. In this situation, you maybe required to strip the fly to give it the impression of tryingto flee from being eaten.

Flies to use: Whentargeting the majority of species it is usually a simple case ofusing bait fish profiles such as the Deceiver, or Polar Fibreminnow. If you can get a good look at the bait that’s evenbetter as you can then match the fly to the size and colours ofthe bait. If the fish are feeding on the bottom then choose a flythat will imitate the bait there. Clouser minnows are a safe bet,as are Crazy Charlies. If you want to go even further, you canuse crab or shrimp flies if you know what they are feeding on.Another fly that is fairly new to the market (especially in NorthQueensland) and is proving to be a winner on the flats is the“Bucket”. This fly can represent many of the baitsfound on the flats including shrimp, crabs and small baitfish.The ‘bucket’ is a very versatile fly because of themany uses it has, the types of bait it can represent, and themany ways it can be fished. Poppers are yet another choice forthe flats and can provide for some exceptional fishing. As withall flies, their success will depend on the species you aretargeting and the way in which you fish the fly. In most cases, apopper blooped slowly across the water and left to rest forintermittent pauses will almost certainly draw a strike fromspecies such as trevally, and queenfish.

Hooking and playing fish:Providing your hooks are kept sharp, setting the hook is a simplematter of ‘strip striking’ the fish. This is donefirstly by simply stripping the line, then taking the weight ofthe fish on the rod by moving it in a sideways motion. Once thehook is set you can play the fish on the line. If the fishdecides to run, keep some pressure on the line as it takes ituntil the line is on the reel. Once the line is on the reel, thedrag will come into play and should have already been set for theline class you are using. Because of the nature of the flats, andthe room the fish will have to run, there is usually little needto try and stop the fish from running, and it is a case ofplaying the fish out until it is landed. More pressure may beneeded to be put on the fish if it is running towards rocks orother obstructions which may cut/damage your leader, and it isthen a case of using your judgement as to the amount of pressureyou can safely apply. This can be done by either‘palming’ the reel, or by dropping the rod tiptowards/into the water in a sideways motion, to create more dragon the fly line.

Dangers andprecautions.

Unfortunately, fishing the flatsin North Queensland does have some disadvantages that all anglersshould be aware of before they venture out into the skinny water.With a little caution and the right preparation most of thesedangers can be avoided.

Sun: One of the greatthings about living up here is the amount of sunshine and warmdays, but this can work against you. Make sure you have enoughwater with you, and that you are covered up before venturing out.This means wearing a hat that will give you good shade coverage,long sleeve shirts, sunglasses, and sun cream. It may not seemthat important but imagine not being able to fish because of askin condition that can be avoided.

Hooks: I am, and alwayshave been a strong advocate for using barbless hooks for manyreasons. Having a barb on a hook is good to keep bait on the hookand to make it real hard to pull out of you/your mates skin.That’s the only reason for a barb. Flyfishing does notrequire bait, and it sure as hell doesn’t require you oryour mate to go through a lot of pain for no reason. The argumentthat the barb keeps the fish on through the fight is a weakargument made by people who cannot keep contact with the fishduring the fight. If you maintain pressure on the fish thefly/hook will not come out.

Toothy critters: Thesecan be a real problem on the flats and include species such asbarracouda, crocodiles and sharks. The barracouda’s teethcan usually be easily avoided with the use of long nosed plierswhen removing the fly. The sharks and crocodiles on the otherhand can be a real problem and it was only last week that Iwitnessed a ten foot hammerhed that came up to play with/eat thestingrays in a metre of water. Retreat is often the best solutionif possible. The other is to stay in shallow waters.

Shells, rays, etc:Coneshells can be found on the flats in North Queensland and itis wise to pay attention to where you walk and to wear a goodpair of wading boots. Other problems encountered can includestingrays, stonefish, oysters, and jellyfish. Most of these canbe treated by pouring warm water over the wound (vinegar forjellyfish) and getting to a hospital, and it is wise to have somefirst aid experience. Basically, be aware that these things maybe present and propose a danger to you if you’re notcareful.

To tie the whole thing together,flats fishing can be a demanding but rewarding way to fish thefly, and it is well worth the effort.